Huaorani in Ecuador

Profile 

Huaorani (or Waorani) people have lived as forest hunters and gatherers in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon for hundreds of years. Numbering approximately 3,000, the Huaorani are a relatively isolated indigenous community inhabiting the eastern Amazonian region of Ecuador, particularly the current provinces of Orellana, Napo and Pastaza. From their first encounter with North American missionaries in 1958 to the present day, they have been negatively stereotyped in journalistic and popular imagination. Despite the efforts of Huaorani people to defend their ancestral lands over the years, Huaorani territories are currently threatened by oil exploration, logging and colonial settlements. These threats have led some Huaorani to reject contact with outsiders and venture deeper into the forest. 

Historical context 

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 Huaorani territory, referred to as the Huaorani titled territory (Territorio Huaorani titulado). The renowned Yasuní National Park, an area of great biological diversity, lies within Huaorani lands. It was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989.  

However, as part of the government’s strategy for developing resources even in restricted areas, the Maxus Energy Oil Company, whose claim lay within Yasuní National Park, was given permission in 1992 to construct a pipeline and a narrow access road. The Maxus road caused major shifts in Huaorani life as well as threatened the fragile balance of the Yasuní ecosystem, since previously inaccessible areas could be reached by outsiders. Oil exploration paired with increases in logging activities and tourism 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, Huaorani activists formed the Organization of the Huaorani Nation of Amazonian Ecuador. This organization operated as a liaison with the oil industry, including Maxus.  

In 2004, the Brazilian oil company Petrobrás received permission to build another road in Yasuní, despite protests by Huaorani people and the evident disruption caused by the Maxus road.  International condemnation led to the road project being suspended by Petrobrás in 2006.  Petrobrás’ concession in Block 31 was later taken over by the Ecuadorian state oil company PetroAmazonas; satellite footage later revealed that they built a road in 2012, despite earlier assurances.  

Current issues 

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 logging. Yet, encouraged by missionaries, some Huaorani have given up their traditional economic activities and turned to the logging 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. 

Some relief appeared imminent in 2007 when the Ecuadorian government proposed to halt development of its Yasuní-Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (Yasuní-ITT) oil fields in exchange for international funding. Ecuador proposed that 50 per cent of the income it would have received – US$3.6 billion – should come from international donors in exchange for protecting the region. Despite these plans to protect the Yasuní National Park 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, demonstrating 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 environmental 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 fourth most 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 concerning 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. Despite their key role in achieving this important victory, there was no mention of indigenous peoples’ participation in the Executive Decree authorizing implementation. In May 2024, Huaorani indigenous people requested the government to include community representatives in the committee responsible for overseeing the closure of Block 43-ITT and ensure compliance with the referendum result. President Daniel Noboa has since sought a moratorium on implementation.  

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, who at 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 National Park. In a statement published in 2013, Anaya recommended that a judicial process be conducted in accordance with international human rights standards and that it takes into account the vulnerability of the Huaorani people and their own system of justice. Additionally, he 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. 

Over the past few years, Huaorani women 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 coalesced 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 Huaorani elder who stated in an interview with Amazon Frontlines in 2023: ‘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.’