The Achuar: Visionary Warriors of the Amazon

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, spanning the borders of modern-day Ecuador and Peru, the Achuar people have lived and thrived for centuries.

Traditionally warriors with a fierce devotion to their land, they kept their sophisticated culture and worldview remarkably intact as late as the mid-20th century.

In Achuar culture, dreams are a guiding principle of life, shared each morning before sunrise. Shamans play an important role in the spiritual life of Achuar communities, including the interpretation of dreams.

But not all dreams are sweet. Dreams can often require facing and transforming that which you most fear.

The Nightmare of Oil Development

Since the early 20th century, individuals and corporations from the so-called “modern” world have sought to exploit Achuar land for its oil, disregarding its irreplaceable ecological and cultural wealth.

By the early 1990s, Achuar shamans and elders were having dreams of an imminent threat to their land and traditional way of life.

From contact with neighboring tribes, the Achuar knew that oil companies were poisoning the rainforest and everything alive in it, steadily moving closer and closer to their home.

The Eagle and the Condor

The Achuar were also influenced by their understanding of an ancient prophecy about the Eagle and the Condor, shared by many Andean and Amazonian cultures.

According to this prophecy, we are at a moment in history when the Eagle – representing the best of the intellect and the mind – and the Condor – representing the best of wisdom and the heart – must come together to ensure the continued existence of humankind.

An Invitation to Allies in the Modern World

Emboldened by this prophecy and their warrior history, the Achuar made the courageous decision to reach out to the modern world that was threatening their very existence.

In 1995, a group of people, including John Perkins, Bill and Lynne Twist, traveled to the rainforest at the invitation of Achuar leaders to learn more.

The Achuar shared with this group the urgent threat to their lands and culture, their vision for self-determination, and a request for allies from the North who would “change the dream of the modern world” – shift our culture of overconsumption to a culture that honors and sustains life.

This group committed to a partnership with the Achuar, and, upon their return to the United States, Bill and Lynne Twist co-founded The Pachamama Alliance to carry out their commitment.

Ecuador: A High-Stakes Microcosm of World Systems

With its wealth of natural resources, including minerals, metals, lumber and oil, Ecuador had been a highly coveted colony since at least the mid-16th century.

By the time The Pachamama Alliance was founded, Ecuador was still not completely in control of its own wealth. Policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank kept Ecuador caught in a debt cycle fueled by the oil demands of industrialized countries.

In the face of these economic and political pressures, merely halting individual instances of oil development was a never-ending battle. We needed to get to the root of the problem.

Changing the Dream of the Modern World

The realities of oil development underscored the importance of “changing the dream of the modern world” if we wanted to fulfill our commitment to the Achuar.

We began to bring other people from the modern world to the rainforest. Pachamama Journeys began in 1996, offering a direct experience of Achuar wisdom and the Pachamama vision.

These journeys also supported eco-tourism projects in Achuar territory, creating economic alternatives beyond selling land to oil companies.

Early Success with Our Indigenous Partners

Fundación Pachamama was set up in 1997 as our sister organization in Ecuador to carry out work with our indigenous partners.

Their initial efforts provided legal and technical expertise to strengthen indigenous self-governance and preserve their lands and cultures, including mapping, land titling, and sustainable economic development.

Educating, Inspiring, and Waking People Up

While Pachamama Journeys and Fundacion Pachamama were a profound success, we continued to inquire for many years into how to make a widespread impact to “change the dream.”

In 2005, we launched the Awakening the Dreamer initiative, at the heart of which is a transformational education symposium.

Tens, hundreds, even thousands of people gather at these symposiums around the world to discover the value of ancient wisdom in addressing our modern crises, and their personal role in bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet.

Awakening the Dreamer has been held in at least 60 countries in 13 languages, with more than 3,500 volunteers offering the content.

Symposiums have been presented in homes, churches, businesses, community centers, and government agencies, and the reach of the Awakening the Dreamer message grows daily.

A New Expression of Warriorship

The Achuar are committed to maintaining their expert stewardship of the rainforest, taking a stand to preserve this invaluable resource on behalf of all life. They refuse to let humanity destroy itself.

Through our sister organization, Fundación Pachamama, we have supported the Achuar in gaining full title to nearly 1.8 million acres of rainforest. Widely respected for this success, Fundacion Pachamama has expanded to working with indigenous groups in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia.

As their allies, we continue to innovate education and advocacy initiatives in Ecuador and around the world.

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