Sometimes a book comes at you late and hits you right in the feels. Example: Nemonte Nenquimo and her memoir “We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People.”
Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest — one of the last to be contacted by missionaries in the 1950s — Nenquimo had a singular upbringing.
She was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling and shamanism by her elders. At age 14, she left the forest for the first time to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city. Eventually, her ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture.
She listened.
Two decades later, Nenquimo has emerged as one of the most forceful voices in climate change activism. She has spearheaded the alliance of indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon and led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting over a half million acres of primary rainforest. Her message is as sharp as a spear—honed by her experiences battling loggers, miners, oil companies and missionaries.
In “We Will Be Jaguars,” published in 2024, Nenquimo partnered with her husband, Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, digging into generations of oral history, uprooting centuries of conquest, hacking away at racist notions of indigenous peoples and ultimately revealing an amazing life story as rich, harsh and vital as the Amazon rainforest herself.
The book is available on Amazon.
