Indigenous peoples in Ecuador facts for kids

The Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, also called Native Ecuadorians, are the groups of people who lived in what is now Ecuador before the Spanish arrived. This term also includes their descendants from the time of the Spanish conquest until today. Their history goes back 11,000 years. About 25% of Ecuador's population has indigenous roots. Another 55-65% are Mestizos, meaning they have both indigenous and European heritage. Studies show that most Mestizos in Ecuador have a lot of indigenous ancestry.

Photographed in the Historic Center of Quito at the Old Military Hospital are these antique dug out canoes in the courtyard

Ancient Times: Ecuador's Early Cultures

Scientists divide Ecuador's ancient history into five main periods. These periods show how cultures developed over time. They are not tied to exact dates.

The Lithic Period: Early Hunters

This period covers the very first people who came to the Americas. They were called Paleo-Indians. They hunted large animals like mammoths. This time ended when these big animals died out.

The Archaic Period: Adapting to Change

During this time, people started hunting smaller animals. They also gathered more plants. They began to grow plants like corn and squash in small gardens. In the Andes mountains, this period lasted from about 7,000 to 3,500 years ago.

The Formative Period: Settled Village Life

This period began when people started farming a lot. They lived in settled villages. Trade networks also grew, and different styles of pottery spread. This period started around 3,500 years ago and ended about 2,200 years ago.

Regional Development: Complex Societies Emerge

From about 2,200 to 1,300 years ago, different civilizations grew in the Sierra region. These groups had complex ideas and social systems. They became skilled in working with metals, weaving, and making pottery.

The Integration Period: Large Urban Centers

This period, from about 1,450 to 450 years ago, saw cultures become more similar. Big cities developed, and society became more organized with different social classes. Farming became very intensive. This period ended when the Inca conquered the area.

Paleo-Indians: Ecuador's First People

The oldest tools found in Ecuador are stone tools from about 11,000 years ago. They were found on the Santa Elena Peninsula. These tools show that early people were hunters and gatherers. They hunted large animals using their stone tools.

Other signs of early hunters and gatherers have been found in different parts of Ecuador. Most early settlements were in the Sierra (Andean) region. One important site is El Inga, where tools from 9,750 years ago were found.

In the South, stone tools and animal bones were found in the Cave of Chobshi. These date back over 10,000 years. This cave also shows that dogs were domesticated there. Another site, Cubilán, has tools from over 9,000 years ago.

In the Oriente (Eastern) region, people have lived there for at least 2,450 years. However, most evidence suggests that people settled there later than in the Sierra or on the Coast.

The Start of Farming in Ecuador

After the Ice Age, the environment changed. The large animals that Paleo-Indians hunted died out. Humans then started to rely more on farming. This change happened slowly over a long time. It also brought changes in how people buried their dead, made art, and used tools.

Some of the first farmers in Ecuador were the Las Vegas culture on the Santa Elena Peninsula. They also fished a lot. They helped to domesticate plants like squash. They had special burial rituals and gardened a lot.

The Valdivia culture grew from the Las Vegas culture. It was an important early civilization. They were known for their pottery, which was used for daily life and also for art. They made small female figures called "Venuses."

The Valdivia people grew maize (corn), a type of bean, cotton, and achira. They also likely grew maté, coca, and manioc. Fish was a big part of their diet. Later, their life expectancy dropped to about 21 years. This was likely due to more diseases, waste, and a poorer diet, all linked to living in larger farming communities.

In the Sierra, people grew local crops like tree beans, potatoes, quinoa, and tarwi. They also farmed crops from the coast and north, such as ají (chili peppers), peanuts, and maize. They raised animals like llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. This started a tradition of herding animals that continues today.

In the Oriente, evidence of corn farming dates back 6,250 years. In Morona-Santiago, people from the Regional Development period lived in the Upano Valley. They made pottery, farmed, hunted, and gathered. They also built large earthen mounds. Some mounds were for farming or homes, while bigger ones were for ceremonies. The many mounds show that the Oriente could support large populations.

Metalworking Skills Develop

The period from about 2,450 to 1,450 years ago is known for the development of metalworking. Artisans from La Tolita island were skilled at mixing platinum and gold. They made tiny figures and masks. Other groups on the Ecuadorian coast also worked with metals. These metal goods were traded through different networks.

Life Before the Inca Empire

Before the Inca arrived, indigenous groups in Ecuador had complex ways of life. They had different social, cultural, and economic systems. Groups in the central Sierra were often more advanced in farming and trade. People on the Coast and in the Oriente often specialized in making goods from local materials for trade.

Coastal Communities

Coastal peoples continued the traditions of earlier groups. The Machalilla and later the Chorrera cultures improved the pottery styles of the Valdivia culture.

Oriente's Forest Dwellers

The people of the Oriente mostly relied on forest resources. They also did some gardening. They used dyes from the achiote plant for face paint. They also made curare poisons for blowgun darts from other plants. They had complex religious beliefs and made coiled pottery.

Map showing settlements prior to the Inca conquest

Sierra's Mountain Farmers

In the Sierra, important groups included the Pasto, the Caras, the Panzaleo, the Puruhá, the Cañari, and the Palta. They lived on hillsides and used terrace farming to grow corn, quinoa, beans, potatoes, and squash. They also developed irrigation systems. Their political system involved chieftains and a land-holding system called curacazgo. This system helped manage planting and harvesting crops at different times.

Sierra Economy: Trade and Specialization

The Sierra people thrived using a system called multicyclic agriculture. This allowed them to harvest many different crops all year by planting at various altitudes and times. Different cities began to specialize in producing certain goods. Dry valleys became important for growing cotton, coca, ají (chili peppers), and fruits, and for producing salt. Sometimes, tribes farmed lands outside their immediate area. These goods were then traded in two types of markets.

Regular trade happened in markets called "tianguez." Here, people bought and sold everyday items like tubers, corn, and cotton. However, special trade was done by experts called mindala. They worked under the direction of a curaca (chief). They also traded at the tianguez, but they focused on goods used for ceremonies, such as coca, salt, gold, and beads. Seashells were sometimes used as money in some places, like Pimampiro. Salt was used as money in other areas where it was plentiful, like Salinas.

Political Organization: Family and Chiefs

The basic unit of society was the extended family, where having multiple spouses was common. This family group is called an "ayllu" in the Kichwa language. However, this type of organization existed before Kichwa speakers arrived. Two political systems were built on the ayllu: the curacazgo and the cacicazgo. Each curacazgo had one or more ayllu. Ecuadorian ayllus were small, usually around 200 people, though some had up to 1,200 members. Each ayllu had its own leader. However, each curaca also reported to a main chief (cacique). The chief's power came from his ability to organize people for work. He kept his power by giving valuable goods to the members of his curaca.

Religion: Local Beliefs and Shared Traditions

Local beliefs and practices existed alongside regional ones. This allowed each group to keep its own religious identity while trading with neighbors. Some common beliefs included using the solar calendar to mark seasons. People also honored the sun, moon, and corn.

The Inca Conquest of Ecuador

The Inca Empire began to expand into what is now Ecuador around 1463. The Inca ruler Pachacuti started the conquest. His son Topa took control of the army and conquered the Quitu people. He then moved towards the coast. Later, his son Huayna Capac conquered the people of Puná Island and the Guayas coast. This brought Ecuador into the Inca Empire, known as "Tawantinsuyu."

Many tribes fought against the Inca. These included the Cañari in the south and the Caras and Quitu in the north. However, the Inca language (Quechua) and social structures became common, especially in the Sierra. To control the people, the Inca sometimes moved groups of loyal Quechua-speakers to areas that resisted. This system was called mitma. The Saraguros in Loja may have come from groups moved by the Inca.

Some experts disagree about how much the Inca influenced the indigenous people of Ecuador.

The Spanish Arrive

In 1534, when the first Spanish explorers arrived, about one million people lived in what is now Ecuador. This number might have been lower because diseases like smallpox and diphtheria had already spread in the Andes. These diseases came after the first contacts with Spanish explorers. Early Spanish records say that the Inca ruler Huayna Capac died of smallpox. This led to a civil war between two brothers, Huáscar and Atahualpa, who both wanted to rule.

Huáscar was a prince from a noble family in Cuzco. Atahualpa was the son of a noble family from the Quitus, a tribe that had allied with the Incas. Many of Huayna Capac's generals supported Atahualpa.

The Rubber Boom: A Difficult Time

In the 1800s, there was a huge demand for rubber around the world. Western countries wanted to create rubber industries. They partnered with the Amazon region because two high-quality rubber trees, the Hevea and Castilloa, grew there.

The Mestizos, who were seen as more important in Ecuador, got involved in this trade. They saw a chance to make quick money. As the rubber industry grew, the Mestizos, known as Caucheros (rubber barons), needed many workers for low pay. They turned to the indigenous people. Indigenous people knew the land well and were used to the climate.

Sadly, the enslavement of indigenous people became widespread. Groups called Muchachos, who were African men hired by the Caucheros, took natives from their homes. Indigenous people were forced to work in the rubber industries through fear. They had to meet strict rubber production goals.

If workers did not meet their goals, they were punished severely. Common punishments included whipping, hanging, and being put in a cepo. In a cepo, workers were chained in painful positions without food or water. More extreme punishments included shooting workers who tried to escape or became too sick to work.

Workers were paid very little. They were put into a system called "debt-peonage." They had to work for a long time to pay back debts for tools, clothes, and food given to them by the Caucheros. This often meant they worked their whole lives for the rubber barons. They usually only received a small item, like a hammock, while the rest of their pay went to their employer. The government did little to stop this, often due to bribes. The Rubber Boom ended in 1920 when rubber prices dropped, and the enslavement of indigenous people stopped.

Indigenous Peoples in Modern Ecuador

There is some debate about how many indigenous people live in Ecuador today. Some estimates say around two million, while others, like the CONAIE organization, suggest closer to four million. The difference comes from how people are counted.

About 96.4% of Ecuador's indigenous population are Highland Quichuas. They live in the Sierra region and speak Quichua. These groups include the Caranqui, Otavaleños, Cayambi, Pichincha, Panzaleo, Chimbuelo, Salasacan, Tungurahua, Tugua, Waranka, Puruhá, Cañari, and Saraguro. Some evidence suggests the Salascan and Saraguro might be descendants of groups moved from Bolivia by the Inca.

Coastal groups, like the Awá, Chachi, and Tsáchila, make up a small part of the indigenous population (0.24%). The remaining 3.35% live in the Oriente. These include the Oriente Quichua (Canelo and Quijos), the Shuar, the Huaorani, the Siona–Secoya, the Cofán, and the Achuar.

Politics and Indigenous Rights

In 1986, indigenous people formed their first major national political group. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has been a very important political organization since then. It has played a role in removing presidents, like Abdalá Bucaram in 1997 and Jamil Mahuad in 2000.

In 1998, Ecuador signed an international law about indigenous peoples. This law is the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (ILO Convention 169).

Oil Operations and the Environment

Oil production in Ecuador began in 1978. Texaco was a main international oil company that exported oil from Ecuador's coast from 1971 to 1992. The Ecuadorian government and Texaco worked together in the Oriente region. Large oil shipments started in 1972 after the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline was built. Ecuador quickly became the second-largest oil producer in South America.

Texaco's oil contract ended in 1992. PetroEcuador then took over all oil production. During Texaco's time, about 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil were extracted. However, there were also reports of 19 billion gallons of waste dumped into the environment without proper monitoring. Additionally, 16.8 million gallons of crude oil spilled from the pipeline.

In the early 1990s, Ecuadorian government officials sued Texaco for 1.5 billion dollars. They claimed there was massive pollution that harmed the environment and caused more human illnesses. A study in 1994 found a rise in health problems in oil-producing areas. It showed a higher rate of cancer in both women and men where oil production had been active for over 20 years. Women also reported more skin infections, sore throats, headaches, and stomach problems.

In 2001, Chevron took over Texaco. Chevron then inherited the lawsuit. In February 2011, Chevron was found responsible and ordered to pay 9 billion dollars in damages. This was one of the largest environmental lawsuit awards ever recorded.

Differences in Pay and Social Challenges

Ecuador has a history of Spanish colonization, where indigenous people were enslaved and exploited. This led to a very unequal society. Even though there have been efforts to reduce this inequality, like making indigenous languages official in 1998, differences still exist. Ecuador declared itself a "plurinational and intercultural" country in 2008.

Understanding the reasons for this inequality is important. While some people believe economic differences are due to a lack of effort from minority groups, many more believe it comes from discrimination.

Latin America has some of the biggest income gaps in the world. The difference in wealth between ethnic groups is due to education levels and discrimination. Research shows that indigenous people in Ecuador are more likely to live in poverty and face discrimination. The percentage of indigenous people living in poverty is 4.5 times higher than non-indigenous people.

Lack of education is a major reason for this economic inequality. Indigenous people often have fewer years of formal education. On average, indigenous people have 4.5 years of schooling, while non-indigenous people have 8 years. Indigenous students are less likely to stay in school, partly because they live in rural areas and often need to work.

Indigenous people also face social exclusion. Racist terms like "cholo" and "longo" are sometimes used, which are hurtful. While old systems of forced labor no longer exist, and indigenous people can vote, they still face daily discrimination. Indigenous people often feel vulnerable to physical and verbal attacks. This can make them more reserved and avoid contact with white people. For example, an indigenous person claimed they were told to leave a restaurant because "no Indians [were] admitted." Racism can be seen in public transportation, public spaces, and even in some indigenous people wishing they were white.

See also

In Spanish: Pueblos indígenas de Ecuador para niños

• Dolores Cacuango, Ecuadorian indigenous rights activist