Indigenous Geo-Social Practices and the Environment in the Andes

The event's speaker will be Valentina Acuña, historian and doctoral candidate in sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her ethnographic research intersects political geology with perspectives of dwelling the land of indigenous peoples at the Atacama Desert.

In her lecture, she will explore the connection between the indigenous peoples of the Andes and the Earth, using the geothermal field "El Tatio" as a case study. Located 4,290 meters above sea level in the Atacama Desert, this site has witnessed diverse relationships between indigenous communities and the Chilean State. The lecture will focus on the practices and memories of the Atacameños towards this place, in order to understand how the Earth is much more than an inert scenario on which social and political life develops. From affective customs to embodied knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, the lecture will present the surprising vitality that indigenous peoples find in their relationship with the Earth, as well as moments of tension and conflict, exploring how sometimes contradictory practices coexist, including exploitative relationships with the Earth.

An introduction to the lecture will be delivered by Béla Soltész (Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Global and Development Studies).

The event will be held in English, with no translation. The event is free of charge and open to the public. No previous registration is necessary.

Image: www.viajao.com.br