On Sunday, September 25 at 6pm, join Massy Arts Society, Massy Books and Between the Lines Publishing for the launch of Testimonio. This truth-telling exposé about the the Canadian mining industry in Guatemala features wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground.

Join editor Catherine Nolin for an insightful discussion on the interconnected systems that back this “juggernaut of exploitation,” and on how our roles as those standing in solidarity and bearing witness becomes more radical than ever.

Registration is free, open to all and mandatory for entrance.
Purchase Testimonio at Massy Books

Venue & Accessibility
The event will be hosted at the Massy Arts Gallery, at 23 East Pender Street in Chinatown, Vancouver.

Registration is free, open to all and mandatory for entrance. The gallery is wheelchair accessible and a gender-neutral washroom is on-site.

Covid Protocols: Attendees must provide proof of vaccination, wear a mask (N95 masks are encouraged and recommended as they offer the best protection), and consent to having their temperature checked at the front door. We ask if you are showing symptoms, that you stay home. Thank you kindly.

The Book

What is land? A resource to be exploited? A commodity to be traded? A home to cherish? In Guatemala, a country still reeling from thirty-six years of US-backed state repression and genocides, dominant Canadian mining interests cash in on the transformation of land into “property,” while those responsible act with near-total impunity. 

Editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell draw on over thirty years of community-based research and direct community support work in Guatemala to expose the ruthless state machinery that benefits the Canadian mining industry—a staggeringly profitable juggernaut of exploitation, sanctioned and supported every step of the way by the Canadian government. 

This edited collection calls on Canadians to hold our government and companies fully to account for their role in enabling and profiting from violence in Guatemala. The text stands apart in featuring a series of unflinching testimonios (testimonies) authored by Indigenous community leaders in Guatemala, as well as wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground. 

As resources are ripped from the earth and communities and environments ripped apart, the act of standing in solidarity and bearing witness—rather than extracting knowledge—becomes more radical than ever.

The Editor

Catherine Nolin is a Professor of Geography and Chair of the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Catherine recently completed her 4-year term as the elected Vice-Chair & Chair of the Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG). CLAG is the premier geographic organization for geographers engaging in research in Latin America and the Caribbean and works to foster research, education, and service related to Latin American geographical studies. Catherine is a long-time insurgent researcher and social justice advocate who has been grappling with the afterlives of the Guatemalan genocides for more than twenty-five years.

Donating to Massy Arts Society

Have you noticed our by donation ticket option? Massy Arts Society is primarily funded by Massy Books, an Indigenous woman-owned and operated bookstore on the unceded territories of XwMuthkwium (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. To date we haven’t received any operating funds from any grants and are now providing the option for folks to contribute to keeping our events accessible and doors open. All proceeds from your donation will go towards operation costs of our community hub while we focus on supporting the practices of Indigenous and over-excluded artists. Consider donating when you register for your next event.