Alarcón - Dispossession has never been a peaceful act
Dispossession Has Never Neen a Peaceful Act by Johanna Alarcón
Gricelda Pupiales, 30 years old, poses for a portrait during her visit to the “Rinconada” waterfall in Rinconada, Imbabura, Ecuador. She is a Karanki woman guardian of the water. She takes weekly walks for garbage collection, fire prevention, and surveillance to take care of the moor and the sources of water found in the mountains.
About the project
The Indigenous Amazonian women of Ecuador are defending more than eight million hectares of rainforest, home to the richest biodiversity on the planet.
They face the violence of extractivism, colonialism, and criminalization—forces that seek to sever their deep connection to the land they inhabit and that inhabits them.
Their efforts are documented in the photos of Johanna Alarcón, who seeks to amplify their spiritual, cultural, and political commitment to protecting the land and its future.
Johanna Alarcón is a 2024 CatchLight Global Fellow, a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador whose work is focused on social justice, human rights, identity, and gender-related issues.
She has received awards and honors from World Press Photo, National Geographic, and Magnum Foundation. Her work has been exhibited worldwide and featured in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian.
