This project aims to provide the basis for an in-depth and innovative analysis of the concept of asylum. Typically addressed from a national-state centric perspective, there are currently no studies offering an “indigenous” perspective, or – more accurately - indigenous perspectives. This knowledge gap is critical in regard to the growing impact of the accommodation of displaced persons in indigenous territories. The border region of Ecuador and Colombia, which has lately and once again become a melting pot of multiple interests and conflicts triggering displacement (Colombians, Venezuelans, Ecuadorians amongst others), offers an opportunity to launch combined applied legal and anthropological research on these issues.