wayfinders circle governance report english - Flipbook - Page 13
collective title to their entire territory. Some of the Wampis communities
within the territory do have collective title while others do not, disrupting the
Wampis vision of their territory as a whole.
Recognition of Collective Land Rights
The Wampis and Achuar peoples have occupied their current territories since
time immemorial, yet have needed to continually defend their lands from
outsiders—whether it be from the Incan empire 600 years ago, rubber barons
a hundred years ago, or extractive industries and colonizers in recent years to
this day. Their territories are self-defined and defended. For both the Wampis
and the Achuar, the clear demarcation of their territory is central to their
governance as Indigenous nations. Still, the full collective land rights of the
Wampis have not been recognized, while the Achuar territory is recognized
by the Government of Ecuador.
Similar to the Achuar, the Dayak Iban Sungai Utik of Indonesia enjoy recognition of their collective land rights, and maintain deep cultural traditions
while resisting economic pressures from the outside. The Dayak Iban Sungai
Utik stand firm in defense of their customary territories, while resisting
pressure to extract resources from their lands and territories, and actively
exercising their right to self-regulation. Because the Dayak Iban Sungai Utik
believe there is no individual land and the territory they live on is from their
ancestors, they assert their rights as a nation and are obliged to preserve it.
They know they must pass the collective rights to the forest and the governance system to the next generation.
All of the initial members of the Wayfinders Circle note a collective ownership
of their territories, although not all are recognized, and a few have some
individual ownership within their ancestral lands (e.g. the Blackfeet). The
Wampis Governance
The Wampis of Peru’s northern Amazon have a culture rich with stories going back
thousands of years, interwoven into the ecosystems and landscapes of their territory.
The Wampis collectively built an autonomous territorial government, the first in Peru
to encompass an entire Indigenous people occupying a single collective territory.
Governance is based on a Statute that lays out the Wampis vision for the future in all
areas of life including religion, spirituality, education, language, and recovery of
ancestral places. The Statute requires that any activity that could affect Wampis
territory must secure the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the Wampis, and no
Wampis community can take a unilateral decision that affects others.
The autonomous government is the result of a multi-year process including 50
community meetings and 15 general assemblies (with representation of all Wampis).
There are leadership roles for the environment, women, and youth, and a “moral
council” for elders with a proven track record who have sought visions in the sacred
waterfalls through their ancestors. There are specific provisions to guarantee the
participation of women in governance and the respect of women's rights in their
communities. The statute includes environmental management with regulations for
land use and planning as well as setting aside sacred sites. The Wampis example of
self-determination and self-implementation of an autonomous territorial
government is inspiring other Indigenous peoples in northern Peru to begin their
own processes toward establishing autonomous territorial governments.
S E E A N N E X F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N
Dayak Iban Sungai Utik of Indonesia note their territory is passed down
to them by their ancestors, hence there are no individually owned lands.
This is similarly true with the Achuar and Wampis, as well as the Mayangna and Gabbra. Some of the Wayfinders have a combination of a larger
ancestral territory, some collectively held lands, and some privately held
lands as well, which is likely true to some extent with Warddeken, the
G overn ance L e arnings from the I nitial M emb ers of the Way fi n d ers Circl e
13
