DECOLONIZE! An anti-colonial teach-in
Saturday May 11th, 10am-5pm
7th floor of the Hall Building
1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest
métro Guy-Concordia
presented by the Anti-Colonial Solidarity Collective & No One Is Illegal-Montreal
free. welcome to all.
wheelchair accessible.
childcare available on-site.
Join us for a full day of introductory and in-depth workshops about anti-colonialism and resistance.
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SCHEDULE OF WORKSHOPS:
10am: Re-appropriating Indigenous Identity (avec Clifton Nicholas) (Salle H-763 — EN)
10am: The P.Q., colonialism, and current social movements in Quebec (room H-762 — FR/EN)
1pm: Unsettling and Decolonizing: An Introductory Workshop (room H-763 – EN)
1pm: Our solidarity: A Territory to Decolonize (room H-762 – FR)
3pm: Industrial Development in Nitassinan: A History of Dispossession of the Innu (room H-763 – FR)
3pm: “Our Terrain of Struggle”: Migration, Borders and Global Apartheid (room H-762 – EN/ES)
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In the last several months we’ve seen a resurgence of grassroots struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island have always resisted colonization, from the beginnings of European settler invasion, through over 200 years of land theft and genocide that the nation of Canada was built upon. This resistance has been echoed by Indigenous peoples throughout the world, who face displacement at the hands of Canadian corporations and the neo-colonial governments that serve them.
This series of workshops has been organized so that our movements can actively support and participate in decolonization struggles. At present, these workshops are organized by predominantly non-native anti-colonial groups and individuals.
This teach-in is organized by the Anti-Colonial Solidarity Collective & No One Is Illegal-Montreal and co-sponsored by the Status For All Coalition (comprised of Mexicans United for Regularization, Dignidad Migrante, Solidarity Across Borders, No One Is Illegal and the Immigrant Workers Center) , QPIRG Concordia, QPIRG McGill, and the Popular Education Committee of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC).
INFO:
indigenoussolidarity@gmail.com
514-848-7585
www.nooneisillegal.org
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WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
* Re-appropriating Indigenous Identity (with Clifton Nicholas)
(10am – Room H-763 – EN)
This presentation looks critically at the uses and misuses of Indigenous imagery, from contact to today. Using a slideshow combined with an oral presentation, topics include negative stereotyping of native people, government and media propaganda against natives, the anti-Indigenous lobby, land rights, and the commodification of Indigenous identity. This workshop debunks past and present cultural appropriation of Indigenous culture and people. Presented by Clifton Nicholas, a member of the Kanehsatake Mohawk Community.
* The P.Q., colonialism, and current social movements in Quebec
(10am – Room H-762 – FR/EN)
Within its means, the student movement called into question almost all aspects of Quebec society. It was a central actor in the process of critiquing the colonial issues of the Plan Nord – political pillar of the Charest government. Within the neo-liberal agenda of austerity that imposes commercialization of education, we find the unconstrained exploitation of natural resources and the assimilation of indigenous communities. Under the governance of the P.Q., these same themes are still ongoing. This will be an occasion to talk about how, starting from a social movement rooted in a colonial society, we can integrate the concerns of indigenous solidarity and anti-colonial struggle.
* “Unsettling and Decolonizing: An Introductory Workshop”
(1pm – Room H-763 – EN)
“Decolonization” describes a process by which the ongoing structures, practices, and mindsets of colonialism are dismantled, and Indigenous peoples restore what colonialism has wrongfully denied them. This workshop will discuss different meanings of decolonization, and explore ways that theories of decolonization are, and can be, put into action. This workshop has been developed by non-indigenous settlers, and will have a particular focus on the ways settler allies can participate in decolonization. The discussion will be facilitated by non-indigenous members of the Anti-Colonial Solidarity Collective.
* Our Solidarity: A Territory to Decolonize
(1pm – Room H-762 – FR)
Inspired by the challenges encountered while organizing their accompaniment project in Colombia, activists from the PASC share their analysis of privilege, building a “North-South” solidarity, the power relations inherent to these networks, and providing an anti-colonial solidarity. Presented by the Projet d’accompagnement solidarité Colombie (PASC).
* Industrial Development in Nitassinan: A History of Dispossession of the Innu
(3pm — Room H-763 – FR)
This workshop will present a brief history of natural resource extraction projects that have defined the colonial dynamics imposed on the Innu of Uashat mak Mani-utenam and of Matimekush Lac-John/Schefferville for the last 60 years. The purpose is to better understand the current context of extraction projects in Nitassinan (Innu territory), as well as the mechanisms of dispossession and the ideologies of development that uphold them. The presentation will be followed by a discussion.
* “Our Terrain of Struggle”: Migration, Borders and Global Apartheid
(3pm – Room H-762 – EN/ES)
This multi-media presentation will explore the research and lived experiences that ground a “no one is illegal/no borders” analysis. Among the conclusions: all border controls are fundamentally racist; all nation-states are inherently oppressive; all human beings have the autonomous right to migrate, to resist displacement, and to return; and, in opposition to imposed notions of “race” or “community”, we struggle to assert self-determined identities. In a context of global apartheid, there are very specific challenges for grassroots organizing on a shifting terrain of struggle that is rooted in the lived reality of those who daily confront oppression. Presented by members of No One Is Illegal-Montreal in collaboration with an Indigenous member of Mexicans United for Regularization (MUR)
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INFO:
indigenoussolidarity@gmail.com
514-848-7585
www.nooneisillegal.org