Valbina’s background
Spanish
Valbina Miguel Toribio es una lideresa, traductora-intérprete oficial, activista y artista del pueblo Yanesha’ de la Amazonía peruana. Su labor se centra en la promoción, protección y difusión de los saberes ancestrales Yanesha’, con un enfoque especial en el patrimonio cultural, el arte y la lengua. Ha representado a su pueblo en diversos congresos, coloquios y eventos culturales en Perú, Bolivia, Panamá, Guatemala, Francia y Chile.
Es cofundadora de Oñekër, una asociación de artesanas Yanesha’, y de Corazones Solidarios, que apoya a mujeres indígenas en la defensa de sus derechos y su autonomía económica. También es subdirectora de AMAZONARTE, organización que impulsa el activismo amazónico a través del muralismo. En reconocimiento a su labor, el Congreso de la República la distinguió en 2019, y en 2024 fue nombrada Persona Meritoria de la Cultura. Actualmente, lidera iniciativas de revitalización del conocimiento Yanesha’, incluyendo el hilado de algodón, la pesca, la caza, los cantos, las danzas y la transmisión intergeneracional de la lengua.
English
Valbina Miguel Toribio is a leader, official translator-interpreter, activist, and artist of the Yanesha’ people of the Peruvian Amazon. Her work focuses on the promotion, protection, and dissemination of ancestral Yanesha’ knowledge, with a special focus on cultural heritage, art, and language. She has represented her people at various conferences, colloquia, and cultural events in Peru, Bolivia, Panama, Guatemala, France, and Chile.
She is the co-founder of Oñekër, an association of Yanesha’ artisans, and of Corazones Solidarios, which supports Indigenous women in defending their rights and economic autonomy. She is also the deputy director of AMAZONARTE, an organization that promotes Amazonian activism through muralism. In recognition of her work, the Congress of the Republic honored her in 2019, and in 2024 she was named a Meritorious Person of Culture. Currently, she leads initiatives to revitalize Yanesha’ knowledge, including cotton spinning, fishing, hunting, singing, dancing, and intergenerational language transmission.
About the Yanesha project
This project aims to create a bilingual (Yanesha-Spanish) dictionary that preserves and shares the ancestral knowledge of the Yanesha people. Yanesha’ (Yaneshac̈h/Yanešač̣; literally “we the people”), also called Amuesha or Amoesha, is spoken by approximately 9,800 people in central and eastern Pasco Region, Peru. Organized into key thematic areas—plants, animals, crafts, music, traditional tools, and games—the dictionary will document not only Yanesha vocabulary but also cultural contexts, historical significance, and ecological wisdom. Through interviews with Yanesha elders, audiovisual recordings, and detailed descriptions, this resource will serve as a bridge between generations, strengthening cultural identity and linguistic heritage.
Beyond documentation, the project seeks to promote the dictionary’s use within Yanesha communities, especially among young people, through schools and local initiatives. With potential support from organizations like Wikitongues, the dictionary will be published both physically and digitally, ensuring global accessibility and contributing to broader language revitalization efforts.