ROOTED: Sapara Women (Re)Weave their Ancestral Knowledge to Reclaim Land Rights
Project Details:
Between badlands, seas and forests women emerge as a divine dance, bringing the mud from the bottom of the ocean, becoming the mother, reseeding the land while harvesting tobacco as a medicine, they speak of their bond with all living beings of the Earth to voice their own experiences. My intended assignment draws on concepts of gender, identity, territorial defense, and ecofeminism to portray Indigenous Sapara women land defenders. One intended goal is to create a photo essay of Sapara women who continue to join the women’s association called Yarishaya Itiumu – Blooming Women in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Another important goal is to invite women to be their own storytellers by photographing a set of polaroid portraits that will be collaboratively embroidered by the participating women with the aim to project personal and collective memories that infuse a sense of liberation. Embroidery will be used as a metaphor that unties the norms of oppression by weaving new narratives. A mending ritual that embraces the Sapara ancestral roots and reflects on Sapara women’s experiences from a place of resilience and autonomy. Woman’s bodies have witnessed and endured centuries of subjugation due to colonialism and inequality. In this project, photography becomes an act of (re)construction, a path to collectively show the reinforced relation with nature through traditional symbolism and imagery. This work will become the second chapter of my current long-term project in collaboration with Sapara communities.
Sapara indigenous people’s struggles have roots in the extensive attempts of illegal extraction of fossil fuels. Sapara women feel that the low level of inclusion in decision-making processes has deprived them of the strength to achieve territorial self-determination. In Ecuador, harmful climate policies continue to pass regardless of Indigenous communities’ opposition to the exploitation of natural resources in their land. On the other hand, local media outlets are silenced and have failed to accurately inform the public about the repercussions of the extractive industry. Instead, they centered on the idea that natural resources equal economic progress. Thus, my intended audience is the general public, Ecuadorian lawmakers, and local and international NGOs. I am the right storytelling for this project because of my close relationship with Sapara women and their communities. In 2020 with the collaboration of the founders of Yarishaya Itiumu – Blooming Women in the Llanchamacocha community located in the southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon I created my first ethnographic film as part of my master thesis project. From that first encounter, a beautiful relationship was born, and ever since I’ve been invited to continue documenting the Sapara’s way of life as a long-term project while collaborating as a visual storyteller to amplify Sapara women’s active involvement in territorial defense. I would be honored to carry out this assignment with the support of Photographers Without Borders.
About:
I am an Ecuadorian photographer, multidisciplinary artist, and visual anthropologist whose work focuses
on themes of identity and belonging, the body as a medium of expression, and the interconnectedness
between humans and nature. My research interests include Indigenous people’s animistic practices,
body-territory relations in connection to indigeneity, and the study of human/non-human relations
through dreams. For me, photography is a journey of self-discovery, connection, meditation,
understanding, and transformation. At the core of my practice, I incorporate collaborative methods of
storytelling and creatively use photography and filmmaking as powerful tools to raise awareness about
environmental issues, equality, and women’s rights. My first ethnographic film essay “Naku Ikinyu”
received the audience award from MAAN (Muestra de Anthropología Visual de Madrid) 7th
Edition-2021, and it was selected as one of two winners of the 2021 Graduate Student Award for
Outstanding Work offered by The Society for Visual Anthropology.
Contact:
Instagram: @tatianalopez_om
Location: Ecuadorian Amazon