Emergildo Criollo

Profile

Emergildo is a leader of the Cofan indigenous people—the indigenous group whose pristine rainforest territory became ground zero for Texaco’s dirty oil operations. He was born in the community of Dureno in 1959. He is the oldest of 9 children and with his wife has four children of his own. Emergildo has been a key force is maintaining the Cofan’s cultural traditions and thwarting new drilling efforts by other oil companies seeking to drill on their lands.