Waorani Triumph Defending Amazon Lands
“Nature is the truest testament to the essence of life, and within its rhythms, indigenous communities find not just sustenance but the very fabric of their existence. To disrupt this harmony for fleeting gains is to gamble with the soul of humanity itself.”
Much like the timeless dance of tides, some individuals can’t resist disrupting the rightful order of things. Driven by an insatiable craving for oil and the earth’s treasures, they recklessly tread upon the sacred rights of indigenous communities, callously disregarding their autonomy and profound ancestral ties to the land.
On April 26th, a powerful procession of hundreds of Waorani men and women celebrated a recent judicial decree in Puyo, the capital of Ecuador’s eastern province. The decree rejected the government’s attempt to auction their sacred lands for oil exploration without explicit consent. The Waorani, nestled in the heart of the roadless rainforest, reclaimed their inalienable right to self-governance, declaring their lands as a sovereign domain.
Nemonte Nenquimo, a strong Waorani leader, declared their arrival as a stand for liberty and self-determination. Through WhatsApp, she emphasized the court’s acknowledgment of the government’s transgressions and the Waorani’s commitment to protecting their natural sanctuary from the intrusion of oil.
In February, the Waorani, with the support of the Ecuadorian Ombudsman, launched a legal battle against the government. Their claim focused on the government’s failure to consult properly before exposing their lands to potential oil exploration. Ecuador’s controversial move to auction vast Amazon tracts without sufficient consideration for environmental and indigenous concerns prompted this legal action. Despite the temporary exclusion of Waorani territory from the immediate auction in 2018, the looming threat of future drilling operations remained.
The path to governance remained uncertain. In March, a group of Waorani women concluded a hearing with a protest through song, expressing discontent with the trial’s conditions. They raised objections to its location in Puyo, distant from Waorani villages, and the absence of a court-approved translator. Many Waorani representatives appeared in traditional attire, adorned with red stripes on their cheeks and eyebrows. Singing a song that highlighted their traditional role as guardians of the forest, they captivated the judge and lawyers, leading to the adjournment of the session, now rescheduled for April.
At the heart of the lawsuit was the Waorani tribe’s assertion that the government failed to adequately consult their community regarding the oil auction. Nenquimo shared those representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Resources who visited her village in 2012 seeking community approval for the auction, but she and her family were on a hunting trip and missed the meeting. Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, an NGO addressing sovereignty and environmental issues with indigenous groups, emphasized that consultations were treated as a mere checkbox rather than a substantive discussion about the impact of introducing oil extraction to critical forest and river territories for hunting and fishing. Anderson highlighted that language barriers and brief visits made the process opaquer.
On the 26th of April, a trio of judges delivered a verdict favoring the Waorani, asserting that the procedure failed to grant them genuine, anticipatory, and well-informed consent. Consequently, their territories were deemed exempt from the impending oil auction. This decision may reverberate across other indigenous communities confronting the specter of potential oil exploration on their ancestral lands. Maria Espinoza, a legal advocate for the Waorani, underscored in a formal statement that the ruling signifies a broader precedent: “The state is precluded from auctioning the lands of the remaining six indigenous communities in the southern Amazon, all of whom are ensnared in an unconstitutional and defective prior consultation process.”
In narratives featured in “Land of Resistance,” physical threats manifest in various ways. An indigenous community in Ecuador faced forced eviction from their village by mining operators. In Peru, a local community near the Colombian border was compelled to cultivate coca. While reporters didn’t feel threatened in the field, Bermudez Livanos noted they took precautions to protect sources, often conducting interviews in external locations, “away from the eyes of danger,” to avoid being seen talking to reporters.
Bermudez Livanos noted that the group’s database, relying on reports from non-governmental organizations and government officials, is incomplete. Nevertheless, he sees it as a crucial starting point to document the ongoing crisis, showcasing how ethnic minorities become targets for oil companies, loggers, illegal miners, and drug cartels.
In the weeks following the project’s release, acts of violence persisted. In Coloradas de la Virgen, a community in northern Mexico protesting illegal logging and drug trafficking, two activists were killed — both relatives of a local leader named Julian Cariou, whose story was documented by “Land of Resistance” after he died in 2018. In Colombia, Frances Marquez, one of the project’s featured leaders, experienced a physical assault. Bermudez Livanos pointed out the unsettling duality in these stories: “Latin America boasts incredible biological diversity and natural beauty. But we also witness a significant number of violent attacks on those who care for these resources.”
Against this backdrop, the Waorani’s courtroom victory shines. Nenquimo shared that on the night before the verdict, she dreamt of the case and woke up feeling confident about their win. Carrying her spear into the courtroom as a symbol, she felt the determination of her blood and ancestors who protected their lands at the tip of the spear. Overwhelmed with joy when the judgment was delivered, she expressed, “We showed that the government respects us, respects other indigenous peoples around the world, that we are guardians of the forest, and we will never sell our lands.”
The next day, the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Resources in Ecuador announced on Twitter a plan to appeal the decision. However, after the verdict, the atmosphere among the gathered Waorani in the courtroom was celebratory. I spoke with Anderson and Nenquimo via video call as they embarked on their celebratory march through Puyo. The sun was shining brightly as the group moved away from the courtroom. Nenquimo sang, tears welling in her eyes. Their cellphone battery was low, and they quickly logged out. Nenquimo waved in front of the camera and continued walking.
Envision a community deeply entrenched in its cultural heritage, leading a hunter-gatherer existence intricately tied to the rainforest for sustenance and resources. Their very physiology has evolved to harmonize with the nuances of their environment, while a robust social fabric thrives within tight-knit, extended family groups, flourishing through the richness of oral traditions, storytelling, and music. Yet, looming on the horizon is an ominous threat that has the potential to unravel the very fabric of their lives — a threat posed by the encroaching specter of oil exploration.
