Objective:

To carry out a historical approach to the evolution of the health and disease processes in the indigenous population in the municipality of Riosucio, Caldas, visualizing the social determination in health.

Method:

A search, selection and thematic review of original and secondary articles written in English and Spanish, published between 2005 and 2015 in the different databases: Medline plus, Scielo, Pubmed, Cochrane, Sedeci, Dialnet, Latindex and Redalyc was made.

Results:

A total of 70 articles, of which 50 have direct or indirect inclusion on the historical or current situation of indigenous health, were reviewed. This historical approach to the evolution of the health process was organized in three stages: the first stage includes the pre-Columbian era, the conquest, the colony until the middle 17th century; the second stage includes the eighteenth, nineteenth, the beginning of the twentieth century; and the third stage includes the changes brought about by Law 100 in Colombia, where the determination in the field of indigenous health converges with the native health of the Embera Chamí culture.

Conclusions:

The Embera Chami population in the department of Caldas is a clear example of the current situation of indigenous conditions, highlighting mainly interculturality as an irreversible and obligatory phenomenon in their space and time. Knowing how to handle this interculturality is, probably, the key to preserving indigenous culture in all Colombian shelters.

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