are only a few who speak their native language. The oldest surviving Zaparo-speaker is a man, about 80 years old, Pedro Ernesto Santi. He and his family live in a hamlet on the river, home to some forty people. Today, only four Sápara people, all aged over 70, still speak the Záparo language with some degree of fluency. The UNESCO declared the Záparo language as an "Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2001. Threats to Sápara territory Ever since China started lending large sums of money to Ecuador in exchange for crude oil (see China-Ecuador relations), China has pushed for a massive expansion of Ecuador’s oil frontier. This concerns the central-south Amazon and Yasuní National Park in particular. Chinese companies Sipec and Andes Petroleum, which merged with Chinese conglomerate PetroOriental, submitted bids on blocks 79 and 83 within the Yasuní National Park. The Sápara's territory falls entirely within these oil blocks. Block 79 is also home to the Kichwa and Block 83 to the Kichwa and Shiwiar in addition to the Sápara. Opening up this sensitive region to oil development would likely result in cultural genocide and the disappearance of more than one indigenous group. The Sápara, along with the Kichwa and Shiwiar mentioned above, have made it clear through multiple assembles, congresses, and in indigenous declarations that they do not want extractive industry, such as oil exploitation, in their territory. Gloria Ushigua, the current president of the Sápara Women’s association (Ashinwaka), has been leading the struggle to protect her people’s territory for a long time. Another factor that worsens the already urgent situation is that the Ecuadorian government has been drastically cracking down on organizations and civil society opposing oil expansion. As an outspoken voice, Ushigua has been targeted in public, harassed in her home, received threats and was included in a group of eight indigenous leaders who came under fire when formal complaints were filed with the Department of Justice. “We are currently fighting a battle against oil companies that enter our territories and threaten our very existence,” said Ushigua. “We have reached out to our allies, we are ready to fight with all the strength of our ancestors against the companies and government to protect the land from which we came, a land that must remain free from oil exploration.” Because of the threats facing their people, the Sápara Nation organized a congress in Community of