Over a half-century ago, Iteca, a Waorani warrior who confronted any oilmen he encountered in the Ecuadorian Amazon—even allegedly spearing some to death—was killed by rubber tappers. One of his granddaughters, Hueiya Alicia Cahuiya, a 47-year-old Waorani leader and rainforest-protection advocate, was born after he died and so did not know him. But she says oil operations in an area now within Ecuador’s prized Yasuní National Park have made her think of him every day. “Oilmen and loggers destroyed my grandfather’s home, where there was rainforest, animals, birds, rivers, the cemeteries of our ancestors,” she told EcoAméricas this month. “They installed [drilling] platforms, fuel stations, opened roadways, and took our home from us.” Cahuiya, though, says she has rested easier since Aug. 20. That’s when Ecuadorians voted 5.5 million to 3.8 million, or 59% to 41%, to permanently shut down oil operations in the... [Log in to read more]