In the Fight to Defend the Amazon, This Indigenous Community’s Secret Weapon Is Science

In the Fight to Defend the Amazon, This Indigenous Community’s Secret Weapon Is Science

In the copper-rich mountains of southeastern Ecuador, Shuar people are combining ancestral knowledge and modern science to protect their forest from a Canadian mining giant.Story and photos by Katie SurmaMAIKIUANTS, Ecuador—By the time Olger Kitiar reached the ridge, his shirt was wet with sweat, clinging to his back. Built with the solid frame of a linebacker, he moved through the rainforest with a quick, even rhythm that defied the steep, slic…