IWGIA IWGIA
  • Indigenous peoples in Peru

    Indigenous peoples in Peru

    There are 4 million indigenous peoples in Peru, who are comprised by some 55 groups speaking 47 languages. In 2007, Peru voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Peru

Indigenous Peoples in Peru

There are 4 million Indigenous Peoples in Peru, who are comprised of 55 groups speaking 47 languages. Peru voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 and has ratified ILO Convention 169. However, the country’s indigenous population are still struggling with extractive activities, such as oil spills and oil palm cultivation, on their territory.

Indigenous Peoples in Peru

According to the 2007 Census, Peru’s population includes more than 4 million Indigenous Persons, of whom 83.11% are Quechua, 10.92% Aymara, 1.67% Ashaninka, and 4.31% belong to other Amazonian Indigenous Peoples. The Database of Indigenous or Original Peoples notes the existence in the country of 55 Indigenous Peoples who speak 47 indigenous languages.

21% of Peru’s territory consists of mining concessions, which are superimposed upon 47.8% of the territory of peasant communities. Similarly, 75% of the Peruvian Amazon is covered by oil and gas concessions.

Peru’s Constitution stipulates that the official languages are Spanish and, in areas where they are predominant, Quechua, Aymara and other aboriginal languages. According to the Ministry of Culture, there are 47 indigenous and native languages in the country. Almost 3.4 million people speak Quechua and 0.5 million Aymara. Both languages are predominant in the Coastal Andes area.

Main challenges for Peru’s Indigenous Peoples

Extractive activities, such as oil spills and oil palm cultivation, and climate change, such as drought and forest fires, are the main threats to native communities and the huge variety of ecosystems and a great wealth of natural resources in Peru.

Currently, 21% of Peru’s territory consists of mining concessions, which are superimposed upon 47.8% of the territory of peasant communities. Similarly, 75% of the Peruvian Amazon is covered by oil and gas concessions.This overlapping of rights to communal territories, the enormous pressure being exerted by the extractive industries, the lack of territorial cohesion and absence of effective prior consultation are all exacerbating territorial and socio-environmental conflicts in Peru.

Watch how the road expansion into the Madre de Dios region in Peru and the following invasion of illegal loggers, miners and plantations is affecting Indigenous Peoples living in the area as the deforestation and pollution are destroying their traditional way of living. 

 

Case: Wampis sovereignty

Despite the fact that indigenous peoples have not been at the heart of public debate recently, some encouraging news came in 2016 the form of the consolidation of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation (GTANW). The project first saw the light of day in November 2015 with a collective demonstration for autonomy from the Peruvian state on the part of the Wampis people. The Wampis nation achieved jurisdictional sovereignty over their territory of 1,300,000 hectares of land located in the Loreto and Amazonas regions, which they are protecting from outside interest in their natural resources.

The case formed a milestone in indigenous sovereignty as the constitution of this autonomous government forces the Peruvian state to recognise their independence within their own territorial boundaries. Now, the Kandozi and Chapra peoples have announced similar plans.

Watch are short movie about The Wampis Nation and the making of their congress here  

 

The Indigenous World 2024: Peru

Written on . Posted in Peru

The Peruvian State recognizes 47 Indigenous languages spoken by 55 different peoples in the country. In the 2017 National Population Census, almost six million people (5,972,603) self-identified as belonging to an Indigenous or native people, representing slightly more than a quarter of the total population. Of these, 5,176,809 consider themselves to be Quechua and 548,292 Aymara. The Amazonian census population that self-identifies as Asháninka, Awajún, Shipibo, and other Amazonian peoples amounted to 197,667. Some 50,000 consider themselves as belonging to other Indigenous or native peoples. Census under-registration in the Amazon region is known to be an ongoing problem.

Continue Reading

Photo: National strike in Peru, Pativilca-Huaraz highway. Credit: John Commandment

Expectations and uncertainties for Latin America's Indigenous Peoples as a new year begins

Written on . Posted in News

The end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 finds Indigenous Peoples in Latin America shaken by an escalation of political and social conflicts that threatens the effective implementation of their rights. We examine some of the main events that have taken place over the last days and weeks in Brazil, Peru and Colombia, their implications for Indigenous Peoples and the resistance agenda of Indigenous movements and organisations in the face of intensifying conflicts in the region.

Continue Reading

The Indigenous World 2021: Peru

Written on . Posted in Peru

According to the 2007 Census, there are more than 4 million Indigenous people in Peru: 83.11% are Quechua, 10.92% Aymara, 1.67% Asháninka and 4.31% belong to other Amazonian Indigenous peoples. The Indigenous or Native Peoples Database (BDPI) reports the existence of 55 Indigenous peoples in the country speaking 47 Indigenous languages.

On the other hand, 21% of the national territory is covered by mining concessions, and these overlap with 47.8% of the territory of the peasant communities. Furthermore, 75% of the Peruvian Amazon is covered by hydrocarbon concessions. The overlapping of rights to communal territories, the enormous pressure from the extractive industries, the absence of land-use planning and the lack of any effective implementation of prior consultation are all exacerbating territorial and socio-environmental conflicts in Peru, a country that has signed and ratified Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and which voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

Continue Reading

The Indigenous World 2023: Peru

Written on . Posted in Peru

The Peruvian State recognizes 47 Indigenous languages spoken by 55 different peoples. According to the 2017 National Population Census, almost six million people (5,972,603) self-identify as belonging to an Indigenous or native people, representing just over a quarter of the total population. Of these, 5,176,809 identify as Quechua and 548,292 as Aymara. The Amazonian population in the census who self-identify as Asháninka, Awajún, Shipibo, or other Amazonian peoples total 197,667. In addition, some 50,000 identify as belonging to other Indigenous or native peoples. Census under-registration in the Amazon region is, nevertheless, a known and ongoing problem.

Continue Reading

The Indigenous World 2022: Peru

Written on . Posted in Peru

According to the 2007 Census, there are more than 4 million Indigenous people in Peru: 83.11% are Quechua, 10.92% Aymara, 1.67% Asháninka and 4.31% belong to other Amazonian Indigenous Peoples. The Indigenous or Native Peoples Database (BDPI) reports the existence of 55 Indigenous Peoples in the country, speaking 47 Indigenous languages. On the other hand, 21% of the national territory is covered by mining concessions, and these overlap with 47.8% of the territory of peasant communities.

Continue Reading

Peru: They messed with the wrong generation

Written on . Posted in Peru

The protests spread to all the neighborhoods of Lima and cities of the country. Photo: Vidal Carrasco 

It is difficult to explain what happened in our country to outsiders. Even in the country, we are not able to grasp the dimension of the events. The facts are clear, they are vicious and they hurt: two young men murdered, Bryan Pintado and Inti Sotelo; dozens of protesters wounded; excessive force used and shots fired aiming at people’s bodies; enforced disappearances; sexual abuse and torture; mass arrests. So many crimes committed by the State, so much pain in less than a week. There is only one thing to hope for: for the first time in the history of Peru, hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets to protest against the unconstitutional removal of the Peruvian president. 

Continue Reading

STAY CONNECTED

 

About IWGIA

IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.

For media inquiries click here

Indigenous World

IWGIA's global report, the Indigenous World, provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Read The Indigenous World.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Contact IWGIA

Prinsessegade 29 B, 3rd floor
DK 1422 Copenhagen
Denmark
Phone: (+45) 53 73 28 30
E-mail: iwgia@iwgia.org
CVR: 81294410

Report possible misconduct, fraud, or corruption

 instagram social icon facebook_social_icon.png   youtuble_logo_icon.png  linkedin_social_icon.png  
webbureau Joomla hjemmeside design Joomla udvikling webshop SEO seo kursus Joomla kursus hacket Joomla hosting Sutra

NOTE! This site uses cookies and similar technologies.

If you do not change browser settings, you agree to it. Learn more

I understand

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries