Indigenous movements of Ecuador: Buen vivir and ecological struggle

This thesis examines Ecuador's indigenous movement which feed on the philosophy and values of environmen that are integrated with the concept of buen vivir (good living) and the holistic struggle for land and nature by the indigenous people Ecuador. Ecuador, which is a country of South America, is one of the most important countries at ecological diversity. The main economic resource is based on the oil economy. These oil reserves and ecological diversity are mostly concentrated on the Ecuadorian Amazons and Andean regions of Ecuador. These regions also host the indigenous peoples. Since 1990s, indigenous peoples, who have been excluded from social, economic, political, cultural areas in history of Ecuador, have rised up systematically and organized way. This study focuses on the following: Ecuador's indigenous movements after 1990, the involvement to the political process of indigenous peoples, new constitution (2008) making process, controversial positions taken by the governmet of Rafael Correa and indigenous peoples in the struggle for nature. It is argued that indigenous movement based on buen bivir can be considered as a movement carrying the identity of the ecological movement. Keywords: Good Living (Buen Vivir), 2008 Constitucion, 1990s Uprisings, Ecological Movement, Oil Economy.