Indigenous Resistance
RESOURCED at Marketplace Gallery
Posted August 10, 2010 by k_c_ in Justseeds & Member Projects
Here are some photos of the RESOURCED exhibit at Marketplace Gallery, 40 Broadway Albany, NY.
"We Agree: A Crisis In Common" Opening!
Posted August 5, 2010 by roger_peet in Art exhibits/shows
Portland! Come out tomorrow evening, Thursday August 5th, to the SEA Change Gallery, downtown in the Everett Station Lofts, for the Opening of "We Agree: A Crisis in Common". Two giant blockprints about the impact of the natural gas industry on both sides of the Pacific: One made by the Portland-based members of Justseeds, and the other by renowned Indonesian printmaking cooperative Taring Padi! The prints are huge and dense and awesome, and the gallery is packed to the rafters with other work by Roger Peet, Alec "Icky" Dunn, Pete Yahnke, and members of Taring Padi. For more information on the project, navigate here
SEA Change Gallery
625 NW Everett Street
Gallery #110
Portland, OR
Opening at 5pm, refreshments will be available to those with quick feet and swift lifting elbows!
Justseeds 2010 Portfolio RESOURCED Available!!!
Posted August 2, 2010 by k_c_ in Justseeds & Member Projects
Justseeds Artists' Cooperative has released the highly anticipated project, RESOURCED, a portfolio of 26 hand-made art prints that explore the devastating effects of resource extraction and environmental devastation. The collection provides a critical look at what people can do in defense of the planet. Graphics have always played a vital and powerful role in exposing injustices throughout history, and RESOURCED follows this tradition, offering urgent messages about sustainability, environmental justice, and clean energy. Included in the portfolio are some of today’s most exciting street artists and poster makers, including Gaia, Chris Stain, Favianna Rodriguez, Armsrock, and others. Artists collaborated with organizations to produce images illustrating topics around environmental destruction, food sovereignty, workers' rights, Indigenous struggles, and examining the effects of mountaintop removal, oil extraction from tar sands, hydro-fracturing, mega-dam projects, mining, over-fishing, and much more.
The Rough Road to San Juan Copala//El accidentado camino a San Juan Copala
Posted June 12, 2010 by santi in Indigenous Resistance
The Rough Road to San Juan Copala
Six buses, several cars and vans, and a trailer truck packed with 35 tons of food, medical supplies, etc. left the Mexico City Zócalo for San
Juan Copala, Oaxaca, at 9:20 the night of Monday, June 12. The name of
the Caravana, “Beti Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola”, is in honor of a strong,
much loved human rights defender who worked tirelessly for the
unification of the Triqui people, and of a comrade from Finland who
worked with the VOCAL organization on food sovereignty and climate
change projects, also much loved and appreciated for his stance of
solidarity. The two were murdered by the UBISORT paramilitary group led
by Rufino Juárez on April 27 of this year for daring to participate in
the first humanitarian caravan to the Autonomous Municipality. Their
motive? Breaking through a paramilitary siege that has forced 700
families to live without light, water, school, medical attention and
with very little food ever since last November 27.
OAXACA. SUPPORT FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN COPALA: A call to mobilize in support of the resistance of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala next June 8
Posted June 4, 2010 by santi in Indigenous Resistance
OAXACA. SUPPORT FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN COPALA
A call to mobilize in support of the resistance of the Autonomous
Municipality of San Juan Copala next June 8
The Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala has been under siege for
the last 6 months. Armed paramilitaries continue to block roads and
refuse to allow people to come and go freely. As a result of their
actions, there is no electricity, drinking water, or medical attention
in Copala. The children can’t go to school because there are no
teachers. Paramilitaries shoot at townspeople daily, resulting in the
deaths of at least 21 people between last November and May.
Because I have roots in Arizona...
Posted May 28, 2010 by Melanie_Cervantes in Indigenous Resistance
A Xicanita in the making, Arizona, 1982
My earliest memories of experiencing the Southern Border are of trips to the place where my dad grew up and where my tio Tony and tia Maria lived-Nogales. They lived on the Arizona side of the border but my uncle and my dad were born on the Mexico side. I remember my mom preparing me for our return trip back into the United States. Say "American Citizen, mija". I repeated the words and wondered why everyone in the car didn't do the same. It seemed easy enough. But the accents my mom, tia and tio spoke with would cause alarm even if they tried. They were racialized not only by their skin color but by the way they spoke so they always showed their "Green Cards" to prove they were "resident aliens".
Cordyceps Mural in the Zapatista Community of Morelia, Chiapas.
Posted May 25, 2010 by santi in Indigenous Resistance
This last April we had the opportunity to get invited to do a mural at the Autonomous Zapatista Commuity of Caracol IV, Torbellino de Nuestras Palabras, Morelia, Chiapas. Two of us spent a week working hard literally from dawn until dusk everyday, and at nights we got to hang out and spend time with our Tzeltal friends, eat lots of beans, rice, tostadas, and habaneros. (The best food you could ever wish for.) This is a little story in pictures of the time we spent there.
Justseeds/TaringPadi Anti-LNG print
Posted May 24, 2010 by roger_peet in Art & Politics
Take a look at some of these photos of the printing session we had yesterday in rainy Portland. People came over to help jump up and down on the giant block, in the traditional Taring Padi manner... This print is part of a collaboration with the Indonesian print group Taring Padi, addressing issues of natural gas exploitation on both sides of the Pacific. Next up, the Northwest Natural shareholders meeting on the 27th!
Alto Arizona Art Campaign
Posted May 11, 2010 by k_c_ in Art & Politics
There is a large gallery of some incredible designs, responding to the Arizona legislation SB 1070, over at Alto Arizona and in their Facebook page.
Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation, SB 1070. This is a bill which apparently mandates racial profiling. This bill allows Arizona law enforcement stop and search any person that they have “probable suspicion” may be “illegal”. SB 1070 is quite literally intended to terrorize immigrant families and force “self deportation”.We are hopeful Governor Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts. But we will not rely solely on hope. We urge all artists who are opponents of this bill to TAKE ACTION and create a IMAGE. The images will be used as part of our online viral campaign for ALTO ARIZONA. Selected images will eventually be published as prints to generate revenue for this campaign with consent of the artist.
Details:
Create an image that shows your opposition to SB 1070. Keep in mind the effect that this bill will have on immigrants if fully enforced.
Make sure to include the title of the bill in the work which is: “SB 1070”.
Send all submissions and questions to
orders (at) hechoconganas.com
Specifications:
Image size must be 18x24 inches with a 1/2 inch border all the way around.
The reason for these dimensions is because if in the future your image is chosen to be published the image is ready to go.
Jesus Barraza & Melanie Cervantes designs above.
No Human Being is Illegal
Posted May 2, 2010 by k_c_ in Street Art & Graffiti
New Mural on top of the RDAC BX rooftop, painted by DASIC.
You can catch a good glimpse of it by taking the Bruckner Expressway through the South Bronx, look West!
First Nations United Statement Against SB 1070
Posted May 1, 2010 by k_c_ in Indigenous Resistance
First Nations United Statement Against SB 1070
PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2010
"While the power of the Europeans has continued, I see the other part of the Ghost Dance prophecy coming true today. So-called 'Hispanics,' with faces that sure look like Indians to me, are returning to repopulate North America. We cannot always speak to each other because we have learned the languages of different colonial powers. But these Indians have as much right to come and go on our land as the geese when they migrate north and south. No one would dare to ask them for their passports and visas as they cross man made borders.Instead of seeing 'Hispanics' as outsiders who do not belong here, we need to start seeing them as ancestors of the original inhabitants of these lands. They are the living fulfillment of the Ghost Dance prophecy."
-Chief Billy Redwing Tayac, Piscataway Nation
Armed attack on the Support and Solidarity Caravan to the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca
Posted April 28, 2010 by santi in Indigenous Resistance
(Español Abajo)
Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca. April 27, 2010
To the news media
To the peoples of Mexico
To the peoples of the world
To the peoples of Oaxaca
Armed attack on the Support and Solidarity Caravan to the Autonomous
Municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca
CONTEXT:
Yesterday, an announcement was sent to the news media about the Caravan
headed for the Triqui Region in our state of Oaxaca. Caravan
participants include members of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of
Oaxaca (APPO), Section 22 of the teachers’ union, Oaxacan Voices
Constructing Autonomy and Freedom (VOCAL), CACTUS, members of MULT-I
(Independent Triqui Movement of Unification and Struggle), as well as
international observers.
Progress on the Project
Posted April 28, 2010 by roger_peet in Art & Politics
Here's some pictures from the ongoing Large Print Project in Portland. Icky, Pete and Roger have begun carving a 3' x 10' block of lino to make a counterpart to the Taring Padi print that Roger brought back from Indonesia a couple months ago. 
Call-out of Support for the 2010 Justseeds Portfolio: Resourced
Posted April 27, 2010 by k_c_ in Justseeds & Member Projects
Justseeds is in the middle of an ambitious project and needs your help. We are producing our second handmade portfolio: Resourced. Resourced is a collection of handmade prints tackling issues of climate change, resource extraction, and environmental justice. It follows our 2008 portfolio: Voices From Outside: Artists Against the Prison Industrial Complex. At a time when the world community is in dialogue about how to handle the human impact on the planet, this new project will inject fresh visual ideas into the conversation. We are in need of financial and material support to actualize this project.
Please read the following letter for instructions on how you can donate, or pre-purchase a portfolio. We are also in need of website design assistance. If you are capable of offering any labor or services please email us:
blog (at) justseeds.org
Earthday is Everyday Bike Ride & Justseeds Eco-Art Show
Posted April 21, 2010 by k_c_ in Justseeds & Member Projects
Earth day bike ride starting 7pm from Union Square Park South. Dress in green with respect for the planet! Festive musical ride will end at a 8pm, BBQ and dance party at Time’s Up Brooklyn space and East River Bar at 97 South 6th Street, Williamsburg. Bring food to share.
Thursday, April 22, 2010 7pm BIKE RIDE Meet at Union Square Park South, Manhattan. 8pm AFTER-PARTY Just Seeds Eco Art Show & BBQ
The Justseeds Collective will also be exhibiting members prints of an ecological & environmental nature following the Times Up Earth Day bicycle ride. Included in the exhibit will be previews of the upcoming Justseeds portfolio Resourced.
Resourced is a portfolio of handmade posters designed by over 30 different artists, including Chris Stain, Gaia, Armsrock, Design Action Collective, and many Justseeds Members. Justseeds is an artists’ owned and operated cooperative that is dedicated to producing socially engaged artworks. Prints and projects can be viewed at Justseeds.org
Go to Times Up for more information on the ride.
World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
Posted April 16, 2010 by k_c_ in Events
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World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
Cochabamba, Bolivia
April 19-22, 2010
From the Guardian.co.uk:
...presidents, politicians, intellectuals, scientists and Hollywood stars will join more than 15,000 indigenous people and thousands of grass roots groups from more than 100 countries to debate climate change in one of the world's poorest nations.The World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth which opens next week in the small Bolivian town of Cochabamba, will have no direct bearing on the UN climate talks being conducted by 192 governments. But Bolivian President Evo Morales says it will give a voice to the poorest people of the world and encourage governments to be far more ambitious following the failure of the Copenhagen summit.
Thu April 22nd Graphic Artshow - Scratchboards by Antonio Valverde - Mexico City
Posted April 15, 2010 by santi in Art exhibits/shows
GRAPHIC ARTSHOW OPENING
Scratchboards by Antonio Valverde
Thurdsay April 22nd
7pm
The Story of Cap & Trade
Posted February 18, 2010 by k_c_ in Campaigns
While doing some research on tar sands(see below for info) for the Justseeds 2010 portfolio-Resourced, I came across this video. From the folks that produced the "Story of Stuff", is the Story of Cap and Trade. It was produced for last Decembers UN climate talks that happened in Copenhagen. The website is incredibly user friendly, making materials easily available for download. A good example of how a website can disseminate media for campaigns.
The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.
The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis. If you’ve heard about cap and trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.
Against the invasion of their land
Posted February 14, 2010 by Jesse_Purcell in Culture Jamming / Ads & Adbusting
This slightly perplexing but kinda mind blowing and very smart.
Check out more photos at the Guardian.
Anti-Colonial Indigenous VIsuality
Posted January 18, 2010 by dylan_miner in Indigenous Resistance
Last week I uploaded my recent article on sneakers, masculinity, consumption and radical politics. Hopefully a handful of people trudged their way their the writing to uncover some insightful ideas. This week, I am sharing a book chapter that was recently published on the rhetorics of the Américas. In short, the book is about the multiple ways that Indigenous and Latina/o citizens throughout the Western hemisphere communicate with one another.
For my contribution, I use the revolutionary thinking of Frantz Fanon and Louis Riel to situate my arguments about Indigenous ways of seeing and ways of making art. By and large, the essay is based around Louis Riel's famous quotation: 'My people will sleep for 100 years and when they awaken it will be the artists that give them back their spirits.'
As anti-authoritarian and aboriginal artists, I cannot think of any more central function of our work then re-invigorating and and re-establishing our collective spirit and humanity.
Download the article here. Since the PDF is a scan, the download may take awhile…so be patient.
Roads Through Palestine: Driving the Geography of War
Posted December 17, 2009 by k_c_ in Film & Video
Our pal Brett Story's film Roads Through Palestine can be viewed online now. It's an impressive collection of imagery captured in the West Bank over 2003-5, I believe.
I came across the video on Art Threat, where Rob Maguire says:
Billowing smoke pours from a bus, as a fire crew attempts to douse the flames. Long, aching lines of motionless vehicles sit at one of Israel’s hated checkpoints. Two men habitually pray on the road alongside their stopped car. A lone helicopter hovers overhead, reinforcing the reality of perpetual occupation.Roads Through Palestine is a cinematic portrait of life in the West Bank, and an intimate reflection on the geography of war. The short film, directed by Brett Story with music by Stefan Christoff, features scenes that are eerie and evocative, yet painfully commonplace.
Having spent time in the West Bank myself, I recalled the outrage I felt every time I was trapped at the checkpoint, where a handful of teenaged occupiers unjustly stood between us travelers and our destinations. But the feel of the 11-minute piece, with its muted colours and choppy, slow motion picture, more closely reflects the banal humiliation suffered by the Palestinian people day in and day out, for whom occupation is not a novelty, but a 40-year curse.
Indigenous Peoples of Canada March on Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen to Protest Tar Sands
Posted December 16, 2009 by Jesse_Purcell in Indigenous Resistance
Made In Palestine
Posted October 1, 2009 by k_c_ in Film & Video
Here is video exploring many different aspects of the Keffiyah; its history, colonization, the appropriation of symbols of resistance. and how Palestinian businesses are affected by the global market.
Watch the first part of Made In Palestine on Youtube.
Here is Part 2:
One might conclude, from this video, that the behavior of Israel is consistent with other colonizers throughout history.
Here in NYC and the USA the pattern found on the Keffiyah has been used by the fashion industry making it contextless, and significant only in its trend. Attractive people from all backgrounds enjoy wearing the scarves and may not know its reference to Palestinian resistance.
This "decontextualization" becomes more and more common, since everything is
capable of being commodified, that is when revolutionary cultural expressions are sold to the dominant, and mainstream, culture.
How does this effect or change the way people struggle?
We Rise Up From The Earth
Posted September 7, 2009 by Jesus_Barraza in Indigenous Resistance
In September I worked on a series of three screen prints for a artist exchange project that I have been part of this year. The exchange has taken me across the United States, Guatemala and Colombia totaling five weeks of traveling with a group of 20 artist 14 of them from indigenous communities in from Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. These trips were very inspiring and helped me gain a better understanding of the world we are living in, especially in the global south where there is a movement rising to change the neo-colonial relationship with the first world.
Now that the exchange has been completed all the artist have created new artwork that reflects their experiences, this artwork will be collected for a traveling exhibit that will open in June of 2009 in Bogota, Colombia at the Museo del Banco Nacional. It is very exciting to have this work travel in through out north and the south and reach so many.
This is the artist statement for the triptych:
We Rise Up From The Earth
I first learned about the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor in 1996, which foretells the reunification of the Northern and Southern continents and will aid in healing the relationships between and within indigenous communities toward the goal of becoming whole again. I think that this process of healing is one that will take as long as it took for the sickness, that colonialism and imperialism left behind, to take hold and that there will be many meetings of indigenous people that will facilitate this healing.
