Country: Peru

Group: Indigenous

Date Finalized: 3/1/2020

Team: Johanna McCombs (lead), Leliani Alva, Maya Shrikant

Over half of the population in Peru identifies as a member of one of the 51 indigenous groups (Peru, n.d.). Native leaders in the Amazon of groups such as the Aguaruna, Huambis, Shipibo-Conibo and others have formed ethnic federations starting in the 1970’s in hopes of protecting their land from oil companies and the government recognizing their right to the land, but the government mostly ignores these groups (Peru, n.d.). In 1969 General Juan Velasco wanted to reform land rights in the coastal and highland regions of Peru but took away land from the native people and turned them into state-ran farms (UNHC for Refugees, n.d.). The government has a large lack of presence in the rural Amazonian and Andean causing the local people to form their own police to combat theft and invasion, which has caused the population living in their native land to drop (UNHC for Refugees, n.d.). In 1980 the guerrilla group Sendero Luminoso, looked overthrow the Peruvian state.  The Peruvian state fought this force, and the most affected was the indigenous population losing about 50,000 lives, and 600,000 were Displaced (UNHC for Refugees, n.d.). In more recent cases, another source examined “ethnocide by inaction” when COVID-19 was found in Amazonian tribes (Cervantes, 2020). A complaint made to the United Nations pleaded for “the government to take ‘concrete action’ to ensure their survival”. The complaint was made collectively by eight native leaders who represented 1,800 indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon (Cervantes, 2020).

Data Quality: 2, the information is consistent and from reputable sources. The indigenous population includes many different ethnic groups and not all indigenous ethnic groups may experience this.

Sources

  1. Cervantes, M. (2020, April 24). Peru indigenous warn of ‘ethnocide by inaction’ as coronavirus hits Amazon tribes. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-peru-indigenous/peru-indigenous-warn-of-ethnocide-by-inaction-as-coronavirus-hits-amazon-tribes-idUSKCN22639A
  2. Minority Rights Group (n.d.). Peru. Retrieved April 25, 2020, from https://minorityrights.org/country/peru/
  3. UNHC for Refugees (n.d.). Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples—Peru. Refworld. Retrieved April 25, 2020, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/4954ce0b2.html