a) The indigenous: They are the most ancienthuman group of Ecuador. Its presence goes back to ten or twelve thousand years. Indigenous cultures conserve characteristic traitsof its past, but they have not remained static. Throughout history, they have assimilated European, afro-descendant and mestizo cultural elements.Ecuadorian indigenous are diverse from mestizos and Afro-Ecuadorians but they are also diverse among them. There are, in the country, at least ten indigenous languages of people who have their own ways of life, clothing, customs, etc. The indigenous have been able to preserve their cultures thanks to their resistance. However, some elements of indigenous identity (rituals, clothing, language and festivities) are threatened. Increasingly, indigenous children and youth are adopting habits and consuming music, clothing and food promoted by the mass media, no longer using their native language and no longer practicing their customs. Migration from the countryside to the cities or abroad in search of work is the main cause.
