Confronting Terricide: Indigenous Climate Camp Report

Raleigh Burleigh’s multi-media presentation will discuss indigenous, female-led actions in defense of our planet. In early February 2020, Movimiento de Mujeres Indígenas por el Buen Vivir hosted a plurinational climate camp on recovered Mapuche territory Lof Pillán Mahuiza within the borders of Puelwillimapu, Argentina. Raleigh renewed connections with this community and received audio at the event, analyzing the climate crisis as a continuation of colonialism and the disruption of integral relationships between native peoples and their ecosystems. The term ‘terricide’ alludes to the preventable destruction not only of physical ecosystems but also the spiritual bonds that maintain our balance.

Bio: Following a year-long youth exchange to Chile at age 16, Raleigh’s studies have focused on better understanding the relationship of our empire to the greater world. In 2015, he returned to Chile and continued toward Southwest Argentina informally teaching English. His relationship to Radio Comunitaria FM Alas in El Bolsón resulted in deepening connections with a local Mapuche family. In 2019, Raleigh first visited the recovered territory of Lof Pillán Mahuiza which formed the basis for a podcast published through KDNK Community Access Radio in Carbondale. This February, Raleigh renewed those connections in support of a plurinational climate camp and returns to share wisdom and impressions from that gathering.