In recent years there has been a broad conceptual discussion on processes of Social Learning (SL) as the driving force of territorial management processes. Similarly, there has been a discussion on the role of the government and its implications on groups of territorial action. However, there are no studies that deal with SL in indigenous communities with the same ethnic roots but with a contrasting relation with the government and its institutionality. The present work takes on this comparison within the framework of cultural control in order to explain the course of their processes of development and territorial management. While one group shows goals towards education and spirituality, the other reveals technical and productive interests. Nevertheless, both processes exhibit a trajectory towards a culture of appropriation and self-management, against internal and external pressures. In this sense, we bring to light different local possibilities that replace the unfullfilness and backwardness of the centralized government.