Research summary
The growth of extractive activities, such as mining, oil and gas, and wind power generation, has created a number of conflicts involving Indigenous communities that see these activities as a threat to their territories and livelihoods. Indigenous women are increasingly playing central roles in efforts to mobilize against resource extraction, drawing attention to the connection between the land around them and what happens to their bodies. More research is needed to understand how Indigenous People, particularly women and femme individuals, experience different types of resource extraction.
Dr. Isabel Altamirano-Jiménez, Canada Research Chair in Comparative Indigenous Feminist Studies, is looking at two regions-the Northwest Territories in Canada and Oaxaca, Mexico-to document whether different extractive activities produce distinctive experiences for Indigenous People. By focusing on Canada and Mexico, she and her research team aim to offer unique insights into current colonial, gendered processes of resource extraction, devaluation of bodies, and Indigenous embodied practices of resistance.