[van-announce] Nov 29- Environmental Justice: Race, Displacement, and Land

[Harsha]

Environmental Justice: Race, Displacement, and Land

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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29TH from 1-5 pm
SFU HABROUR CENTRE, 515 WEST HASTINGS

Info: email noii-van at resist.ca or call 778 862 8895.
Visit www.nooneisillegal.org
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Please join us for a half day conference with inspiring speakers, powerful
films, and thought-provoking discussion on environmental justice.

The aim of this gathering will be to expose the root causes of
environmental injustice as stemming from institutionalized racism, sexism,
and classism; the commodification of land, water, energy, food, and air in
a capitalist economy; and the plunder of the Earth and displacement of all
its inhabitants due to a colonial legacy of pillage and militarization.
Join us in exploring how environmental movements are inextricably
connected to these broader struggles and in deeply acknowledging that
there exists an inequitable distribution across the planet of those who
bear the greatest brunt of environmental degradation.


==> FILMS EXCERPTS INCLUDE:

* Refugees of a Blue Planet:  Each year, millions of environmental
refugees around the world are driven to forced displacement due to
degradation of their land, home, and environment.

* Remember Africville: Africville, a black community in Halifax, is
uprooted in the name of urban renewal and integration in the 1960’s.
Former residents tell the story of that painful relocation.

* Blockade- Algonquins Defend the Forest: This film follows the Barriere
Lake Algonquins as they take on the government and the logging industry in
a struggle to save their traditional hunting grounds.

* When the Levees Broke: A portrait of New Orleans in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. The film looks at a community that has survived death
and devastation for decades; yet maintains its resilience.


==>  SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

* Mike Mercredi: Mike is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
(Alberta). He will be in BC as part of a speaking tour to raise awareness
about the front line struggles of and impacts on indigenous communities in
Fort Chipewyan as a result of the Tar Sands, the largest industrial
project in history.

* Gil Aguilar: Gil is the Campaigns and Communications Assistant at the
Western Wilderness Committee. Originally from Chiapas, Mexico, Gil moved
to Canada in 2001 with a passion for integrating an indigenous worldview
to this environmental and community-driven organization that never stops
dreaming.

* Cease Wyss: Cease Wyss/T’Uy’Tanat is an artist, educator, patron of the
arts, activist, mother hailing from the Sko-Mish-Ul7h Nation. She
coordinates the Good Food Box, a program to make fresh fruits and
vegetables available to the community. She is also a traditional healer
and herbalist.

* Usman Majeed: Usman is a member of No One Is Illegal and UBC Colour
Connected Against Racism. He is a long time anti-racist, pro-feminist, and
anti-imperialist activist and is deeply connected to struggles to protect
the environment. He is also a homemaker and parent to two daughters.


==> WORKSHOPS AND DISCUSSION ON:

* What is Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism?
* How is the Environmental Crisis linked to other systems of domination?
* Exploring Individual and Systemic solutions