This contribution sets out to discuss translation as a creative and negotiated activity enmeshed in relations of power in multilingual qualitative research settings. By shedding light on five translatorial moments in a multilingual research project with the Waorani indigenous people of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, we argue that methodological considerations should create spaces to deliberate translation processes, translation strategies, and the limits of translatorial endeavours in multilingual qualitative research projects. Specifically, we discuss the researchers’ lack of complete control over translatorial representations and suggest that they explicitly address this aspect. Finally, qualitative social research should reflect upon translation as a conscious act and acknowledge the ethical right to non-translation in and out of the field.