They listened as small propeller planes flew overhead announcing in our language, Wao Tededo, that those who wished to be saved must walk upstream toward the cowori outsider settlements. He and some of my aunts and uncles have told me these stories since I was a little girl. The lead missionary, a white woman named Rachel Saint, convinced the Waorani women to break all the men’s spears. And we will not be saved. This essay is inspired by Nemonte Nenquimo’s forthcoming memoir, We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People (titled We Will Not Be Saved in global editions) out on September 17, 2024.