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In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian Antonia Ayeque stands outside her house in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. The Ashaninka are the largest indigenous group in Peruâs sparsely populated Amazon region but still account for less than 1 percent of the South American countryâs 30 million people. The people subsist largely on manioc, a diet they supplement with fish and wild rodents known as pacas. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__2_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian women gather around a communal pot to fill their bowls with a fish soup made with yuca and sweet potatoes, in the village Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. The Ashaninka are the largest indigenous group in Perus sparsely populated Amazon region but still account for less than 1 percent of the South American countrys 30 million people. The people subsist largely on yuca, a diet they supplement with fish and wild rodents known as pacas. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__14_]()
In this Sept. 26, 2013 photo, an Ashaninka Indian woman is silhouetted against a wall of flames caused by burning branches during a land clearing in Otari Nativo, Pichari district, Peru. Otari, one of 350 Ashaninka communities, lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world. Most inhabitants grow coca and chew it as their ancestors have. But they also resist efforts to fell their forests to plant coca for commercial use. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__3_]()
In this Sept. 26, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian Evelyn Vargas returns to her home after cutting firewood she will use to cook dinner for her family, in Otari Nativo, Pichari district, Peru. Otari, one of 350 Ashaninka communities, lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world. Most of Otaris inhabitants grow coca and chew it as their ancestors have. But they also resist efforts to fell their forests to plant coca for commercial use. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__7_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian girls walk through a forest path as they return to their village after shopping in the nearby village Kimkibiri Baja, Pichari district, Peru. The Ashaninka are the largest indigenous group in Perus sparsely populated Amazon region but still account for less than 1 percent of the South American countrys 30 million people. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__13_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian girls eat a breakfast of fish soup made with yuca and sweet potatoes in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. The Ashaninka are the largest indigenous group in Perus sparsely populated Amazon region but still account for less than 1 percent of the South American countrys 30 million people. The people subsist largely on yuca, a diet they supplement with fish and wild rodents known as pacas. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous]()
In this Sept. 26, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian elder Amadeo, 88, who is the father of 52 children, sleeps in his house in Otari Nativo, Pichari district, Peru. Perus Ashaninka Indians share the world's top coca-growing valley with drug traffickers, rebels, illegal loggers and, now, an increased military presence. The threats faced by the Ashaninka are not just military and economic but cultural. Ashaninka elders teach the new generations to appreciate the wilderness that sustained their ancestors, but many have given up on rainforest life and moved to cities. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__4_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, an Ashaninka Indian girl jumps off a communal sink that was provided by the government, in Kimkibiri Baja, Pichari district, Peru. One of 350 Ashaninka communities, Kimkibiri Baja lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world. The government is now boosting its military footprint in the valley in a bid to fight Shining Path remnants and the drug traffickers they protect. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__10_]()
In this Sept. 30, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian girls play soccer in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. The Ashaninka Indian world has rarely been peaceful. Perus Ashaninka Indians share the world's top coca-growing valley with drug traffickers, rebels, illegal loggers and, now, an increased military presence. During Perus 1980-2000 internal conflict, Shining Path rebels overran their lands and slaughtered them wholesale. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__12_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian Antonia Amadeo and her daughter Lourdes felled trees to make room for planting yuca, near Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. Kitamaronkani, one of 350 Ashaninka communities, lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world. Despite the wealth-producing crop around them, residents live a largely pre-industrial existence. According to 2011 Health Ministry figures, nearly half the children suffer from malnutrition. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__1_]()
In this Sept. 30, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian children wade in the natural hot springs in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. Their world has rarely been peaceful. During Perus 1980-2000 internal conflict, Shining Path rebels overran their lands and slaughtered them wholesale. The government is now boosting its military footprint in the valley in a bid to fight Shining Path remnants and the drug traffickers they protect. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__6_]()
In this Sept. 30, 2013 photo, an Ashaninka Indian boy pauses to pose for a photo as he returns on foot to his home after shopping in the nearby village Kimkibiri Baja, Pichari district, Peru. Kimkibiri Baja, one of 350 Ashaninka communities, lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world, sharing the world's top coca-growing valley with drug traffickers, rebels, illegal loggers and, now, an increased military presence. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__11_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian Antonia Amadeo cooks breakfast in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. One of 350 Ashaninka communities, Kitamaronkani lies in the Apurimac river valley, the No. 1 coca-producing valley in the world. Despite the wealth-producing crop around them, residents live a largely pre-industrial existence. According to 2011 Health Ministry figures, nearly half the children suffer from malnutrition. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__8_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, an Ashaninka Indian woman washes a pot in a stream in Kitamaronkani, Pichari district, Peru. Peru's Ashaninka Indians share the world's top coca-growing valley with drug traffickers, rebels, illegal loggers and, now, an increased military presence. The government is now boosting its military footprint in the valley in a bid to fight Shining Path remnants and the drug traffickers they protect. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Peru_Amazon_Indigenous__5_]()
In this Oct. 1, 2013 photo, Ashaninka Indian girls attend a public school in the Kinkibiri village, Pichari district, Peru. Ashaninka elders teach the new generations to appreciate the wilderness that sustained their ancestors, but many have given up on rainforest life and moved to cities. Elders also worry that their language, a member of the Arawak family, is disappearing. Area schools teach in Spanish. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)A Look Into The Lives Of Peru's Ashaninka Indians
The Ashaninka are the largest indigenous group in Peru's sparsely populated Amazon region but they account for less than 1 percent of the South American country's 30 million people.
Move Forward
- A Look Into The Lives Of Peru's Ashaninka Indians
