Indigenous Leader1985–present

    Nemonte Nenquimo

    The Amazon Warrior Who Took Big Oil to Court

    Born in 1985 in Nemompare, in Ecuador's Pastaza Province, Nemonte Nenquimo is the Waorani leader who led the 2019 lawsuit that stopped the Ecuadorian government auctioning about half a million acres of her people's rainforest to oil companies, setting a precedent for Indigenous consent in the Amazon.

    • 19 min listen
    • Waorani leader
    • Goldman Prize winner
    • Rainforest defender
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    Nemonte Nenquimo’s full 19 min audio biography, The Amazon Warrior Who Took Big Oil to Court, is available on Lyfestori for iOS. Listen to a free preview below.

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    Full story

    A life in brief

    Nemonte Nenquimo: life and timeline.

    At a mission school she was taught that her people's beliefs were sinful. At twelve, travelling with her father, she saw the flames and polluted water of the oil fields. Nemonte Nenquimo went home, worked with Waorani communities and co-founded the Ceibo Alliance. In 2018 the Waorani of Pastaza elected her their first woman president, just as Ecuador prepared to auction their forest to oil companies. In April 2019 she and her people took the government to court in Puyo — and won.

    1. 1985

      Born in Pastaza

      Born in the Waorani community of Nemompare in Ecuador's Pastaza Province. Her name was chosen by her grandfather Piyemo, a renowned Waorani warrior.

    2. 1997

      Seeing the oil fields

      Around the age of twelve, travelling with her father, she sees flames, industrial noise and polluted water where oil companies are working. She later says the impact on her was very strong.

    3. 2013

      Meeting Mitch Anderson

      While working on rainwater harvesting projects she meets Mitch Anderson, an American who works with Amazonian communities. He later becomes her husband and co-author.

    4. 2014

      The Ceibo Alliance

      She co-founds the Ceibo Alliance, which unites A'i Kofan, Siona, Siekopai and Waorani communities to defend their territories from oil, mining and logging.

    5. 2018

      First woman president

      The Waorani organisation of Pastaza, CONCONAWEP, elects her its first female president, just as Ecuador prepares to offer new oil concessions in the southern Amazon, including Block 22 on Waorani land.

    6. 2019

      The lawsuit

      With Ecuador's human rights ombudsman, the Waorani sue the government, arguing that a 2012 consultation never gave them free, prior and informed consent. Nenquimo is a lead plaintiff.

    7. 2019

      Victory in Puyo

      In April a three-judge panel of the Pastaza Provincial Court voids the 2012 consultation and blocks the auction of Waorani territory. Hundreds of Waorani in traditional dress celebrate in the streets.

    8. 2019

      Upheld on appeal

      In July an appeals court upholds the ruling, confirming protection for about half a million acres of rainforest.

    9. 2020

      Global recognition

      She receives the Goldman Environmental Prize, is named to the TIME 100 and the BBC's 100 Women, and becomes a UN Environment Programme Champion of the Earth.

    10. 2020

      A letter to the West

      In October The Guardian publishes her open letter to Western leaders, arguing that their civilisation is killing life on Earth.

    11. 2024

      We Will Be Jaguars

      Her memoir, written with Mitch Anderson, is published — as We Will Not Be Saved in the UK. In November it is chosen for Reese's Book Club.

    Major achievements

    Nemonte Nenquimo: major achievements.

    • 01

      Half a million acres protected

      The 2019 Pastaza ruling stopped the government auctioning Waorani territory to oil companies and ordered officials to be trained in proper consultation — a precedent for Indigenous communities in Ecuador.

    • 02

      First woman to lead the Waorani of Pastaza

      Her election as president of CONCONAWEP in 2018 put her at the head of the organisation just as the oil auction was being prepared.

    • 03

      The Ceibo Alliance

      Co-founded in 2014, it brought four Indigenous peoples together to protect their land and culture from extraction, working alongside the non-profit Amazon Frontlines.

    • 04

      The 2020 honours

      The Goldman Environmental Prize, a UN Champion of the Earth award in the Inspiration and Action category, a place on the TIME 100 and on the BBC's 100 Women list — all in one year.

    • 05

      A memoir with wide readership

      We Will Be Jaguars tells Waorani history and her own life. It was only the fourth memoir picked by Reese's Book Club.

    Turning points

    Nemonte Nenquimo: defining moments.

    • Childhood

      Two names, two worlds

      At home, elders sang stories by the fire, and her father told her the dead become spirit jaguars who remember everything. At the mission school, outsiders presented Waorani spirituality as sinful. She has described wanting, as a child, to look like the missionaries' children.

    • Teenage years

      Leaving the mission

      In her memoir she writes that she was sexually abused by a man who oversaw the mission environment where she studied, and that other Indigenous girls were abused too. She carried it silently for years. In her telling, dreams of her ancestors gave her the strength to leave and go home.

    • 2018

      Taking the presidency

      Elected to lead the Waorani of Pastaza, she had no money and no state power, only years of organising and the trust of Waorani families. She chose lawyers rather than spears to defend the forest her grandfather had once guarded.

    • April 2019

      The courtroom in Puyo

      Hundreds of Waorani travelled by canoe, road and small plane to the hearings. When interpretation failed, women sang in protest because the people affected could not follow what was being said. The judges ruled the consultation invalid.

    The Earth does not expect you to save her, she expects you to respect her. And we, as Indigenous peoples, expect the same.

    Nemonte Nenquimo, open letter to Western leaders, The Guardian, October 2020

    What you’ll take away

    Lessons from Nemonte Nenquimo’s life.

    1. 01

      Consent is not a signature

      The government said it had consulted the Waorani in 2012. The court agreed with them that attendance and signatures without real understanding were not consent.

    2. 02

      Use the system's own tools

      Her grandfather defended the land with a spear. She used the Ecuadorian constitution, lawyers and the courts, and won where force could not.

    3. 03

      Respect, not rescue

      Her message to outsiders is that Indigenous peoples are not asking to be saved. They are asking for their rights, knowledge and territory to be respected.

    FAQ

    Frequently asked questions about Nemonte Nenquimo.

    Who is Nemonte Nenquimo?

    A Waorani Indigenous leader from the Ecuadorian Amazon. She was a lead plaintiff in the 2019 case that blocked the auction of Waorani territory to oil companies, and in 2020 she won the Goldman Environmental Prize.

    Where is Nemonte Nenquimo from?

    Nemompare, a Waorani community in Pastaza Province in Ecuador's Amazon region. Her people speak Wao Tededo, a language with no demonstrated link to any other language family.

    When was Nemonte Nenquimo born?

    In 1985. No exact date has been published. She was in her early thirties when she led the Waorani legal fight in 2019.

    What did Nemonte Nenquimo do?

    She helped lead a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government. In 2019 it voided a flawed 2012 consultation and protected about half a million acres of Waorani rainforest from an oil auction. She also co-founded the Ceibo Alliance and was the first woman to lead the Waorani organisation of Pastaza.

    Who is Nemonte Nenquimo's husband?

    Mitch Anderson, an American activist who founded the non-profit Amazon Frontlines. They met in 2013, co-founded the Ceibo Alliance and wrote her memoir together.

    What books has Nemonte Nenquimo written?

    One so far: a memoir written with Mitch Anderson. It was published in 2024 as We Will Be Jaguars in the US and as We Will Not Be Saved in the UK, and it was Reese's Book Club pick for November 2024.

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