Nemonte Nenquimo

Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous activist and member of the Nation from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador. She is the first female president of the Waorani of Pastaza (CONCONAWEP). She is a co-founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance. In 2020, she was named in the Time 100 in the list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is the only Indigenous woman on the list. She is the second Ecuadorian to ever be named in its history. In recognition of her work, in 2020 the United Nations Environment Programme gave her the "Champions of the Earth" award in the category Inspiration and Action.
Nenquimo was associated with a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government. It was associated with a 2019 ruling that protects half a million acres of Waorani ancestral land in the Amazon rainforest from .
Early life and career.
Nenquimo was born in the community of Nemompare in 1985. She belongs to the Pastaza region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. She is a member of the Waorani Nation of hunter-harvesters.
In 2015, Nenquimo co-founded Ceibo Alliance. It is an Indigenous-led nonprofit to protect Indigenous lands from resource extraction. She was elected as the first female president of the Waorani organization of Pastaza province (CONCONAWEP) in 2018.
Love For Her Land.
Nenquimo has expressed a love for her land going back generations. Her community, the Waorani Nation, were first colonized in 1958 by Christian missionaries. Soon after in the 1960s, the Ecuadorian government was driven by oil. The government began building roads and destroying their forest.  The government has also divided Waorani land for oil extraction.  Most of the Ecuadorian Amazon has been affected by this. It was with six of the blocks given to oil companies belonging to the Waorani. One of these blocks is Nemompare, Nenquimo’s birthplace. As a result, the Waorani people have been forced to moved further into the forest in a fight to remain independent from the outside world.
Nemonte Nenquimo says that her people have felt the effects of climate change long before it became a mainstream talk.  She has also stated that "abuelas" (elderly Waorani women) have provided her with the knowledge and love to fight for change. 
2019 court ruling.
The Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest is home to many indigenous people. Many often claim that their rights, access to their land, and ability to make decisions has been denied by the government. As a result, as part of CONCONAWEP (Coordinating Council of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador-Pastaza), Nenquimo co-filed a lawsuit with Ecuador’s human rights activism against the Ecuadorian government.