These problems were brought to crisis point in 1996 when Los Cordobeses – a company owned by a wealthy lawyer, and based 2000kms away in Buenos Aires – bought up 3000 hectares of Wichí traditional lands in the Itiyuro basin. The land had been illegally sold by the provincial government in Salta, without the permission of the Wichí themselves. Since 1996, Los Cordobeses has devastated the landscape- tropical hardwoods were ripped out and the surrounding forest was cut and burned. The 44 hectares of the village of Hoktek T'oi was left exposed, with the surrounding forest stripped.

Similar depredations were being carried out by other companies against neighbouring Wichí villages. These onslaughts led to the formation in 1998 of the ‘Our Forest’ Project (Zlaqatahyi or Nuestra Selva), to fight the deforestation that was sweeping over the Itiyuro Basin. This fragile organisation is struggling to overcome all kinds of stresses, and is still developing a strong voice for the Wichí, but is hope for the future. It was the struggle of the communities of Zlaqatahyi against loss of their ancestral lands that inspired the foundation of Chacolinks in 2000.

The village of Hoktek T'oi has been active in the fight for land rights, in an attempt to stop Los Cordobeses from attacking the integrity of the village. For example, poison laid round the village killed over one hundred of the village’s animals; one woman had to be treated in hospital. Attempts have been made to use provincial laws to protect this community but these have almost always failed because of a corrupt system where there are close links between business and the provincial legal system. However a notable victory for the community of Hoktek T'oi was obtained when the National Government passed a bill in 2001expropriating the 3000 hectares of the community’s forest from Los Cordobeses. The land however cannot be returned to the Wichí until compensation is agreed and paid to the company. This process is still ongoing – title has still not yet been returned, four years later. The communities of Zlaqatayhi are therefore still involved in an ongoing legal battle in the courts for their rights.

The latest conflict over land has arisen in the community of Holotaj (Tonono) which has led to violence against the people of that community by the police. (For more details of this, see the section ‘Legal Battles’).