Paper short abstract:

In examining how Waorani people constitute themselves as Ecuadorians, politicians and students while they assert themselves as part of a Waorani collective history, I focus on youth alcohol consumption and the use of video as technologies that mediate youth relations with older kin and outsiders.

Paper long abstract:

It is difficult to underestimate the seemingly radical transformations many young people in Amazonia have experienced in recent years - whether as a result of formal education, new forms of economic development, or migration to urban areas. Alongside the apparent "generation gap" that has appeared between younger and older generations, the intensification of intercultural relations in Amazonia also reveals a strong sense of resilience and cultural continuity in the face of ongoing transformations. In this paper examine new and old technologies and practices by which young Waorani people constitute themselves as Ecuadorians, politicians and students at the same time as they assert themselves as part of a specifically Waorani collective history. I focus particularly on the differences between the consumption of manioc beer and strong alcoholic beverages, as well as the increasing use of video cameras by Waorani youth, as technologies that mediate between the expectations of older kin, outsiders, and ultimately the hopes and desires of young people. While these processes indicate some of the difficult challenges young people in Amazonia face today, I argue that they also reveal a creative potential to transcend the age-old stereotypes and notions of "culture" and "heritage" by which non-indigenous people tend to understand Amazonia.