We Will Not be Saved is Nemonte Nenquimo’s powerful tribal testimony in climate and humanitarian crisis

Non-fiction

Nemonte and Mitch. Photo: Christopher Fragapane

Hilary White

We Will Not Be Saved, and under its US title, “We Will Be Jaguars”. Juxtaposed, they encapsulate the warrior spirit coursing through this powerful indigenous testimony.

To be “saved” has double meaning in Nemonte Nenquimo’s memoir. It refers to the evangelical missionaries and their campaign of assimilation and bribery in Amazon communities, all under the pretext of “civilising” these tribes. And then there is its simpler meaning, a cry from a beleaguered people being smothered by forces beyond their ken.