Huaorani in Ecuador

In response to the Huaorani peoples’ formal recognition requests, the government initially designated 16,000 hectares as a ‘Huaorani protectorate’ in 1969, which later expanded to 612,650 hectares by 1990. Presently, the Ecuadorian government recognizes 679,220 hectares as part of the Waorani territory, referred to as the Waorani titled territory (Territorio Huaorani titulado).

However, as part of the government’s strategy for developing resources even in restricted areas, the Maxus Energy Oil Company, whose claim lies within a national park of great biological diversity, was given permission to construct a pipeline and a narrow access road. Oil exploration paired with increases in lumbering activities and tourism has caused some Huaorani to retreat further into the jungle.

In 1991, in the wake of receiving territorial rights from the government after a protracted international campaign, young schooled men formed the Organization of the Huaorani Nation of Amazonian Ecuador. This organization has operated as a liaison with the oil industry, including Maxus, the company which has exploited petroleum in the Huaorani territory and the Yasuní National Park. In 2005, despite protests by Huaorani people, the Brazilian oil company, Petrobrás, continued to drill for oil in the Yasuní forest of Ecuador. Although the media reported that the Huaorani broke their agreement with Petrobrás, Huaorani leaders argued that the president of the Organization of the Huaorani Nationality signed the contract without consulting the Huaorani community.

Caught between the conflicting objectives of petroleum development and forest conservation, Huaorani are confronted with pernicious and contradictory economic and political interests. They continue to be threatened by oil extraction and illegal lumbering. Yet, while encouraged by missionaries, some Huaorani have given up their traditional economic activities and turned to the lumber industry for their livelihood. Also, while eco-tourism is on the rise in the region, tourism operators rarely consult the Huaorani before bringing outsiders into their communities.

Despite plans to protect the Yasuní National Park, the home of many Huaorani, from drilling through a United Nations-managed fund, in August 2013 the government announced that due to insufficient international financial support the restrictions would be lifted. President Rafael Correa decreed the cancellation of the Yasuní initiative in August 2016, showing the government’s intention to exploit the zone despite it being in one of the planet’s most biodiverse areas. The National Assembly finally authorized drilling after a lengthy debate. There were a number of protests against the decision; nevertheless, the government confirmed that drilling was underway by October 2016.

In August 2023, the Ecuadorian indigenous and environmentalist movement set an unprecedented milestone worldwide by getting Ecuadorian society to vote overwhelmingly in a referendum promoted by the environmental collective ‘Yasunidos’ in favor of halting Block 43-ITT, the country’s significant oil field located in the Amazon rainforest of Yasuní National Park, from which approximately 11 per cent of the national oil production comes. The triumph of the referendum over the future of Yasuní was reached thanks to indigenous communities like the Huaorani, who undertook mobilizations and caravans to urge a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum to protect Yasuní. In May 2024, Huaorani indigenous people requested the government to integrate the closure committee of Yasuní ITT to comply with the referendum held on August 20, 2023.

In recent years, there has been an increased focus on Huaorani forms of justice. Various reports assert that dozens of people have died due to reprisals in the past two decades. This was brought to the forefront of national attention in March 2013, when Huaorani raided a Taromenane village after the murder of a Huaorani couple, allegedly by Taromenane. The raid was prolonged and brutal, resulting in numerous deaths. Eight months after these events took place, the government arrested and charged six Huaorani of genocide. The authorities were heavily criticized for not conducting a thorough investigation and being culturally insensitive. The case also gave rise to accusations that Ecuador’s media and government have been responsible for promoting negative stereotypes and reactions to indigenous peoples. Many commentators and indigenous activists pointed out that the risk of violence between communities has increased as pressure from oil workers and loggers has brought them into closer proximity and greater competition over resources with each other.

As a result of these events, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which at that that time was James Anaya, engaged in dialogue with the Government of Ecuador, urging the adoption of necessary measures to prevent further acts of violence among the Tagaeri-Taromenane and Huaorani indigenous peoples in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The independent expert recommended that the judicial process be conducted in accordance with international human rights standards and that it take into account the vulnerability of the Huaorani people and their own system of justice. Additionally, the independent expert proposed a thorough examination of the root causes of the conflict and the historical pressures that have affected indigenous peoples in these areas, leading to social and cultural destabilization.

Regarding Huaorani women, over the past few years they have emerged as leaders in the battle for the Amazon’s preservation, actively striving to safeguard one of the planet’s most biologically diverse regions. Their efforts have united through the establishment of the Association of Waorani Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Asociación de Mujeres Waorani de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana, AMWAE). Through AMWAE, Huaorani women have spearheaded a range of initiatives encompassing strategic litigation, educational campaigns, journalism and entrepreneurial endeavors, all aimed at nurturing and protecting the Amazon. This dedication to environmental stewardship is eloquently summarized by Wiña Omaca, a respected Waorani elder who states: ‘Throughout history, women have consistently led our resistance. Even before the arrival of European colonizers and the encroachment of Western civilization, it was Waorani women who held sway over decision-making and ensured the tranquility and balance within our clan’s dwellings.’