Written by: Kimberly White
The Amazonian Siekopai Nation has been granted ownership of their ancestral homeland in a landmark decision by an Ecuadorian appeals court.
After a lengthy legal battle with the Ecuadorian government, an Ecuadorian appeals court has ruled in favor of the Siekopai Nation, awarding the Siekopai ownership of more than three million acres of ancestral lands in Pë’këya.
“Throughout this case, we stood united as one nation – leaders, elders, and youth. This struggle has strengthened our culture. I feel proud to have recovered our territory for future generations,” said Mayra Piaguaje, Vice-President of the Siekopai Nation. “Our tears were not in vain.”
The Siekopai Nation had a strong case built on a robust foundation of irrefutable evidence and judicial arguments.
The Siekopai filed suit against the Ecuadorian government in September 2022. In May 2023, three judges from the Provincial Court of Sucumbios traveled to the community of San Pablo de Katëtsiaya in the Amazon rainforest to hear an appeal from members of the Siekopai Nation.
The judges heard powerful oral testimonies from elders, leaders, and youth, showcasing their sacred connection to their ancestral homeland and highlighting the importance of Pë’këya to the physical and cultural survival of the Siekopai.
During the hearing, the judges were also presented with 21 amicus curiae briefs from a diverse cohort of experts, including two former Ecuadorian Constitutional Court judges, anthropologists, ethnobotanists, historians, the regional office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and the Waorani of Pastaza and the A’i Cofán of Sinangoe, whose communities were victorious in their legal cases against Big Oil and gold mining.
“This is a historic moment for the Siekopai Nation. The land of Pë’këya has always been and will always be ours,” stated Elias Piyahuaje, President of the Siekopai Nation of Ecuador.
Following the verdict, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment must deliver a property title for more than 104,000 acres of Amazonian land. Additionally, the verdict mandates that the Ministry publicly apologize to the elders and youth of the Siekopai for disregarding and violating their collective territorial rights enshrined in both international law and Ecuador’s own Constitution.
A historic moment 80 years in the making
The groundbreaking verdict marks the first time the Ecuadorian government will deliver a land title to an Indigenous community whose ancestral territory is within a protected area.
The Siekopai Nation has been fighting for their territory since the early 1940s. Roughly three decades later, Ecuador incorporated a portion of the Siekopai’s territory into the Cuaybeno Wildlife Reserve- which expanded again in the 1990s- without the Siekopai’s consent.
As time continued, the Ecuadorian government failed to recognize the Siekopai as the ancestral stewards of Pë’këya, violating the Siekopai’s territorial rights recognized both in Ecuador’s Constitution and international law.
“For over 80 years, we have been fighting to get our land back. Despite all the evidence regarding our land title claim – even historians testified that our ancestors dwelled in the area since the time of conquest – the Ecuadorian government failed to uphold our land rights time and time again,” explained Piyahuaje. “We are fighting for the preservation of our culture on this planet. Without this territory, we cannot exist as Siekopai people.”
A major win for the Siekopai and a beacon of hope for other Indigenous nations
“This victory has been decades in the making, it has been a very long struggle against the government. Now, finally, the Siekopai’s dream of recovering their ancestral territory has been achieved,” said Maria Espinosa, Human Rights Defender and Lawyer at Amazon Frontlines.
Beyond Pë’këya, the verdict provides a beacon of hope for other Indigenous peoples in the Amazon region and across the globe.
The decision sets a critical legal precedent for other Indigenous communities seeking land titles formally recognizing ownership of their ancestral territories and homelands.
“For many years, the Ecuadorian government refused to guarantee the right of Indigenous peoples to legal security and ownership over territories in areas declared unilaterally protected by the State, violating their territorial rights,” explained Jorge Acero, Human Rights Defender and Lawyer at Amazon Frontlines. “This is a precedent that opens the door for the defense of all Indigenous territories across the Amazon, for the respect of the title over these territories, and thereby the guarantee of the physical and cultural survival of peoples and nationalities.”
“This groundbreaking precedent paves the way for other Indigenous communities who dream of recovering their territories within protected areas. Thanks to the Siekopai victory, they may now move forward with more ease,” added Espinosa.
Header Image Credit: Amazon Frontlines
