CONFRONTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS WITH SYSTEMIC ALTERNATIVES IN THE AGE OF CORONAVIRUS
A NEARLY CARBON-NEUTRAL CONFERENCE | #EHIClimateCOVID
Panel 1.4: Indigenous Resistance and Responses to COVID-19
Welcome to the panel about Indigenous Resistance and Responses to COVID-19 in the Amazon Basin! This panel brings together videos created by, or in collaboration with, Indigenous leaders and organizations in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Its purpose is therefore to bring to the fore the perspective of Indigenous peoples who have been confronting the double threats of extractivism and COVID-19 firsthand. The pandemic has hit the Amazon very hard, with particularly challenging conditions due to weak health care systems and the long distances that communities need to travel to reach emergency services. This only adds up to the continuous (and even enhanced) exploitation of Indigenous territories. But these presentations also show us the different responses that are emerging across the Amazon basin. These are not only connected to Indigenous autonomy and self-determination, but also epitomize the continuation and strengthening of Indigenous cultures.
Below you will find some links to learn more about these initiatives. You can also leave us a comment in the Q&A if you would like to carry on with the conversation!
Oswando Nenquimo, Alianza Ceibo
“Napurak Resilience and Ancestral Gastronomy”
Alianza Minga
Video by: Mi Kyung Creative
“Indigenous Khasi Traditional Medicines, Biodiversity, and Climate Crisis”
Jane E. Warjri (Indigenous Khasi, Independent Scholar, Meghalaya, Northeast India), ann-elise lewallen (UC Santa Barbara, EALCS & Environmental Studies), Anagha Uppal (UC Santa Barbara, Geography), and Erica Goto (UC Santa Barbara, Geography)
First Chapter of Docuseries: “Breath of Life in Times of Pandemic: Contagion and Spread”
Sacha Samay
Collective Research and Production: Lisset Coba Mejía, Ivette Vallejo Real, Marisol Rodríguez Pérez, Natalia Valdivieso Kastner, Celeste Torres Soya, Nathaly Saritama Fernández, Luz Elena Pinzón Sanabria and Renata Mantilla Vásconez.
Women Defenders of the Jungle
Association of Ecuadorian Anthropologists
FLACSO Ecuador
Cine Disidente
Sponsor: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
This panel was organized by Sylvia Cifuentes, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her recent work has explored the connections between Indigenous Politics and COVID-19 in the Amazon Basin.
Q & A
If you would like to comment in the Q&A, register here.
Note that questions and comments can be intended for individual speakers, the entire panel, or anyone who has posted to the Q&A. Respond directly to a particular question/comment by way of the little “reply” below it. The vertical threadlike lines are there to make it easier to see which part of the discussion (i.e. “thread”) you are taking up.
