Socio-ecological transitions from indigenous contexts: Mobile resurgences of Mapuche communities in Wallmapu, Chile

In the global and civilisational crisis we are facing, it is imperative to seek pathways to alternative futures. Critical ideas from decolonial thought, political ecology and human ecology have clearly suggested the need to study and promote socio-ecological transitions to - and from - the 'pluriverse'.

This is particularly important in intercultural regions such as Latin America, where the practice of sustainability needs to be integrated with deep decolonial processes. The work to be discussed in this seminar suggests that emerging mobile practices led by Indigenous Peoples - particularly Mapuche groups in southern Chile - are generating socio-ecological knowledge and processes of cultural vindicación that may be crucial for transitions in intercultural contexts. However, they are still undermined by hegemonic epistemological frameworks and socio-political forces that need to be overcome. 

This seminar synthesises some mobile and socio-ecological Mapuche practices that have been studied over the last 12 years through a multi-sited ethnography conducted by an interdisciplinary team in close collaboration with Mapuche people living in Wallmapu, Chile. 

Based on the New Mobility Paradigm, this multi-sited ethnography was conducted using a mix of mobile, indigenous and participatory methods, including walking interviews, flux mapping, go-along, shadowing, Mapcuhe`s nutram and participatory mapping. 

In particular, the seminar will examine two socio-spatial phenomena led by Mapuche groups:

1. urban-rural mobility practices in the context of the urbanisation of indigenous lands
2. mobile socio-ecological relations with more than human beings - especially processes of seed exchange carried out through the practice of trafkintu in the Andean foothills of the Wallmapu. 

The seminar will discuss the importance of socio-ecological practices led by indigenous groups for more ecological and decolonial futures.

Speakers

Gonzalo Salazar

Gonzalo Salazar is Associate Professor at the Institute for Sustainable Development, the Institute for Urban and Regional Studies and the Villarrica Campus, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. His research interests include sustainability theory, urban sustainability, community transitions to sustainability, intercultural and indigenous studies, education for sustainability and ecological design.