We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People

Nemonte Nenquimo details her life as a Waorani leader in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, documenting her transition from a childhood shaped by evangelical missionaries to her adulthood as an indigenous land defender. She describes the legal strategy and grassroots mobilization used to protect half a million acres of primary forest from oil extraction. The narrative contrasts the ecological intelligence of the Waorani—rooted in ancestral knowledge and a spiritual connection to the jaguar—against the industrial pressures of extractive corporations and government bureaucracy.

Readers interested in environmental litigation and indigenous sovereignty read this to understand the practical mechanics of forest preservation. The book serves as a primary source on how traditional ecological knowledge functions as a defense against industrial development. Those who study land rights walk away with a specific case study on winning legal victories against the state. It provides a clear view of the tension between global resource demand and the survival of isolated communities, offering a perspective on conservation that prioritizes indigenous autonomy over external management.