Nayari History, Politics, and Violence: From Flowers to Ash (review)
nature that is powerful enough to defend itself and them. When their nineteenth-century ancestors fled up the Amazonian tributaries to escape slavery, for example, Mother Waterfall hid them from their pursuers. New versions of these stories link historic struggles to recent battles with mining companies and government agencies for land. They underscore the paradoxical behavior of outsiders, who destroy the environment, then take their ancestral lands for reserves. According to them, the enchanted lake is already set aside for future generations. They recast this mythological place as a biological reserve and portray themselves as guardians of the natural world.