Tribe fighting for existence in Ecuador’s Amazon territory

Conflict between the tribes Huaorani and Tagaeri-Taromenane

Miamiherald.com reported…Ivonne Yánez with the Acción Ecológica environmental group, which works extensively in the area, says the recurring violence is a direct effect of the outside pressures on these ancestral communities. Starting in the 1950s, U.S. missionaries and oil companies began operating in the area, bringing massive changes. Some Huaorani accepted the contact while other clans, like the Tagaeri and the Taromenane, shunned the outsiders and moved deeper into the forest. As traditional hunting grounds have been hemmed in by illegal logging, oil exploration and colonization, violence is on the rise. “It looks like a rivalry that has lasted forever, an internal conflict, but that’s not the case,” Yánez said. “You have to recognize that the petroleum industry has put a brutal amount of pressure on these communities. Read Article

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