André Cognat
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André Cognat | |
|---|---|
 Cognat (left) in 1979 | |
| Born | 21 February 1938 Pierre-Bénite, Metropolitan Lyon, France |
| Died | 15 October 2021 (aged 83) Antécume-Pata, French Guiana, France |
| Occupations | Tribal chief, memoirist |
André Cognat, also known as Antecume, (21 February 1938 – 15 October 2021) was the French Guianese chief of a Wayana tribe in Antécume-Pata, French Guiana, France.
André Cognat was born on 21 February 1938 in Pierre-Bénite near Lyon, in metropolitan France.[1]
Adult life
Cognat moved to French Guiana in 1961, at the age of 23.[1] His boat capsized on the Litani near Maripasoula, and he was rescued by a Wayana from the Amazonia.[1] Cognat decided to stay there, and he married a Wayana woman called Alasawani in 1973; they had a son and a daughter.[1] By 1985, he had taken the name of Antecume.[1] He also founded a new settlement called Antécume-Pata,[2] and he became the chief of the local Wayana tribe.[1]
Cognat founded Yepe, a non-profit organization to protect the rights of the Wayanas, in 1990.[1] In particular, he had interceded for them in Cayenne to retain their access to water against Brazilian gold dredgers.[1]
Cognat is the author of two memoirs about his life as a tribal chief.
