This dissertation initially utilizes the analogy of an Andean intellectual's magnum opus of resistant visual art and text created in the 1600s, to explore the impact of current global influences on the identity of Awajún and Wampís Amazonian students residing in Lima, the capital city of Perú. The participants in this study are urban Amazonian indigenous intellectuals applying to enter, currently studying in degree programs, or pursuing graduate degrees at local universities of Lima. Using an amalgamation of Photovoice and Photo-Elicitation components, digital photography, open-source applications, and computer technology, participants creatively expressed through their visual discourse what it means to be an Awajún or Wampís citizen of Perú during difficult times of conflictive global interests and unattended local needs. Between the time of preliminary fieldwork in the Amazonian communities in 2008, and the final interviews in Lima of 2010, violence erupted during a local road blockade in the Amazon that claimed the lives of Awajún/Wampís citizens and mestizo police officers alike. It is in that convoluted context where the dissertation delves into the views of the students and professionals regarding their own indigenousness, nationality, and "new" literacies, languages, and technologies that should be considered by the mestizo population and governments in order to make Perú a safer and more inclusive place for indigenous peoples from the Amazon.

Chichinmanum weamu, traducido como yendo a contracorriente, describe una experiencia por la cual atraviesan muchos jóvenes indígenas universitarios al enfrentar situaciones que afectan su bienestar. Esta investigación analiza si las condiciones en las que estudiaban seis jóvenes awajún en la Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana garantizaban ese bienestar. Con este propósito, utilizamos una metodología cualitativa y diferentes técnicas etnográficas como entrevistas, grupos focales, observaciones e historias de vida. Argumentamos que estar bien significaba para los estudiantes awajún contar con todos los servicios básicos, bienes y recursos que incluyen relaciones cercanas con sus compañeros y docentes. Al observar dichos aspectos, concluimos que los estudiantes awajún no estaban satisfechos. Sin embargo, el capital social desarrollado a través de la Organización de Estudiantes de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonia Peruana les garantizaba su sobrevivencia en Iquitos. / This article analyzes if life conditions in the National University of the Peruvian Amazon assured six young Awajun their well-being. It ponders several questions; what is the emic meaning of being well?, Could young migrants satisfy their socio-economic and affective needs?, which are the strategies used to perform as students? To answer these questions, a qualitative methodology and different ethnographic techniques such as interviews, focus groups, observations and life stories were used. And different actors such as student colleagues, teachers, university authorities, were observed and interviewed. The expression chichinmanum weamu, translated from Awajún as going against the current, describes a situation that many young natives who try to become graduates go through. Young Awajun thought that being good meant having all the basic services, goods and resources needed to develop as students, which also implied having fluid relationships with peers and teachers. The study reached the conclusion that young Awajun were not entirely satisfied. However, the social capital developed through the Student Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon did ensure their survival in Iquitos.

Desde hace algunos años, en la cuenca del río Cenepa (departamento de Amazonas, Perú), los comuneros awajún están luchando en contra de la actividad minera en la Cordillera del Cóndor, territorio donde se encuentran las cabeceras de los ríos que atraviesan su territorio. En las comunidades se ha revitalizado el mito de Kumpanam, un antepasado asociado a un cerro ubicado en los alrededores de las instalaciones de la compañía minera. En este artículo, quiero mostrar cómo el mito de Kumpanam cobra un nuevo significado en la actual coyuntura social y ambiental de la zona. El nuevo discurso indígena sobre Kumpanam brinda elementos para conceptualizar las interrelaciones entre «historia» y «mito». / In the last years the Awajún people, settled in the Río Cenepa watershed (Department of Amazonas, Peru) are struggling to defend their land from the impact of the mining activities in the Cordillera del Condor mountains. The myth of Kumpanan, an ancestor associated to the homonymous pick, located in the mining area, has been revitalized, with a new meaning, mirroring the current social and environmental contingency of the area. This contributes to rethink the linkages existing between «history» and «myth».