Narcisa Gualinga is a Kichwa leader from the Autonomous Territory of the Original Kichwa Nation of Sarayaku (TAYJA-SARUTA) in the Ecuadorian Amazon, which has opposed oil extraction and the Argentine oil company CGC since they entered Sarayaku territory in 1996. Narcisa was one of the original presidents and coordinators of the Sarayaku Organization of Women, and currently forms an integral part of the organizational process of the community through her roles as a political representative, and both mother and wife to subsequent presidents of the Nation of Sarayaku. In 1992, she participated in the historic March for Indigenous Peoples' Rights, for the recognition of territorial rights of the indigenous peoples of Pastaza province. Narcisa has never had the opportunity to learn to read nor write, and she has never studied. Yet her conviction and experience have been fundamental to providing understanding and political orientation to her community. She has a long history of defending the environment in the Amazon and of shaping her people's role in the proper development of the planet.