Last Friday, October 8th, the event “Chile: No Bicentenary on Stolen Mapuche Territory! 200 Years of Genocide – Our People Continue Resisting,” was held at the University of Toronto. The Women’s Coordinating Committee for a Free Wallmapu carried out the moving program between music, poetry and political speech inclding a heartfelt performance by Illogic; creating awareness on the 89 day Hunger Strike the Mapuche Political Prisoners maintained in prisons of southern Chile, as well as expressed solidarity towards the Toronto G20 arrestees, persecuted and wanted. Moreover, the group movingly emphasized the arbitrary arrest of one of their young members and student of the University of Toronto, just days before on G20 Conspiracy related charges from last June’s mobilizations.

 

The special premier screening of Subversive Action Films’ “The Chicago Conspiracy,” was the highlight of the night, a film made in Chile over the death and political/economic legacy of Dictator Augusto Pinochet, and extends into the indigenous Mapuche Territories of Wallmapu.  The presence of indigenous women, such as our sisters Chrissy Swan from Grassy Narrows and Missy “Ojista:rio” Elliott of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory gave the event the touch of brotherly solidarity between peoples that was absent from the lack of public, which for various reasons did not come and lost the chance to see an exceptional  film, never before seen in Toronto... Perhaps for next time, the community will be more prepared and lose the fear of being arrested from attending such public political events as has been the trend throughout these last few months in Toronto.

 

Viviana Avila

The Women’s Coordinating Committee for a Free Wallmapu [Toronto]