At just six years old, Nemonte Nenquimo understood that there were two worlds. The first one was where her oko (a big house where she lived in the rainforest) existed. This world was lit by fire, and was where her family called her by her name, Nemonte, meaning “many stars.” The other world was where white men from an oil company watched her people from the sky in large airplanes and threatened their territory. It was also a world where evangelical missionaries called her “Inés.” Seremos Jaguares (We Will Be Jaguars) is the new book in which Indigenous leader Nenquimo narrates her memories and her campaign against oil companies in Waorani territory in Ecuador. Her struggle was born from efforts to conserve thousands of hectares of rainforest and biodiversity. The book, released this September, was co-authored by Mitch Anderson, executive director and co-founder of Amazon Frontlines. Anderson is also Nenquimo’s husband, with whom she has two young children. Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson, co-authors of Seremos Jaguares and co-founders of Amazon Frontlines. Image by Christopher Fragapane (Amazon Frontlines). “Our God, who gives us visions, is the jaguar. And when you die, you become one,” says the Waorani leader. “When we die, we’ll continue to live on in a spiritual sense, and we’ll continue to protect our territory, the land, and nature. I’m very happy about that because when I die someday, I’ll continue to be alive, traveling and caring for the land,” she says in a discussion about the title…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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