March 24, 2015
From the acclaimed series Standing on Sacred Ground, Profit and Loss documents how indigenous groups from Papua New Guinea to the tar sands of Alberta, Canada fight the loss of land, water and health to mining and oil industries.
From New Guinean rain forests to Canada’s tar sands, Profit and Loss exposes industrial threats to native peoples’ health, livelihood and cultural survival. In Papua New Guinea, a nickel mine that violently relocated villagers to taboo land is building a new pipeline and refinery, and dumping mining waste into the sea. In Alberta, First Nations people suffer from rare cancers as their traditional hunting grounds are strip mined to unearth the world’s third-largest oil reserve. Rare verité scenes of tribal life and intimate interviews allow indigenous people to tell their own stories—and confront us with the ethical consequences of our culture of consumption. Narrated by Graham Greene (Oneida).
About Our Hosts: Dr. Cecilia Martinez (The Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy) and Tom Goldtooth (Indigenous Environmental Network)
Dr. Cecilia Martinez, Director of Research Programs. Dr. Cecilia Martinez previous positions include Associate Research Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of Delaware, Associate Professor at Metropolitan State University and Research Director at the American Indian Policy Center. Dr. Martinez has led a variety of projects to address sustainable development at the local and international levels. Her research is focused on the development of energy and environmental strategies that promote equitable and sustainable policies. She currently serves on the Climate Action Planning Steering Committee for the City of Minneapolis. Dr. Martinez has also worked with a range of organizations from local grassroots groups to international organizations engaging in the promotion of sound environmental policy and environmental justice. Most recently she completed an analysis of coal-based energy and environmental justice communities, and a review of climate adaptation and public health for the National Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change. She has been appointed to several national advisory boards including, the National Advisory Committee to the EPA for the Council on Environmental Cooperation, and the Research Working Group for the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She is also on the leadership team for the national EJ and Science Initiative, and is leading the effort on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on environmental harms. She is working on a manuscript on environmental justice and climate change and among her other publications is the co-edited volume Environmental Justice: Discourses in International Political Economy which includes some of her work on North American Indigenous peoples and the challenge of forging a common agenda of indigenous rights, justice and sustainability. She received her B.A. from Stanford University and her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware’s College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, where she received the Ryden Prize for Best Dissertation in the Social Sciences. (CEED)
The Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED) was founded by a group of researchers, educators and community activists who saw the need to affirm and revitalize principles of democracy and social justice in energy and environmental policy. The founders saw the need for quality policy research and education to create a more honest and accountable system for preserving our social and environmental heritage. CEED proudly joins with a long tradition of individuals and communities who have actively worked to keep the Earth healthy for future generations.
Tom Goldtooth is Dine’ and Dakota and lives in Minnesota. Since the late 1980’s, Tom has been involved with environmental related issues and programs working within tribal governments in developing indigenous-based environmental protection infrastructures. Tom works with indigenous peoples worldwide. Tom is known as one of the environmental justice movement grassroots leaders in North America addressing toxics and health, mining, energy, climate, water, globalization, sustainable development and indigenous rights issues. Tom is one of the founders of the Durban Group for Climate Justice; co-founder of Climate Justice NOW!; a co-founder of the U.S. based Environmental Justice Climate Change initiative and a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change that operates as the indigenous caucus within the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change. Tom is a policy adviser to indigenous communities on environmental protection and more recently on climate policy focusing on mitigation, adaptation and concerns of false solutions. (Indigenous Environmental Network)
Established in 1990 within the United States, IEN was formed by grassroots Indigenous peoples and individuals to address environmental and economic justice issues. IEN’s activities include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect our sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities. IEN accomplishes this by maintaining an informational clearinghouse, organizing campaigns, direct actions and public awareness, building the capacity of community and tribes to address environmental justice issues, development of initiatives to impact policy, and building alliances among Indigenous communities, tribes, inter-tribal and Indigenous organizations, people-of-color/ethnic organizations, faith-based and women groups, youth, labor, environmental organizations and others. IEN convenes local, regional and national meetings on environmental and economic justice issues, and provides support, resources and referral to Indigenous communities and youth throughout primarily North America – and in recent years – globally.
Location and Time
Augsburg College
Sateren Auditorium, Music Hall, 715 22nd Ave South
Reception 6:15-6:45
Screening begins at 7:00
Discussion to follow
Thank you to our sponsors:
Augsburg College
American Indian, First Nations, and Indigenous Studies Department
Environmental Studies Program
Institute for Global Studies, University of Minnesota
Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy
Indigenous Environmental Network
