Black Gold (Living in the Amazon)

Black Gold: Amazonian Petroleum Contamination

I lived in the Ecuadorian Amazon with the Cofan and Secoya indigenous nationalities in 2015-2016 studying the impacts of petroleum exploitation on health and culture. Through interviews, surveys, and living day-to-day in communities, I learned how detrimental Chevron Texaco’s oil operations (from the 1960s to the 1990s) were not only in terms of environmental and human health impacts, but also on indigenous knowledge systems. Since water was polluted, the Cofan and Secoya were forced to incorporate themselves in occidental society to earn money to pay for water and food and medicines. The spiritual life was also impacted.

The pollution damaged our roots to nature—we are losing our connections to the forest spirits that once raised us. We are part of nature—why do we seek to destroy ourselves?

Interview excerpt translated, Cofan Elder, 2016

I took this photo of Humberto Piaguaje's hand coming up from an open air pit left behind by Texaco in the 1970s

The Texaco-Chevron case is one of the most significant lawsuits in environmental history. From 1964 to 1992, Chevron’s predecessor Texaco Inc. produced over one billion barrels of crude oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Sawyer, 2004). In twenty-eight years, Texaco created thousands of kilometers of seismic grids, drilled 339 oil wells, built 18 production facilities, and abandoned between 800 and 1000 open waste pits (Buccina et al., 2014; Sawyer, 2014). Representatives of 30,000+ local Ecuadorian plaintiffs claim that the oil giant made “strategic decisions to maximize corporate profits,” which risked the lives of local indigenous people and thoroughly contaminated the environment (Cely, 2014). Defendants, by contrast, claim that the multinational was acting completely within the legal system, pointing to the Ecuadorian state as guilty of encouraging such outcomes. A few months ago, after a 22+ year legal battle, indigenous groups received a long-awaited favorable ruling holding the oil giant accountable to paying $9.5 billion in reparation costs (Mongabay, 2018; Korovkin, 2002). Time will tell if this ruling will withstand pressure.

Cofan medicinal healer, locally known as the "Shaman"

Texaco doesn't operate in the Amazon anymore, but now Ecuador's PetroEcuador uses the same pipes and networks. This flame is one of dozens in the area running 24 hours per day, and is much smaller than others I saw

I am not a lawyer, and I am not interested in legal loopholes or courtrooms. I am much more concerned with the human rights implications of neoliberal globalization and impacts on indigenous knowledge. Although the Texaco-Chevron case has been called the "Amazonian Chernobyl," it is not unique. Realistically, yes, it is exciting that this massive effort to take on a hugely imposing multinational company may finally prove fruitful, and it can teach us a lot about social movements. But the ruling of the case does not somehow un-do the environmental and cultural damage done, and it does not suddenly change the structural inequalities inherent in economic determinism.

Instead of focusing on the case, then, I am creating a book which will serve as a platform for those impacted by extractive industries in the Global South to reach consumers in the Global North. I conducted 40+ interviews and 40+ health surveys during my time living in these communities, and I want to share interview excerpts and photographs. This book does not and will not take a stance on the highly complex 20-year legal case between the multinational and 30,000 Ecuadorian plaintiffs, since the complexities of the law are beyond the breadth of my knowledge. But it will strive to get people thinking about inequalities we may unintentionally be supporting by allowing multinational corporations to act without oversight in the Global South.

This is Juanita. We climbed trees together and she taught me the names of plants.

This photo was taken near Shushufindi Canton. There have been studies done in the area showing rates of cancer to be twice as high as the Ecuadorian average in this province. People bathe in the river, collect water from rivers when prices for clean water are unaffordable, and play in the water. I spoke to a man who had lived in the area for years. He remembers bathing in the river as a kid, and with his hands he would skim out as much floating crude from the surface water as he could while his brother washed.

Those specks in his hand are crude oil remnants running in a stream. We went to the middle of a large clearing, and I videotaped the process of pushing a stick into the ground and coming up with crude oil. This wasn't even a dumping pit; It was a clearing near his house!

A motorcycle ride through Sucumbios province shows these kinds of signs everywhere. The majority of dirt roads have at least one oil pipeline running alongside it.

Economic determinism effectively disregards all that is not related to monetary growth, equating development to increased cash flows. 50 years ago there were 6,000 languages spoken on the planet and now there are 3,000. We are losing sustainable indigenous knowledge systems at a rate so fast it is known as "cultural genocide" in academic circles. Ecuador’s development plans revolve around the destruction of the Amazon rainforest; petroleum income raises GDP levels. Protecting the most biodiverse region on the planet and preserving indigenous knowledge systems does not appear in economic indicators of development. We need a massive paradigm shift which re-configures and re-imagines the economic determinism of our increasingly globalized world before we lose all sustainable ways of knowing. That is my argument.

I welcome disagreement. I welcome others to contribute their ideas. As long as we start a dialogue about these important issues, I consider the outcome of this project a success.

I lived with this man and his family for a bit! What a team player. The project would not have been possible without the kindness of community members.

"Petroleum promotes good living in your community!" Ecuadorian government billboard outside of the Cofan Dureno community

I was taken on a "Toxic Tour," which took me to 4 of the 800+ toxic waste pits left behind by the company. "Peligro" means "Danger" in Spanish. The pit was nearby.

This was a gate a local made from an old Texaco barrel. They were discarded around the province, so this one was put to a practical use unlike the majority in the forest.

I interviewed the family living here. The mother and daughter have ovarian cancer, and they think it is from bathing in the river. Treatment in the Amazon is expensive and inaccessible. The family must go to Quito, approximately 30 hours by bus, twice a month. It takes a toll on income.

This photo captures a laugh at the end of an interview with Shun by my side. He translated from Cofan to Spanish. Although perhaps these are heavy topics, the community members find plenty of ways to enjoy their lives, and should be thought of as proactive and autonomous people and not as helpless groups of "native" people in need of "saving." That removes their agency and everything they have done to lead this fight.

I have taken hundreds of photographs and have hours of videotaped/audio-recorded interviews. I hope to make this publically available soon, or even create a short documentary film. Time will tell. Please contact me if you are interested in reading my community placement report.

The experience would not have been possible without UDAPT – Unión de Afectados por Texaco, the organization I was interning with which allowed me to pursue this project. Big thanks also to Trent University's International Development department for offering the Ecuador year abroad.