Huaorani

:This article is about the Auca Indians. For the Ecuadorian soccer team named after the Aucas, see Sociedad Deportiva Aucas.

Indigenist political reorganization

Prior to 1989, the Huaorani were very divided and politically unorganized. The two settlements were Rachel Saint's (the Toñampare) and Dayuno's, which was also under missionary influence. There were also a number of traditional clans and the Tagaeri. Though the Huaorani were surviving and healthy, their society was controlled almost entirely by missionaries, and there was no fair voice to connect to the outside world with.

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In 1989, some of the Huaorani attempted to regroup. A group consisting of over sixty, led by a man named Ñame, left Dayuno and travelled to the Shiripuno River, where they founded the community of Quehueire Ono. The main intention of this settlement was to throw off missionary control and return to the old Huaorani culture, though not without giving up some of the more modern tools. A school was begun in the settlement in 1990, thanks to funding from the Napo Provincial Government. By 1993, Quehueire Ono was the second-largest Huaorani community, with approximately 223 members.

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In March of 1990, an organization called ONHAE (The Organization of the Huaorani Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon) was founded. This was with the assistance of CONFENIAE (The Oriente Indigenous Confederation), of which ONHAE later became a member. The main purpose of ONHAE was to avoid the creation of a hierachy within the Huaorani society. Also thanks to CONFENIAE, the Huaorani were given legal ownership of over 2,600 square miles (6700 km²) of land, approximately one third of the traditonal lands. ONHAE currently operated by holding consensus-based assemblies and congresses drawn from across the contacted Huaorani communities.

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