Cristina Gualinga

Cristina Gualinga () is an Ecuadorian environmentalist and activist for indigenous people. She is known for her opposing oil development. She was the leader of activist organization Pacha Mama. She is a grandmother of Nina and Helena Gualinga. She is the mother of Noemí Gualinga. She is a part of a family tradition of environmental and indigenous rights activism.
Activism.
In the 1980s, American oil company ARCO/Oriente attempted to operate in the ancestral territory of the Kichwa Indigenous community of Sarayaku. It was in the south central region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Gualinga and the Sarayaku community organized protests that led to an end in oil operations on their land in 1989.
She is a member of the Original Kichwa People of Sarayaku. She was a leader of the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza. She took part in a 1992 March for the legalization of indigenous Amazonian territories. Under her leadership, the Sarayaku won a case against the Government of Ecuador. The case was for violating their right to Prior Consultation in the Indigenous Territories. She was one of nine women, defending ancestral lands against government and corporate exploitation. They were shown in a tall mural in Quito by artist Mona Caron.
Gualinga has spoken to people abroad regarding her community. In an 1996 visit to Florida, she was engaged in a speaking campaign at schools and churches. Her speeches were about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Millions of acres having been clearcut in the previous 22 years for oil exploration. She was speaking from a female perspective. She highlighted that oil companies dealt with the men of the tribe, marginalizing the women. She talked about a breakdown in social structure, with some leaving for the cities and young women beginning to engage in prostitution. The introduction of money, alcohol, and other goods, despoiled life in the formerly self-sufficient tribe. Oil spills contaminated the rivers. She has since continued speaking on indigenous rights and territories in the United States.
Sarayaku territory was authorized for oil exploration by the Ecuadorian government in a 1996 concession to Argentine oil company Compañía General de Combustible (CGC). Gualinga once again worked to protect her community. Cristina Gualinga, along with Patricia Gualinga, requested a legal support against the intrusion upon their lands. The soldiers and CGC security personnel threatened and harassed the Sarayaku. Four community leaders were allegedly tortured. The government officials threatened to militarize the town. The ultimately ruled in favor of the Sarayaku in 2012. It was in the court case she was present among a group of Sarayaku.