Remember Tomorrow

I visited the Waorani for the first time in 2018 while working with an NGO that directly helps this nationality, the most recently contacted of all Ecuadorian indigenous people. It was there that I met Naime Irunmenga, a woman, mother of three, and a warrior who works tirelessly to provide a better future for her children. Through her, I understood the complexity of the context in which her community lives.

We are witnessing the fragility of human beings in constant and inevitable transformation, and the innocence of those who are dragged by forces that most of us do not understand. An uncertain future for the youngest who no longer carry the ancestral knowledge of their grandparents, while being part of a society that seems to be breaking apart, and to which they are expected to adjust to.

This project is a long-term visual exploration of human nature, and the unpredictable future of the Waorani indigenous people who are part of a massive transformation, experiencing it from within the lungs of the Earth.

I intend this work to raise a sense of concern, awareness, but mostly hope in the future generations that will carry the weight of inevitable change in our human experience.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A portrait of Naime Irunmenga in the jungle.
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A portrait of Naime Irunmenga in the jungle.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A portrait of Juan Carlos, Naime's son, walking through the river next to their house.
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A portrait of Juan Carlos, Naime's son, walking through the river next to their house.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Power lines, a light bulb, and the moving forest.
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Power lines, a light bulb, and the moving forest.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Ismael, Naime's son taking a quick late-shower in the river next to their house.
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Ismael, Naime's son taking a quick late-shower in the river next to their house.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Shampoo soap floating on the river where Naime and her family bath, brush their teeth, do laundry, and clean dishes.
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Shampoo soap floating on the river where Naime and her family bath, brush their teeth, do laundry, and clean dishes.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A portrait of a Waorani woman with her school uniform.
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A portrait of a Waorani woman with her school uniform.

© Daniela Beltran B. - End of school-year ceremony.
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End of school-year ceremony.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A kid's hand grabbing a fence.
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A kid's hand grabbing a fence.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Children looking inside a tent.
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Children looking inside a tent.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Water footprints on wooden floor.
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Water footprints on wooden floor.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A portrait of Ismael, Naime's son on a natural water slide.
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A portrait of Ismael, Naime's son on a natural water slide.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Rays of sunlight shining through a traditional Waorani house.
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Rays of sunlight shining through a traditional Waorani house.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Children wave goodbye to a moving truck.
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Children wave goodbye to a moving truck.

© Daniela Beltran B. - A portrait of Guica, Naime's mother in law who is currently fighting cancer.
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A portrait of Guica, Naime's mother in law who is currently fighting cancer.

© Daniela Beltran B. - Oil extraction plant in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in Waorani territory.
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Oil extraction plant in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in Waorani territory.

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