Protecting Homelands with Culture: Resisting a Foreign Mining Giant on Mayan Lands

The podcast discusses Mayan resistance to Canadian gold mining companies in Guatemala. Mayan singer-songwriter Sara Curruchich's music is featured throughout the podcast. The hosts, Robin and Alyssa, are students at Lakehead University studying Indigenous perspectives on extractivism. They emphasize the role of Mayan women in protecting their land and culture. The podcast aims to raise awareness and support for the Mayan land defenders and highlight the complicity of the Canadian government. They also mention a Bill in the House of Commons related to the issue. The hosts interviewed Jamie Kane from MiningWatch Canada, who among other topics, discussed the gendered impacts of mining and the need for community safeguards. The podcast emphasizes the global nature of resistance to exploitation and encourages Canadians to take action. Welcome to our podcast, Protecting Homelands and Community with Culture, Resisting a Foreign Mining Giant on Mayan lands. This podcast aims to celebrate Mayan resistance to the incursions of Canadian gold mining companies on Mayan territory, focussing on Goldcorp's Marlin Mine in Guatemala. The music you'll hear throughout the podcast is Somos by Mayan singer-songwriter Sara Curruchich. Somos means "we are" in English. Her website states that "Somos is inspired by the communities, the word, the resistance, the journey, and the collective joy of being." She is the first Indigenous Guatemalan singer and songwriter to sing in her mother tongue as well as Spanish for an international audience. She reminds listeners that by working together and connecting to ancestral roots, we can live a beautiful life of harmony. I'm Robin. My settler background includes Australian and Colombian heritages. I was born in London, England and raised in Eurocentric neighbourhoods. I learned many lives as a young person and as an adult, I'm eager to learn more about the accurate histories of Abiayala. I'm a graduate of Lakehead University's Fine Arts program and the Master of Education in the Education for Change program. I'm Alyssa and I'm born a citizen in Thunder Bay. I grew up with a strong sense of respect and love for the land and waters in which I inhabit and an inherent need to safeguard my home. I'm also a student at Lakehead University in the Indigenous Learning program and I am furthering my education to learn more about and acquire the skills to make a positive difference and contribution in life. I hope to specialize in diversity, equity, and inclusion, allowing for a safe place for the multitude of social identities and rights of all people to not only be acknowledged but prioritized. We are two students in the awesome Indigeneity and Extractivism course with Dr. Juan Sanchez Martinez in the Indigenous Learning program at Lakehead University, which is on the territory of the Anishinaabe of Fort William First Nation, signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850, land that is also home to the Métis and which other Indigenous nations have travelled through since time immemorial. As hereditary signatories to the Robinson Superior Treaty, we seek to deepen our understanding of our responsibilities of land on which we live. We also recognize our global interrelatedness and the need for local and global justice and recognition of inherent Indigenous rights. In our current university course, we are studying the roles and perspectives of Indigenous people in relation to extractivism in Abiayala or, by the Eurocentric colonial name, the Americas. We focus on the protection of land and the contributions of women, as well as the communal and collective action in resistance to the Canadian-owned, colonial government-supported Gold Core Marlin Mine. As traditional protectors of the land, water and life, Mayan women take lead roles in defending against destructive corporate incursions in order to safeguard homelands, culture, beliefs and ways of life. We also address the relationship between the government, mining companies, the mining industry and advocate for listeners to support the changes called for by the Mayan people, those who are directly impacted by mining activities in their communities. With this podcast, we hope to highlight and celebrate the work of the Mayan land defenders who are in direct opposition of the government and mining companies in order to protect their inherent rights and safeguard their homelands. And we encourage Canadians to take action in support of these land defenders. We have ideas about what we can do to call for Canada to support the ongoing work of the Mayan land defenders and to clean up its act internationally. We'll also mention a bill being considered by the House of Commons that addresses this topic. Mayan women's resistance to Canadian-owned Gold Core Marlin Mine in Guatemala has gathered international attention. We seek to amplify the voices of these Indigenous women, voices that have yet to be fully heard and followed. We referenced three films, Gold Fever 2013, award-winning Defensora 2013 also, and El Oro o la Vida, or Life for Gold, Recolonización y Resistencia en Centroamerica from 2011. Also, the 2021 book Testimonio, Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala edited by Nolan and Russell, plus the Mining Watch website and links within. In addition, we draw from our course materials, specifically Fighting a Huge Monster by Nina Lacani, Extractivismo by Thea Riofrancos, and several other sources that are listed on our podcast poster. While the film, Defensora, centres on a different mine and a separate legal action, the issues are all central to the way mining is carried out by Canadian companies overseas. The results of the women's legal actions will hopefully be precedent-setting. Legislative and policy change is also badly needed, and that's where involvement from Canadians will come in. We dedicate this podcast in celebration of the ongoing courage and dedication of women, mine women, who, through their resistance, have maintained their inherited commitment to their lands and people, and through their struggle, are informing the unwitting Canadian public. Diodora Hernandez, Francisca Pascal, Margarita Sebastian Castellan de Leon, Gregoria Cristanta Perez, Angelica Choc, and Rosa Elbira are just some of the women we've encountered in our research. There are and will be many others. As the ones who give birth give life, the women are concerned with the continuation of life, and that includes protecting the land, the source of all life. While men are also active in the struggle, it is most often the women that we have seen in land-defending leadership roles, because they recognize the impacts on the community, family, and land. We were fortunate enough to have a conversation with Jamie Kneen from the organization Mining Watch Canada to learn more about his experiences surrounding extractive industries and mine resistance. Jamie spoke to us about how the impacts on mining are highly gendered, especially early on in the mining process, and mining companies typically talk to the men about job opportunities and don't really approach the women. It's a large part of what happens around mining projects. You know, so the impacts of mining, you know, from the very early stages are highly gendered. You know, from the opening, you know, where a company comes in and says, hey, we've got a project, they typically talk to the men, and typically they find a better audience, and they'll find, you know, they'll find people who will say, oh, the jobs are great, and, you know, people haven't really thought about the impacts on the community, but where if they went to the women, they would probably get, in most cases, they would get a much more thoughtful response, because, you know, the women would be thinking about the impacts on the community and on the families, and, you know, not just the opportunity for work, but also what does it mean to reorient the community in that way, and so on. Even to the point of, you know, what happens when the men suddenly have disposable income, because that's often very detrimental to community life and family life, for that matter. You know, and we saw that in San Miguel, Echavacan, where they, you know, the cantinas are doing really well, and domestic violence and, you know, related problems are just burgeoning, because there's no, you know, there's no integrated way of dealing with that, and nobody's really, nobody's tried to mitigate it or, you know, build plans and, you know, find ways of monitoring and maybe separating the transient working population from the community itself, or, you know, what kind of safeguards need to be in place. So, yeah, no, it's just omnipresent. I know when we were doing, like, lots of the research, most of the, like, land defenders that spoke in, like, the documentaries we watched were the women. Well, it's interesting, too, because often it's less visible, you know, not just because it gets less attention, but also because it's feminine, because especially in macho cultures, you know, not only are men identified as leaders, but they act like leaders. So, you know, they're much more willing to be spokespersons, and women are, I would say, more deferential, but more communal in their approach, more collective, and so, you know, you do have, you know, in these documentary films and so on, the filmmakers are focusing on the women and their role, but you don't see the same sort of protagonism being assumed by female leaders in a lot of cases, because their leadership is more collective, more shared. I mean, it's kind of a stereotype, but it is also a reality. The communities affected by the Marlin Mine are certainly not the only ones. This story of resistance to exploitation, oppression, collusion occurs throughout Abiayala, in fact, the world. It occurs at the intersection of race, gender, and extractivism. This story is just one example of multi-layered resistance, even within Guatemala. We chose this particular example because we are Canadian, and there is documentation to show that the government of Canada is complicit. We want Canadians to know, and we hope Canadians will choose to take action in support of the Mayan women leaders and their communities. There is a lot of information readily available, and we can only share a little bit of it in the time we have here. Following the details can be a little confusing, because the names of the companies change as mergers occur, subsidiaries are started, and companies and projects are bought and sold. In the case of the Marlin Mine, exploration started under Montana Explorada, a subsidiary of Canadian-owned Glamis Gold. In 2006, Glamis merged with GoldCorp and was purchased by American-owned Newmont Gold, which is the largest and richest gold extraction company in the world. As names and ownerships shift, accountability grows even more elusive. For the communities, the issues remain to this day. The resistance continues because the core issues have never been resolved. From the outset of colonization, gold became a magnet for exploitation as colonizers sought to capitalize on the riches of the land. The lust for gold drove relentless pursuit, leading to the systematic exploitation of Indigenous populations for labour, resources, and wealth all over the world. As a result of this exploitation for gold, a foundation for social, economic, and environmental injustices began. At the opening of the Graham-Russell 2013 film Gold Fever, there is an 1800s quote from the King Ferdinand of Spain, Get gold, humanely if possible, but at all costs, get gold. At all costs, get gold. Fast forward to the 1950s and a newly elected Guatemalan government establishes a program of land repatriation in which lands taken from Indigenous communities and peasants would be returned to them. This threatened the profits of powerful corporations, especially those of the United Fruit Company. The United States government's CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency, and the United Fruit Company together staged a military coup, overthrowing the democratically elected government and initiating 36 cruel years of devastating civil war that cost the lives of at least 200,000 rural people, mostly Mayan people. Corporations and governments promoted foreign investment as a way to rebuild the nation and communities, not consulted, had foreign industry imposed on them. The incursion of mining allowed colonizers to benefit from the corruption and state-sponsored human rights abuses. This was seen through increased militarization and state-sponsored political violence against land defenders and Indigenous activists. The consequences of exploitation and extraction, particularly with the incursion of mining activities, have led to numerous injustices for local communities. Some of these include criminalization of land defenders for defending ancestral lands, genocide, massacres, and local disappearances. Communities are sometimes forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands to make way for mining operations. The extraction of minerals often results in significant environmental degradation, impacting the local ecosystems, depriving communities of vital resources. A petition started by FREDEMI and other Indigenous organizations in 2017 includes statistics. More than 10 water springs have disappeared. More than 500 family houses have been cracked. Many children suffer skin disease from bathing in stream waters surrounding the mines that are contaminated with heavy metals such as aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, lead, sulfate, and nitrates. All of the metals found surpass the permitted limits. Social conflict in the municipality has resulted in violence and death since the opening of the mine. As a result of mining and extractive actions, there are increased health consequences for local populations, including exposure to toxic substances, water contamination, and respiratory issues. Although there may be economic benefits for the country's economy, the benefits do not reach local communities. Instead, the communities face economic exploitation, with profits going primarily to external entities. The women land defenders are, of course, deeply integrated in their communities. They are also a part of an inter-community network called the Association for Integral Development. IDFMI is an Indigenous grassroots organization whose purpose is to encourage active community involvement and leadership in political advocacy and decision-making. This is achieved by promoting the revitalization and strengthening of MAM culture and conducting research, documenting, and publishing information on relevant socio-cultural elements. In December 2009, FREDEMI which stands for Frente de Defensa San Miguelense, was assisted by the Center for International Environmental Law, and together they requested Canada's help. They noted that the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, of which Canada is a founding member, has a guideline which states that enterprises should respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host government's international obligations and commitments. The national contact point, the branch of the Canadian government responsible for this, chose not to intervene, but rather to invite FREDEMI to meet with the company. Not trusting the process, FREDEMI declined, and Canada closed the file. Communities strongly object to large-scale industrial gold extraction for many reasons. Firstly, the excessive use of water raises concerns about the strain on local water sources potentially leading to shortages and ecological imbalances. The establishment of MAM camps associated with mining operations introduces social challenges such as increased population density, altered community dynamics, and potential social issues including violence against women. There are grievances due to the lack of meaningful consultation with the affected communities. The absence of pre-informed consent ignores the community's rights to voice concerns, contributes insights, and actively participates in decision-making processes. There is also understandable frustration over the blatant disregard for the needs and wants of the community. Furthermore, there is a denial of the actual negative documented impacts of extractive activities leaving the community to deal with the ongoing and increasing repercussions of environmental degradation. Goldcorp was well aware of their human and indigenous rights violations. In 2010, they sponsored a human rights assessment of their Marlin mine produced by Common Ground Consultants Inc. of Vancouver, BC. The report clearly outlined the human rights issues and provided recommendations. According to the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, at the time Goldcorp closed its Marlin mine in 2017, they had completed only 24 of the 42 recommendations. Although many community members are opposed to the mining and extraction on their ancestral lands, some individuals and communities support the extraction for financial reasons. One primary motivation is the pursuit of a living wage. Seen as a gateway to a better life, the promise of improved economic conditions and prospects of earning higher wages in the mines are compelling forces for some members of the community. There is also an expectation of better living standards, including promised housing and health centres for some communities. It can be a question of immediate and often desperate need versus long-term well-being that includes the continuation of life and culture. The communities surrounding the mine operations chose to reject mining in their territories. They came to their collective decision using their traditional democratic consulta process. The communities were exercising their right to practice the consulta. That's a right recognized under at least two major international legal instruments, the Indigenous Peoples Convention of 1989, also known as C-169, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, both to which Guatemala was and still is a signatory. There were vigorous but unsuccessful attempts to interfere with the consulta, including threats, violence, lies, promises, and an attempt by Glamis to get their injunction to prevent the consulta. In spite of the pressures and the cruelties, the murders and the desecration, the women continued to exercise their legal and human rights to seek justice. Details of the community's resistance to the Marlin Mine and the opposition they met from governments, including the Canadian government, are also available on miningwatch.ca. The site states, quote, locals had also expressed opposition to the mine through referenda, blockades, and marches, including one that brought hundreds of protesters to the Canadian embassy in Guatemala City, close quote. So it's not as if the Canadian government did not know. Further, 13 communities from Sipakapa brought their concerns to a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In May 2010, in an unprecedented request, the commission urged Guatemala to suspend the company's activities while the case was considered further at later hearings. It seemed at first that Guatemala would comply. However, upon learning of the commission's position, the Canadian ambassador to Guatemala held an emergency meeting with the commission. Next, the Canadian government's trade minister was involved and the minister of foreign affairs. In the 16 months between the commission's request to Goldcorp and the date of the hearing, Mining Watch notes that, quote, Canadian ambassadors, cabinet ministers, and other officials engaged with the Guatemalan government and commission officials in a series of phone calls, meetings, letters, and emails that focused on the commission request and Marlin Mine. Canadian officials communicated with Goldcorp about the commission request at least 37 times, close quote. They lobbied the Guatemalan government and the commission extensively, and they also helped Goldcorp to do so. Following the hearing, the commission no longer requested suspension of the mining activities. Sound suspicious? A law professor and founder of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project must have thought so too. Shin Emi filed access to information requests and found sections on at least 20 pages had been blacked out. The damning details and analysis are in the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project's report, The Two Faces of Canadian Diplomacy, Undermining International Institutions to Support Canadian Mining. Here's another quote from the Mining Watch website. Canadian officials, including ambassadors and cabinet ministers, went to great lengths to present Goldcorp's position to the Guatemalan government and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The public should be able to scrutinize the government's actions here to assess the extent to which it undermined Indigenous communities' efforts to defend their rights, close quote. Dr. Imai took the Canadian government to Canada's federal court seeking access to redacted records and unfortunately lost. Mining Watch quotes Emily Dyer, the policy of director at the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, quote, if Canadians can't obtain meaningful information about the diplomatic support of our government, that our government is providing to these companies overseas, then our public disclosure rules are out of date and in need to reform, end quote. Catherine Coomans of Mining Watch is quoted on their website, we have walked into embassies and raised concerns with them about issues happening at Canadian mine sites and been told directly by the ambassador and others that we've met with that their mandate is to promote and protect the interests of Canadian companies operating in that country, close quote. Because of this official attitude by Canada, even while the commission's request to Guatemala to suspend the exploitation license was still active and the women were still expressing their rejection of the mining activities, the company confidently continued their incursions. The communities are left with the ongoing effects of the incursion. They don't know whether the mine will eventually be closed safely or how they will obtain compensation for the harms against them. The resistance continues. The key to success for land defender movements is staying united. In the article Fighting a Huge Monster by Nina Lakhani, Patricio Lopez states that if our people don't know their own story or understand how big corporations and the government work together, they'll be manipulated and divided again and again. No matter where you are, the most important thing is for communities to stay united. And Sarah Curruchich gives us the same message. In the film Gold Fever, an example of the community exercising strength in numbers is when they were able to halt the detainment of Gregoria by many people blocking the road. Other movements like ADISMI and Moldimental Maya play a crucial role in effectively addressing concerns and grievances, responding to threats, and establishing networks to counter attempts at division by the local government and corporations. These movements work alongside local communities to safeguard the land, waters, and Indigenous rights that are oftentimes affected by government and corporate cooperation and extraction projects. Other ways in which these movements aid in addressing human rights concerns associated with extractive industries involves advocating for comprehensive land right reform to ensure recognition and protection for Indigenous communities, supporting sustainable land management practices grounded in Indigenous knowledge, and working towards enhancing the representation of Indigenous people in political processes and decision making. What can Canadians do to aid in this ongoing battle? We can engage with national and international human rights organizations to advocate for Indigenous rights, document abuses, and raise awareness. We can also support reconciliation initiatives to address grievances. Suggestions made by the filmmaker and author Graham Russell to address systemic, industry-wide problems of impunity and immunity from legal liability, which are the norm in Canada, include an Ombudsperson to investigate human rights violations connected to Canadian-owned mines around the world. Also, an end to double standards in legal accountability and access to criminal and civil law remedies. Also, civil law reforms to ensure that corporations can no longer avoid liability for harms, violations, and crimes abroad through the manipulated argument that the home company incorporated in Canada cannot be held liable for the actions of wholly or partially owned and controlled subsidiary companies. And, reforms to the Criminal Code to enable the Provincial or Federal Attorney General's Office to investigate allegations of criminal mining behaviour in other countries that result in crimes. Hopefully, these recommendations will finally be formally discussed by policymakers in the Canadian Parliament soon. Last year, 2022, a Canadian Member of Parliament, Peter Julian, introduced a bill in the House of Commons that recognizes the need for Canada to assume a more responsible role in international corporate matters. Bill C-262 is called an Act Respecting the Corporate Responsibility to Prevent, Address, and Remedy Adverse Impacts on Human Rights Occurring in Relation to Business Activities Conducted Abroad. It's been through first reading and must be read twice more and successfully voted on before going to the Senate, where it also must proceed through three readings before it can become law. In addition, the Canadian 2021 Statute, an Act Respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada finally signed after many years of not signing it, means that the Canadian government must change its laws to be consistent with the Declaration. Multiple articles of the Declaration apply to this situation of Gold Corp in Guatemala, and it would take at least one additional podcast to even scratch the surface of that topic. Canadians can get personally involved with this process by learning about Bill C-262 and UNDRIP, communicating with their Members of Parliament, and putting pressure on politicians to keep the conversation going until we have effective laws that require Canadian corporations to prioritize human rights above profit. Without the ongoing resistance of the Mayan women protecting their lands and communities, understanding what needs to happen would not have been possible. Canadians who have a vested interest and responsibility to support land defenders internationally can stay informed about these global land defence issues, Indigenous rights, and the environmental challenges these locals face. By familiarizing ourselves with the consequences of exploitation and resource extraction, and understanding how our consumer choices influence this problem, we can advance our awareness and knowledge on the subject and advocate for change. As reviewed in the article Extractivism and Extractivismo by Thea Rios-Francos, it is Indigenous nations that are actively involved in strategies to resist extractivist activities and exercise their inherent rights to ancestral lands, cultural integrity, and the right to consent. It is within government and company alliances that these Indigenous nations are in opposition with. That is why enhancing our awareness and advocating for change is so important. Canadians can also support NGOs who are dedicated to international land defence and Indigenous rights, such as Mining Watch, and engage in advocacy campaigns to influence policymakers. Let's educate our Members of Parliament and ask them to create policies and legislation that will hold Canadian corporations accountable for their actions elsewhere. Let's educate ourselves and each other. For further information, check out the Mining Watch website or any of the resources we've mentioned, or simply do an internet search of Guatemala and Mining and Indigenous rights. If you're interested in connecting with us about our work, please send us an email. Our contact information is on the attached poster along with links and references to all resources mentioned. Thanks again for listening and a big thank you goes out to Jamie at Mining Watch for being a part of our podcast and taking the time out of his day to talk to us. And another big thank you goes out to Sarah Curruchich and her team for allowing us to incorporate and showcase her art. Thank you.