The making of an autonomous Indigenous nation in Peru’s Amazon

The making of an autonomous Indigenous nation in Peru’s Amazon

In 2015, leaders of the Wampís did what no other Indigenous peoples have done in Peru’s modern history: They declared themselves an autonomous nation to gain greater control over their territory. For decades, the Indigenous Wampís (or Huambisa) of the northern Peruvian Amazon have protested against oil drilling and other extractive activities in their home, to little avail. By declaring autonomy, they sought to change this. A decade on from that…