Dear Readers,
This zine is the collective effort of the 2018 iteration of the class: “Geography 495: Social Movements in the Americas: The politics of North-South solidarity in theory & practice” taught by Dr. Juanita Sundberg. As we moved through the class we learned about “extractivismo or the (re)turn to resource extraction as development and its accompanying conflicts” (Sundberg). We also learned about extractavist paradigms of colonialism capitalism that create “extractive zones” (Gómez-Barris), the violent commodification and reorganization of Indigenous territories across the Americas. We interrogated the idea of the “resource” as a particularly colonial capitalist way of seeing the non-human as well as the human and began the journey of opening up our sensorium to the presence of multiple ontologies and ways of being, perceiving, and living.
As students who attend the University of British Columbia (unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territory), and whose campus is permeated with the presence of extractive corporations, we wanted to enter the conversation of Northern extractivist projects to interrogate where we stand.
Dr. Juanita Sundberg posed the following guiding questions to the class at the beginning of the course:
- How might we build relations of solidarity that disrupt rather than reproduce unequal power relations constituted through interlocking systems of privilege and oppression?
- What skills are needed to build alliances and to work meaningfully across social, political, and economic boundaries?
This zine is a small step in our process of enacting solidarity with peoples in Latin America as students in North America. We hope that our zine will provide readers with critical questions and expose the violence of Canadian mining practices in Latin America.
All proceeds from the sales of our zine will go towards supporting Angélica Choc’s Legal Fees against HudBay Minerals.
View the online PDF of the zine here—> Unearthing: A Mining Justice Zine.pdf
Below is some information about the upcoming Mining Justice Conference on October 26 and 27, 2018 organized by the UBC Social Justice Centre and Students for Mining Justice.
Please join us for a conference on mining justice!
Canadian mining companies have been accused of violating Indigenous rights, causing environmental destruction, and funding political repression. Protecting the Land is a conference on mining justice that will convene lawyers, activists, and Indigenous land defenders from across the Americas to discuss how to challenge the current model of mining and protect the environment. At the forefront of the conversation will be three Indigenous leaders: Kanahus Manuel, Angelica Choc, and Ysidora Chaupe Acuna. We invite you to come share in this timely and vital discussion.
ATTENDANCE IS FREE
For more information, please visit www.protectingtheland.ca
————————————————————————————-
Friday October 26, 2018 (7:00 – 8:30 PM):
Kanahus Manuel, Secwepemc leader and activist
Saturday October 27, 2018 (9:00 AM – 5:30 PM):
Coffee, light breakfast and lunch provided.
Angelica Choc (Q’eqchi Maya, Guatemala)
Ysidora Chaupe (Quechua, Peru)
Yves Engler (Montreal)
Shin Imai, Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto)
Charis Kamphuis, TRU Faculty of Law (Kamloops)
Bjorn Stime (Nanaimo)
Olivia French, Ecojustice (Vancouver)
Kate Gunn, First Peoples Law (Vancouver)
Closing Panel moderated by Juanita Sundberg (Vancouver)
————————————————————————————-
We would like to acknowledge that this event will take place on the stolen, ancestral, unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.
Allard Hall is a fully accessible building. The main entrance to Allard Hall is located on the west side of the building at the intersection of East Mall and Crescent Road. This entrance has a ramp and is level and accessible with a power door. (See: http://maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index_detail.php?show=y,n,y,n,n,y&bldg2Search=n&locat1=482&locat2=#showAccess)
Please visit the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/381999729006454/
