Elsa Guatuso

Costa Rican Indigenous rights leader who secured land rights for Costa Rica's Indigenous communities

Elsa Guatuso (1910-1998) was a Bribrí Indigenous leader who spearheaded landmark land rights legislation in Costa Rica. Born in the Talamanca region, she organized the first Indigenous women's cooperative in 1945 to preserve ancestral knowledge. Her 1957 petition to the United Nations brought international attention to Indigenous land dispossession. This led to the 1977 Indigenous Law, which legally recognized 13 Indigenous territories. Guatuso's bilingual radio program Voz de la Selva (1968-1985) promoted Indigenous languages and cultural preservation. She co-founded the Bribrí Cultural Institute, and her advocacy inspired the 2007 UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights. The Elsa Guatuso National Indigenous Park (2010) protects 12,000 hectares of ancestral lands. Her memoir Roots of the Rainforest (1990) remains required reading in Costa Rican schools. Modern Indigenous activists like Nobel nominee Rosario Cordero cite her as their inspiration.