Tribe in Initial Contact Hopes for a Territory
The Inuya River, a tributary of the Urubamba River in the department of Ucayali, starts in the buffer zone of the Alto Purús National Park near the Murunahua and Mashco Piro Indigenous Reserves. The primary forests are rich in biological diversity, indigenous cultures, and intact ecosystems that provide environmental services for dozens of indigenous communities located downstream.
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In the 1950s, a group of Amawaka natives from the headwaters of the Inuya was contacted by missionaries from the Summer Institute of Linguistics. After contact, the Amawaka settled in a place named Alto Esperanza, or High Hopes, in the Inuya headwaters where they remain today. Due to their remote location and limited contact with the outside world, they are considered a tribe “in initial contact” and as such are afforded certain protection by the Peru government.
Upper Amazon Conservancy is working with the indigenous federation of the Alto Inuya and Mapuya rivers, FIARIM, to finally secure land title for the Amawaka of Alto Esperanza. This would mark an important milestone for indigenous rights because it will be the first time that legal land ownership has been granted to an indigenous group in initial contact. UAC has been working on this for more than five years, beginning with organizing the community’s legal documents, mapping, and coordinating with various government agencies.
However, the process is not without significant obstacles. In 2020, the Ucayali regional government’s titling agency, DRAU, formally recognized two communities (Inchatomashi and Manitzi) squatting on Alto Esperanza’s lands. , The two communities claim to be comprised of people from the Inuya, however, in fact they are recent arrivals, part of a massive migration of coca farmers from Peru’s central forest region.
DRAU’s recognition of the two communities was carried out illegally, without consulting Alto Esperanza or its federation, FIARIM.
Additionally, there are four timber concessions within Alto Esperanza’s territory. Even though these were granted illegally, on lands already occupied by the Amawaka, we are negotiating with the timber companies that hold the concessions so that they leave the area. This could include compensating the companies.
Alto Esperanza is the only community in the entire Ucayali region that is recognized as in initial contact and that is seeking title to their lands. This exceptional case will depend on coordination among various agencies including Peru’s protected areas agency, SERNANP, the Ministry of Culture, and the Regional Forestry and Wildlife Agency. Please reach out to UAC if you would like to support this process — thank you!