Women behind the lens: The women watched the fuel tanker advance with uncertainty and fear'

"The Siekopai Nation, which has historically occupied territories along the northern border between Ecuador and Peru, was separated and displaced during the 1941 border war between the two countries, a conflict with consequences that extended into the 1990s. According to Justino Piaguaje, leader of the Siekopai in Ecuador, the nation's original population was close to 20,000 but diseases brought by colonisers, Jesuit missions, conditions of slavery during the rubber boom, and the impacts of the oil industry led to a drastic decline."

"The Kenao Productive Women's Association, which was founded in 2022 by 26 Siekopai female artisans to promote Indigenous women's participation and economic autonomy. They were welcomed by the Kenao Productive Women's Association in Siekoya Remolino, a community that has remained free from oil extraction, mining and African palm monocultures."

"Meeting the Kenao women and the Siekopai Nation transformed my understanding of territory, not as landscape, but as a living body and collective memory. The Siekopai people have lived for generations along the Aguarico and its tributaries: clay rivers whose mineral-rich sediments are essential for soil fertility, fish reproduction and forest regeneration."

The Siekopai Nation, historically occupying territories along the Ecuador-Peru border, experienced severe population decline from colonization, slavery, disease, and oil industry impacts, reducing from approximately 20,000 to roughly 800 in Ecuador and 1,200 in Peru. In June 2025, Siekopai women gathered for a Binational Ceramics Gathering in Siekoya Remolino, a community protected from oil extraction, mining, and agricultural monocultures. The Kenao Productive Women's Association, founded in 2022 by 26 female artisans, facilitates Indigenous women's economic participation and autonomy. The Aguarico River and its tributaries provide mineral-rich clay essential for soil fertility, fish reproduction, and forest regeneration, representing territory as living body and collective memory rather than mere landscape.

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