Indigenous Peru - Peru - page 1073

A 20TH-CENTURY SHIFT
The last 100 years have marked a number of significant steps forward. Since the indigenist
social movements of the 1920s, various constitutions and laws have granted legal protec-
tion to communal lands (at least on paper, if not always in practice). In 1979, the Peruvian
constitution officially recognized the right of people to adhere to their own 'cultural identit-
ies,' and the right to bilingual education was officially established. (Until then, the public
school system had made a systematic effort to eliminate the use of native languages and
pressured indigenous people to acculturate to Spanish criollo society.) And, the following
year, literacy voting restrictions were finally lifted - allowing indigenous people to fully
participate in the political process.
In 2011, President Humala passed a law that requires native peoples to be consulted on
all mining and extraction activities on their territories.
Pressures of Poverty & Environment
Even as indígenas continue to make strides, there are obstacles. Indigenous people make up
almost twice as many of the country's extreme poverty cases as Peruvians of European des-
cent. In addition, access to basic services is problematic. Nearly 60% of indigenous com-
munities do not have access to a health facility, and the country has a high maternal mortal-
ity ratio (higher than Iraq or the Gaza Strip). This affects indigenous women disproportion-
ately.
Perhaps the biggest issue facing some ethnicities is the loss of land. The exploitation of
natural resources in ever more remote areas is putting increased pressure on indigenous
communities whose territories are often ill-defined and whose needs are poorly represented
by the federal government in Lima. According to AIDESEP, a Peruvian indigenous organ-
ization representing various rainforest ethnic groups, oil prospecting and extraction is oc-
curring in more than 80% of indigenous territories in the Amazon.
OLLANTAY: QUECHUA'S GREAT LITERARY EPIC
Ollantay tells the story of a pair of star-crossed lovers: Ollanta, a celebrated warrior of humble birth, and Cusi
Cuyllur, a captivating Inca princess. Because Ollanta is not a noble, societal mores dictate that he cannot marry his
beloved. But he nonetheless draws up the courage to ask Emperor Pachacutec for his daughter's hand in marriage.
The emperor becomes enraged at the audacity of the young lovers and expels Ollanta from Cuzco and throws his
daughter in jail. Battles ensue, a child is born and after much palace intrigue, the lovers are reunited.