The Amahuaca or Amhuaca are indigenous peoples of the southeastern Amazon Basin in Peru and Brazil. Isolated until the 18th century, they are currently under threat from ecological devastation, disease, and violence brought by oil extractors and illegal loggers. In 1998, they numbered about 520. The largest community of the Amahuaca is in Puerto Varadero, a jungle community on the Peruvian-Brazilian border.

The Amahuaca are also known as the Amaguaco, Amawaca, Amaw‡ka, Amawaka, Amenguaca, Ameuhaque, Ipitineri, Sayaco, Sayacu, or Yora people.

As of 2000, approximately 330 of the 500 Amahuaca spoke the Amahuaca language, a Panoan language. The language is written in the Latin script, and a grammar has been published. From 1963 to 1997, portions of the Bible were translated into Amahuaca.

Amahuaca people hunt, fish, farm, and work in the lumber and oil industries or as domestic servants. They also harvest and process Brazil nuts.

The Amahuaca people have traditionally occupied the Urubamba Valley, situated between the central and southern regions of Peru.

In the beginning of the 18th century, missionaries met with resistance from these peoples, as the region was isolated from the national society. From 1822-1920, rubber tappers began their raids, initiating a process of colonization that affected the traditional organizations of these peoples. This led to territorial dispersion.

After the rubber boom, the phenomenon of the hacienda and the patrons appropriated indigenous territories and exploited their workforce. This also led to the arrival of Dominican missionaries to the region.

National policies of territorial occupation in the Amazon, since the advent of the Republic, have been characterized by intensified colonization, mercantile activity, and extraction. This trend was solidified with the promulgation of the Law of Lands and Mountains (No.1220) in 1909, which incorporated the State's domain over lands traditionally occupied by Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon but not acquired as agreed in the Civil Code of 1852. Through this law, large areas of land were granted to businesses and explorers. This continued until 1974, when Decree No.20653 (Law of the Native Communities and of Land and Cattle Promotion in Jungle Regions) was proclaimed. Before this law, Decree 3 of 1957 established the legal term “reserve,” creating sixty-four of them to assure the subsistence of the Indigenous Peoples.

Nonetheless, settlers in the Urubamba Valley occupied 34,000 hectares, and their relationship with the native communities has remained unequal, especially in labor and business issues. Land disputes arose mostly due to the invasion of communal territory, with the consent or indifference of the authorities. Environmental issues also emerged due to wood exploitation and activities like fishing and hunting, with additional pressures from hydrocarbon exploitation in the Urubamba Valley through Supreme Decree 24-95-EM, of November 3, 1995. The discovery of huge gas reserves in the Camisea Zone has significantly impacted the economic, social, and cultural life of Indigenous Peoples.

Since 1893, when the first well was drilled in Peru, petroleum became a crucial element of national political life and intense ideological debates. Despite opposition, Law 11780 incentivized foreign companies to seek petroleum exploration concessions in the jungle. Although petroleum explorations were nationalized in the 1970s, foreign companies continued to be contracted for exploration and exploitation through Operational Contracting.

In the early 1980s, due to a government deficit in petroleum production, a lack of investment, declining reserves, and technological inefficiency at PETROPERU, foreign contracting persisted. Law 23231 was enacted to offer additional benefits to foreign interests. In 1981, Supreme Decree 17.81-EM/DGH approved the Contract for Petroleum Operations with the Shell Company. The exploration between 1984-1987 led to the discovery of natural gas in the Camisea area, one of the largest hydrocarbon reserves discovered in the country, transforming Camisea into the “new gold of the south.” However, this exploration has had negative consequences for Indigenous Peoples, the environment, and human health.

The inclusion of the Urubamba Valley within the national economy has been characterized by the strengthening of powerful economic groups (rubber tappers, patrons, loggers, and business people) that have created an irrational pattern of occupation, spoiling the territories traditionally occupied by Indigenous Peoples.

This situation worsened with development policies during the 70s and 80s, viewing the area as sparsely populated but resource-rich. This led to increased colonization, logging contracts, and petroleum exploration, which caused significant economic impacts on Indigenous Peoples, exacerbating labor discrimination, cultural discrimination, and negative environmental impacts.

Pollution from lubricant residues increased, and the dynamization of the economy affected the health of people in the region, introducing infectious-contagious diseases. In some cases, such as in the village of Nahua, this caused epidemics that decimated the population. Additionally, traditional eating habits were altered, leading to protein deficiency, especially among women and children.