"Nina Gualinga is a Kichwa environmental and Indigenous rights activist from Sarayaku, a community in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In Waska, the Ecuadorian filmmaker Boloh Miranda and the Kichwa filmmaker Elizabeth Swanson Andi capture Gualinga reflecting on the forms of extractivism and commodification imposed on her people from the world beyond it. This includes their territory, long exploited by oil companies and the Ecuadorian government,"
"In voiceovers and in conversation with members of her community, Gualinga draws a connection between ancestral and spiritual knowledge and Sarayaku's long resistance to oil companies, whose incursions threaten both territory and tradition. In doing so, the film reveals the ways in which environmental justice and Indigenous rights struggles are profoundly intertwined, as well as the deep resilience of the Sarayaku people."
Nina Gualinga, a Kichwa activist from Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, reflects on extractivism and commodification imposed by oil companies and state forces on her people. She connects ancestral and spiritual knowledge, including hayakwaska (ayahuasca), to Sarayaku's sustained resistance against incursions that threaten territory and tradition. Voiceovers and conversations with community members show how sacred practices face commodification through tourism by people lacking ties to ceremonial frameworks. The account demonstrates the interdependence of environmental justice and Indigenous rights and documents Sarayaku's resilience in defending land, cultural integrity, and spiritual practices against external exploitation.
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