Weaving Solidarity

495 is easily one of the most engaging, challenging, and enjoyable classes in my undergraduate career. The class confronts and realize many challenges that are hidden from my other courses, and provides a platform for me to engage and re-evaulate the knowledges that I have accumulated in the past four years.

Community learning through exhibitions, lunches, and public events not only allow us as students to demonstrate our practical applicational skills, but also engaged the public and made aware of the controversial issues that exists not only in journal articles and conferences, but also in real-life places, with living and breathing people.

Working with everyone from class was enjoyable; the bond between us grows not only through knowledge, but also from our events and common efforts and common goals. Through this class, I have learn to be passionate, and practical with the issues that I believe in. This class is definitely the highlight of my last year in UBC.

Geography 495 is unlike any other class experience that I have had at university. The basis of the learning was through community service, and all of the classes work culminated in our final event, “ Weave Got the to Right to Party“, which took place at the Wise Hall. The event brought together first,  the class together in  an informal setting without being confined to the social constructions of the classroom, and secondly it brought together the family and friends of  my fellow classmates to celebrate Solidarity. Attendees got to experience authentic Mexican cuisine with meat and vegetarian tortas, a silent auction, take part in a raffle,the oppurtunity to purchase one-of a kind authentic garments woven by the women of Jolem Mayetik, here accounts from both Professor Sundberg, and Marta one of the two women who come up from Jolem Mayetik weaving cooperative located in Chiapas, Mexico, and dance the night away all in celebration of Celbrating Solidarity.

The major thing on took out of the experience was how people from all walks of life  came together through this class and made such a big impact on change. Through all of our busy schedules as university students everybody used there connections, provided their best effort big or small, to put on four great events that helped raise money, and get the word out about Jolem Mayetik. Its crazy to think about what people can do when they work together, and its beautiful to see and live the accomplishments of the work the class did together as one. Geography 495 is the class for any body, and you are guaranteed a possibly life perspective changing positive experience.

If you wanted to experience a class that is different than any other class, Geog 495 is the class to take. Not only do you get to know everyone in your class pretty well, but you get to know them outside of the classroom setting as well. There were many different events that had been put together by my peers. The one that I enjoyed the most was the last event where we all got together to cook before the actual event on April 19th. Instead of just being apart of the planning crew, I was put into action peeling beets, carrots, cutting up lettuce, blending vegetables, and frying up tortillas. Even though my hands were bright red and almost lost a finger or two from peeling the beets, it was still a lot of fun. We got to see everyone in the class show off their cooking skills and we also got to work side by side with Professor Sundberg. Instead of Professor Sundberg being distant, she was like one of us getting down and busy with cooking. We all had to work together in order to get all the cooking accomplished on time. We were all very comfortable with each other, so my classmates were not ashamed of asking for help when they needed help, which helped to speed up the cooking process. What took the longest time was the frying of the tortillas because the deep fryer was so small. We thought that the tortillas would stick to each other, so we only put in three or four tortillas at a time. However, Jorge and I figured out that the tortillas will not stick to each other, so we ended up frying twenty tortillas at a time. Jorge and I finished frying the tortillas in no time without having to stay up all night. I enjoyed every cooking momment with this class because we worked so well with one another. I wished this class lasted two semesters instead of only one!

As the semester wraps up, I look back at my experience in GEOG 495 with great appreciation and a sense of accomplishment. I feel a strong sense appreciation for the personal journey this class has evoked in me, and feel accomplished in all I have gained from this experience. Throughout the course I have been encouraged to expand my conceptions of north-south relations, of solidarity work and of my many roles in the inequalities and oppression found throughout the globe. GEOG 495 has encouraged a much deeper and more complex understanding of these things. This has been a really powerful experience for me and has helped to fuel in my a desire to continue this type of work.

I also appreciate the opportunity GEOG 495 offered for me to work with such wonderful and inspiring people on such successful projects. This experience was completely different from anything else I have done at University, and I appreciate that we were able to do this work in a university setting. It was really rewarding to combine theory with practice, and research with active work. This experience stands out as the most insightful and beneficial class of my University career. This is the only class I have taken at UBC in which we have actively practised what is being taught in the classroom. This was a really unique and powerful experience, and taught me more than any other element of my University career has taught me.

I feel really accomplished in the work we have all put into this class and into our events. Together we hosted four extremely successful events, and were involved in several other endeavours. Women Weaving World: Resistance and Sharing across Cultures was amazing because it displayed some of the similarities and differences in the experiences of indigenous weavers from different cultures. It was really interesting to hear from both Celia and Deb Sparrow about their relationship with weaving and the significance it has in their life and culture. I think Women Weaving Worlds: Living Resistance was very successful in displaying the complexity of weaving as a form of art and as a form of resistance and change. The gallery displayed that the weavings have a history and that they are created through a long and complex processes. Slams, Songs and Stiches was a successful way of fund-raising for our final event, and proved to be a unique and great format for processing the materiel we have discussed in class. It was amazing to hear the issues we’ve discussed expressed in song and poem, and to explore issues of solidarity and oppression in a coffee house setting. It was also be a really successful way of sharing the issues we have explored in GEO 495 with the greater community. Finally, Celebrando Solidaridad: Weave got the right… to party was a beautiful way of celebrating the work we have done and the relationships we have made in this class. This event was a real group effort, and it was so amazing to see everyone come together to make it a success. The evening went smoothly and was clearly enjoyed by everyone who attended.

I feel really accomplished by our success in these events. These events, combined with our weekly sales at Rhizone and our participation in several other community events, was a lot of work for a University class to take on in a time span of less than four months. We were all balancing this work with other classes, projects and jobs. Regardless of how busy we were in the other elements of our lives, we came together and were able to create some fantastic events. I am very grateful that I was a part of this experience, and I know this experience will stay with me into the future.

Woven Words and Woven Worlds

My people

My friends

Your stories surround me once again

Your histories entwine me

Shining words of wisdom

Revealing the hidden truths in a new light

A history of woven words

Stories and memories tied into cloth

Your histories are woven and worn

Your woven words are a guiding truth

Linked back into the roots of time

Our histories so intertwined

I wish to see the world grow

From a developing collective identity

For their history is so close to you and to me

Can you see that the past has been unclear

As to how ‘we’ would survive here

Under the colonial rule and living in fear

I see pain and misery

However love again prevails

In this new light

Embedded in costs of colonialism

Where are our people

Our histories, our stories, our woven words, our memories

Of a time not so long, long ago

When the world was made

woven in the maize

Of my people,

Who would have liked to live

And learned to grow together

But some where along the way – along the way

Violence and tragedy paved the way

Our rights were taken away

Taken, stolen and brushed away

Some day not so far away

My people

My friends

Will grow strong again

For our history is woven here

For us to remember our past

And teach you of your colonial history too

To know where we have came from and to where we will go

My family and friends are guiding me

All around the world in which you see

With a history similar to you

Guiding back to me

Reaching out my hand

To pull you along the way

To create a new day

Our woven word, our woven worlds, to get our voices heard

Listen to ours stories our histories

You will begin to see that this colonial history

Is still here in the present day

In our current world, still here today

And needs to be revealed in this new way

Today

The stories of many verse the evening news

Collective collaboration

Cultural preservation

Creating space for a new world

A new worldview

Where we make space for the old and bring in the new

Recognizing the Indigenous in the academic

Making space for the Cosmovision

As a current and recognized world religion

A cultural revolution is here

Collective creative resistance is near

The revolution is indigenous dear

The indigenous revolution is near

No, no

The indigenous revolution is here

For our people are standing strong

This much is clear

This much is clear

But look inside and see that a part of you is indigenous too

Creating our identity a new

Creative resistance with you

Creating resistance with you

Dear Mr. President

Why has so much history been hidden

Why can you say all these people are equal

Deserving their freedom

Yet draw a line in the sand and

Go against your words

These days of hypocrisy and mediocrity

Need to be thrown away

For today is a new day

Solidarity beings with you

Thank you. Thank you.

To the North and the South

The East and the West

My sisters my brothers

You are my anchors my inspiration

Be the strength in this revolution

For you are indigenous and indigenous is you

In Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression in People, Anne Bishop describes her dream vision of the world as “a world where no one doubts that to hurt anyone or anything is to hurt yourself and those you love most, a world where everyone works to understand how everything we do will affect future generations.” This quote is so powerful for me, and really resonates with our class and my shaped perception of solidarity: we help others to help ourselves, for we are inextricably connected and bound across economic, political, and social lines; the people who you hurt, are, in fact, the people that you love.

Through the processes of our class, I have witnessed and participated in solidarity as a mutual intention and effort to build consciousness and understanding between groups and individuals; love, too, incidentally formed. Celia, Marla, Jen, Juanita and members of the class have become people that I deeply care for, that I wish, earnestly, with all of my heart, only the best. This love, this sense of family created in such a short time, even without much direct communication, is, I believe, the dream: the “deep, driving force” of our work and our class . . . I feel it deep in my bones.

            It’s like a shared ache, an ache for all students to take a class based on a community learning model, to explore their origins and their position in the hierarchies of privilege and oppression, to experience the beautiful relationships that so often accompany these journeys and processes, and, most of all, to effect profound and lasting change in the way we live, interact, consume, create, and resist. Like Bishop, I want to be an “activist”, to persistently incite action on the part of myself and others. Entwined in this perpetuation of awareness and initiative is the generational effect of our actions. Bishop envisions a world where everyone works to understand how everything we do will affect future generations. We do not only pass on the physical conditions of our world, but the practices, attitudes, and values that shaped them, each one etched into the earth like the hollows of the mines, the changed bark of the trees, and the unprecedented colours of the sky.

            Through the work of our class, we strive to pass on an awareness of the value and beauty of creative resistance, visually and cathartically, but also politically, economically, and socially. In the hand of creative resistance is the importance of responsible consumerism; behind every “product,” every piece of art, is a maker, a human maker, a woman or man that toils in the “product’s” creation. As Marla depicts in her beautiful poem, the art is the struggle and we are the artwork. Each of us embodies a thread in the weaving process of solidarity, resistance, and change. This weaving, however, is ongoing: a living masterpiece whose beauty lies, as many have emphasized, in the discomfort, awkwardness, and silliness of the process, in the clash of colours, patterns, thoughts and ideas, in the interlacing of different fingers from different hands, all different sizes, colours, and shapes. I am so grateful to every member of the class for their tremendous commitment, engagement, and contributions, to Celia, Marla, and Jen for believing in us and so graciously sharing with us their time, work, and hearts, as did, of course(!), Juanita, who made it all possible. Let us rave about the community learning model, Juanita, and GEOG 495 so that everyone may be as lucky as us . . . hasta pronto en Chiapas, nos vemos!

Solidarity.  The fundamental core of what Geography 495 is all about.

So, what exactly does solidarity mean? 

Juanita posed this question to all of us on the first day of class.  To be honest, I didn’t quite know what to make of the term.  I had a grasp of its theoretical definition and academic explanation, but other than that, I was lost.  It wasn’t until the next few weeks when our class engaged in “A Beautiful Unraveling”, a workshop directed by Mia Amir, when I began to develop my own sense of what solidarity was comprised of.  The workshop was designed to open up a safe space to recognize how each individual person internalizes power and positionality in one form or another, and this was demonstrated through activities that encouraged personal understanding and realization of what kind of privilege and oppression we are exposed to as individuals.

Personally, it was a surprise to become conscious of the fact that I am a privileged person and I reap the benefits that come with it.  I live in a ‘developed’ country, I come from a middle-class family, I have a post-secondary education, I am heterosexual, and I am not physically or mentally disabled.  On the other hand, I am an oppressed individual.  I am a non-Caucasian woman.  Interestingly enough, I had always been aware of the ways I am oppressed, but seldom had I given any thought to what makes me privileged, or whether I was privileged at all.  This process brings attention to the importance of recognizing how we are privileged to be able to actually work in solidarity with an oppressed group. If we do not willfully realize the ways in which we are privileged, we may very well continue to oppress the oppressed.  Therefore, solidarity is not simply a conceptual theory and mindset, but it is also felt, experienced, and embodied.

Although solidarity is a term compacted with meanings that differ for everybody, I feel that I have actively developed my own sense of solidarity with the help of Celia for the past few weeks.  Jess Van and I decided to help Celia learn English by fitting in English sessions whenever her schedule was open.  In the first few classes, we were lucky enough to have John join us as the translator, since I didn’t know any Spanish and Jess only knew the basics to get by (I wouldn’t know, I think her Spanish sounds great!)  The first session was a bit awkward for me because of the language barrier, but it definitely allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, since nothing productive would come of being self-conscious about my lack of Spanish skills.  Also, while I was preparing the lesson plans, I always tried to make an effort to avoid making our sessions feel like an authoritative relationship between a teacher and a student.  I found that this was not a problem because our English lessons turned into English AND Spanish lessons.  Jess and I played the role of English teachers and Celia was the Spanish teacher.

I ended up really enjoying our time together because all of us were co-learning and co-teaching. Although I always needed someone to translate for me when I spoke to Celia, I think we were still able to create a bond between us – a bond consisting of a lot of body language (being lost in translation means a few raised eyebrows, puzzled looks and of course the many laughs), but also a mutual understanding that learning a new language is fun and difficult at the same time.  I think we both realized that we were going through the same process with the same goal in mind – learning a language! Isn’t this what solidarity is all about?  Creating relationships and connections through the purpose of a common goal?  Even though we were not actively fighting against anything, I think being able to build this kind of relationship is one key element necessary for solidarity to be carried out in a positive and constructive way.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this community-service learning seminar and I am delighted to finish my undergraduate career with this course.  The structure of this class is unlike any of the other ones I have taken at UBC.  A majority of classes involve routine tasks – reading a textbook, writing papers, and examinations – which tend to require a lot of memorization, but no retention.  As students, Geog 495 gave us more freedom and flexibility on what we wanted to learn and how we learned it.  We created an open space for dialogue allowing each one of us to speak and be heard.  We diverted from the ‘traditional’ passive way of learning (i.e. in the form of lectures, reading abstract textbooks, copying notes) and instead learned through active participation.  In a sense, I have embodied the learning done in this class and it has positively affected my personal growth.  As corny as this sounds, it feels like the knowledge that I have gained from Geog 495 will always be part of who I am and something that I will never forget.  I feel lucky to have been a part of this process and it is unfortunate that only a tiny fraction of the university population is able to partake in such an action-driven, community-focused course.  This needs to change!

Thanks to all my classmates, Jennifer, Juanita, and especially Celia and Marla, for making this such a unique and rewarding experience!

Jessica T.

First and foremost, I would like to say that there must be a larger shift in the “University of ______” institutions towards this learning kind of learning model. To put it in pretty practical terms, I feel like I am winding down my undergraduate frustrated and looking back on a memory of classroom environments at UBC that did not function nor were structured in the way of Geography 495. However, the important lesson learned is that in order for these sorts of pedagogies to exist, they must be supported and built from the grassroots. We as students have to voice how valuable they are! A very crucial revelation for me in the unwinding of my experience within the university classroom model is that classes encouraging collective spaces of learning, where the students model and run the classroom, are really the ones where the most truth and happiness is really found in learning. Something about our weekly sessions held lots of truth to me, in that there is no performing element to class participation in 495 like there is in so many other classes that encourage class participation. Our discussions seemed organic, and the space we created was built on personal emotions, individual cosmologies, memories, and ideologies. To put it straight, I feel like I have had to hold myself back so much in other classrooms and discussions in past terms, But not in the space we all created.

In the classic academic space, the learning circle reaches an end, at a three-quarter turn, where the analysis of something stops at a conclusion supposing to be some kind of more objective truth that was framed in your introduction as being more subjective. It’s like a personal conquista of learning. Bringing it home or into your life is never really what is important in the hegemonic academic analysis. Take for example a topic from our group presentation. I presented on the ‘82 debt crisis in Mexico and the practice of using debt as a social discipline in maintaining producer-consumer relations between the south and north in today’s world market capitalism. In the pedagogy of hegemony, the analysis would end here. However, in 495, we met Marla and Celia and learned about the social condition in Chiapas and their comercio justo cooperative in San Cristóbal. From this experience, I can further the conclusion and say, “okay, I see on a very human and emotional level how the global market economy of present is benefitting the few at the expense of the many.” Free of academic citation, we can find truth in the people that we meet.

What this 495 Pedagogy has achieved (from what I have experienced), thanks to our solidarity with our compañeras at Jolom Maya’etik, is a full circle of learning, wherein we are living what we are studying. The south-north link is achieved face-to-face, in the flesh. This is the praxis we talk so much about. And this is the Education we have to foster from the roots. More immediately, considering UBC has got deep pockets at the moment (before their own debt growth becomes unmanageable), demand it from the institution!

I think it’s safe to say that the event was an astounding success. The combination of amazing performers and a wonderful crowd just created an infectious atmosphere of good vibes and big love. For those of you who were unfortunate enough to miss it, here is a visual diary of the event.

The lovely Jess, Alex and Lucinda, wo-maning the entrance table.

At the weavings table, we have Jess, Celia, and Juanita

The MC’s of the evening, Jorge, Claire and Gillian

Starting the night off with some powerful poetry by Cynthia Oka

Marla of K’inal gave an engaging presentation of the history and workings of Jolom, as well as the partnership they have built with K’inal. The evening was made bi-lingual thanks to Jorge.

It was really great to see how engaged and interested the audience was in the work of Jolom, as the questions just kept coming for Marla.

Celia giving a weaving demonstration with the aid of her trusty hemlock tree, aka. Marla and Jen

Of course, no weaving demonstration would be complete without a play-by-play commentary, provided here by Claire

Ta-da! The finished product! Hah, just kidding. I believe this beautiful blouse took over 100 hours of labour to create.

The lovely Claire, gracing us with sweet tunes and meaningful lyrics.

The amazing Kim Villagante, aka Kim Possible accompanied by the a wonderful violinist (I don’t know her name, help me out?)

As if the evening was not already packed-full of great talent, The Gravely Brothers ended the night off with some great toe-tapping tunes. What a privilege it was to be able to witness so many great performances all in one night!

Practicing solidarity ain’t always easy…

….but when we get it right, it truly is a beautiful sight.

Great job everybody!

I’m excited that I’ve had the opportunity to participate in Geography 495 in my final semester at UBC. It has been an entirely unique experience to work in cooperation with the autonomous indigenous women’s weaving cooperative Jolom Mayaetik and this has allowed me to depart from typical academic models of learning. The fact that the course is based on a community service learning model has allowed me the opportunity to take part in organizing an exhibition of Jolom Mayaetik’s work, which took place on Wednesday March 16^th 2011, and was curated by Celia Ruiz the president of the cooperative. We called the exhibition Women Weaving World: Living Resistance, in order to emphasize the lived experience of weaving. The evening took place in the Simon KY Global Lounge on UBC campus, and featured weavings from the women in the cooperative, as well as a weaving demonstration from Celia.

Our hope for the exhibition was that people would begin to understand the lived experience of weaving. We hoped that those that attended the exhibition would not simply look at the pieces that were on display, and understand them in their final form, but that they would think of the process and hours that went i

nto their creation. To this end, we incorporated images of the weaving process throughout the exhibition. Celia also spoke about the history of the cooperative, which was followed by a demonstration of the weaving technique on the

back strap loom.

From my perspective, the most interesting aspect of the exhibition was how people were looking at the weaving differently after they saw the demonstration. They were interested in touching the pieces, and many people were interested in learning how long specific pieces would take to complete. Overall, I feel lucky to have been a part of organizing Women Weaving Worlds: Living Resistance. It was a totally unique way to learn, and I look forward to our final event on April 19^th, which will incorporate an exhibition and silent auction.