Spanish colonization involved the formalization of structures under the name of cabildos, with both pre-conquest and post-conquest features becoming local traditions.

In 1980, the first national encounter of indigenous organizations was held in Lomas de Hilarco, Tolima department.

By this time, Regional Indigenous Councils existed in the departments of Vaupés, Vichada, Arhuaco, Chocó, and Tolima, as well as Cauca.

In 2010, an international campaign was launched to expose the suffering of what ONIC describes as the "massive violations of their rights".

The campaign was launched by two indigenous Colombian leaders on a European tour, and it is aimed at protecting at least eighteen tribes facing the ‘imminent risk of extinction'.