Skip to main content

Wayfinders Circle Wampis Nation

  • Geographic Location Peru
    (Peruvian Amazon border region with Ecuador)
  • Size of Territory ~1,327,760 Hectares
  • Communities 22 titled communities
    (as well as others that are not titled)
  • Population ~15,300
  • Language(s)|t Wampis

The Wampis territory is located in the Amazon headwaters near the Andes. It is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, spanning from the Santiago and Morona rivers, and includes the Kampankis mountain range. The territory includes swamps, lakes, waterfalls, and caves.

The Wampis Nation is governed by the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation, created to defend their ways of life and defend against pressures from extractive industries. Their governance regulations are laid out in the Statute of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation, which clarifies the Wampis vision for their future in all areas of life, including religion, spirituality, education, language, and the recovery of ancestral place names. The Statute is built strictly on the obligations of the Peruvian State to respect the rights and autonomy of Indigenous Peoples and nations. Amongst other principles, the Statute requires that any activity that could affect the Wampis territory must have the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the Wampis Nation. The Wampis Nation is also governed by a Socio-Political Pact that includes agreements and obligations for the conservation of living beings of the Wampis territory.

In October 2021, the Wampis released a technical study showing that tropical forests protected by the Wampis territorial governance capture approximately 57 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

In 2011, the Field Museum of Chicago carried out a rapid biological assessment in the Kampankis mountains and recorded over 1,700 species of plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including 25 species that appear to be new to science.

Learn more about the Wampis Nation

Learn more

More Wampis Nation

Related Stories

The Wampis’ 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 the recovery of ancestral sites.
Article

September 9, 2024

In the Peruvian Amazon, The Wampis Nation are at the Forefront of Resistance Against Illegal Mining

Indigenous autonomous government reinforces independent protection of its territory while accusing national authorities of neglect.

Read
The Sámi people live in reindeer herding communities throughout an extensive area of the Arctic. Photo by Sámiid Riikkasearvi.
Article

August 26, 2024

Four Reindeer Herding Communities Sue Swedish State to Grant Licenses for Small Game Hunting and Fishing in Sápmi

The Sámiid Riikkasearvi association supports the reindeer herding communities and aims to expand on a 2020 Supreme Court ruling.

Read
The young Indonesian filmmaker Kynan Tegar.
Article

August 1, 2024

Decolonizing Storytelling: The Value of Indigenous Perspectives. An Interview With Kynan Tegar

Growing up in and around the forested village of Sungai Utik and learning from the elders, Kynan Tegar continues to tell the stories of resistance in the face of colonization taught to him.

Read