Other Indigenous communities present in Colombia today include Chibchan-speaking groups in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — the Wiwa, Arhuaco, Kogi, and Kankuamo — who represent the northern extension of the Chibchan-related ancestry that the 2025 study documented in the Herrera-period Altiplano population.

The genetic affinities between the ancient Herrera-period individuals and present-day Chibchan speakers provide a direct link between the findings of the 2025 study and living Indigenous communities.

The relationship between genetic research findings and Indigenous communities is not without complexity.

Indigenous communities have legitimate interests in how their history is described and interpreted by scientists, and the history of genetics research on Indigenous peoples includes instances of data being collected without adequate community consultation or used in ways that communities found harmful or disrespectful.

The 2025 Colombia study involved Colombian researchers who brought institutional connections to Colombian academic and heritage institutions, and who were embedded in the professional and community networks that archaeological research in Colombia requires.