September 22-23, 2015
UBC | Unceded Coast Salish Territory
People of the Land: Dialogue series with the Mapuche Territorial Alliance will bring together two Indigenous leaders from the Mapuche Nation –Alberto Curamil and Miguel Melin– with Indigenous activists and scholars from North America to exchange ideas and share experiences about land recuperation, opposition to extractive industries on their traditional territories, customary law, and Indigenous childhood, language, and education.
The Mapuche Territorial Alliance (ATM) is one of the grassroots organizations based on the ancestral territory of the Mapuche Nation in the South of Chile – the Gulu Mapu, or west side of the Andes. The ATM’s core mission is the full defense of Mapuche inherent rights, especially with regard to the protection of the territory and the natural environment.
Everyone welcome, but RSVP is required for the lunch on September 23rd.
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22
2-4pm Panel on land recuperation: Yes, the discussion has always been about land. With Kanahus Manuel (Secwepemc Nation) and Chief Ian Campbell (Squamish Nation)
Liu Institute for Global Issues – Multipurpose Room. 6476 North West Marine Drive
5-7pm Planting Poverty: Film screening and discussion about the impacts of the forestry industry on Indigenous lands. With Andrea Lyall (Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nation, UBC)
Simon K. Y. Lee Global Lounge – Media Centre, Building 1 2205 Lower Mall
Light refreshments provided
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23*
10am-12pm Panel on Indigenous customary law: Strengthening Indigenous legal orders from within. With Sheryl Lightfoot (Anishinaabe Nation, UBC) and Angeline Nyce (Nisg̱a’a nation)
1-3pm Panel on Indigenous childhood: Language and cultural revitalization through Indigenous knowledge. With Jo-ann Archibald (Sto:lo and St’at’imc Nations, UBC)
* Venue for both panels: First Nations Longhouse – Sty-wet-tan Hall 1985 West Mall
Lunch provided 12-1pm. RSVP to: mugarte@interchange.ubc.ca
Alberto Curamil is the spokesperson for the ATM. Community leader and traditional authority of the Curacautín area, Mapuche territory, he currently leads the opposition to the installation of hydroelectric power stations on several rivers across his traditional territory.
Miguel Melin is a Mapuche intercultural bilingual educator, activist, and former spokesperson for the ATM. He has extensive experience as a Mapuchezungun-Spanish teacher and has led several participatory projects with youth to revitalize the Mapuche language.
Presented with support from the Liu Institute for Global Issues, the Faculty of Forestry, the First Nations House of Learning, the Global Lounge, the Walter H. Gage Memorial Fund, the Faculty of Education, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Students Network, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and the School of Community and Regional Planning.
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