#5 Frontlines Are Everywhere — Carving out Resurgent W̱SÁNEĆ Futures with Chazz Elliott
featuring Temoseng Chazz Elliot (Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations)
On location at Temoseng’s Carving Studio in Tsartlip First Nation, Jeff and Chazz talk about the art of carving, what Indigenous internationalism looks like, favorite art projects, and inspirations for his work, including his late father, TEMOSEṈŦET (Dr. Charles Elliott from Tsartlip First Nation) and his mother, Myrna Elliott from Songhees Nation.
Listen to Episode Five of the Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast on YouTube.
The Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast takes a critical look at world politics and Indigenous nationhood by discussing Indigenous-led resurgence and activist movements, Indigenous trade networks, Indigenous climate action and the formation of new alliances that transcend colonial state borders among other topics. Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel will be interviewing Indigenous scholars, activists, artists and knowledge holders from across Turtle Island and around the world in order to gain insight into how Indigenous peoples practice their own forms of Internationalism through intimate connections to land/water, culture and community.
#4 Frontlines Are Everywhere — The Art of Resistance and Anarchism with Gord Hill
featuring Gord Hill of Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nation (artist, author, and political activist)
Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel of Cherokee Nation sits down with Gord Hill of Kwakwaka’wakw nation for the fourth episode of Frontlines Are Everywhere.
Gord Hill is an artist, author, and political activist. He is the author of ‘The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book,’ ‘The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book,’ and ‘The Antifa Comic Book.’ He has been involved in Indigenous people’s and anti-globalization movements since 1990.
He began producing comics to share knowledge on the Indigenous resistance movement, before the internet had taken off as a means of research and communication. Those comics have evolved into ‘The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book,’ published by Arsenal Pulp Press in Vancouver.
Gord Hill talks about his journey from the Army Cadets and Canadian Forces reserve to the punk scene and anarchist movement. His experience with the military gave him a background in leadership and logistics that he brings to his activism work.
Gord and Jeff talk about capitalism, globalization, sovereignty, the anarchist movement, and multinational solidarities, including the Oka Crisis, Gustafsen Lake standoff, and 1999 Seattle WTO protests. Amidst global changes and conflict, Gord Hill looks to a future of community self-organization and self-sufficiency, as well as continuing to maintain and share traditional knowledge through practices including art and carving.
Listen to Episode Four of the Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast on YouTube.
The Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast takes a critical look at world politics and Indigenous nationhood by discussing Indigenous-led resurgence and activist movements, Indigenous trade networks, Indigenous climate action and the formation of new alliances that transcend colonial state borders among other topics. Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel will be interviewing Indigenous scholars, activists, artists and knowledge holders from across Turtle Island and around the world in order to gain insight into how Indigenous peoples practice their own forms of Internationalism through intimate connections to land/water, culture and community.
#3 Frontlines Are Everywhere — Sacred Rage and Love for Land, Culture, & Community
featuring ‘Cúagilákv / Jess H̓áust̓I of Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation (Executive Director of Qqs Project Society and the Co-Lead of Right Relations Collaborative)
Jeff Corntassel, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, sits down with ‘Cúagilákv / Jess H̓áust̓I of Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation. Jess is a parent, poet, and land-based educator living in Bella Bella. They are the Executive Director of Qqs Project Society and the Co-Lead of Right Relations Collaborative.
Jess talked about leadership, the inseparability of body & land, and sacred role of rage in activism. They also talked about the impact of the 2016 Nathan E. Stewart tugboat oil spill that released 110,000 litres of diesel and oil into Haíɫzaqv Nation’s harvesting territory, and their healing in relation to land & waters. They also talked about the resurgence of language initiatives and local food revitalization happening in their community.
Jess concludes the podcast by reading from their debut poetry collection, Crushed Wild Mint.
You can find copies of Crushed Wild Mint here.
Listen to Episode Three of the Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast on YouTube.
The Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast takes a critical look at world politics and Indigenous nationhood by discussing Indigenous-led resurgence and activist movements, Indigenous trade networks, Indigenous climate action and the formation of new alliances that transcend colonial state borders among other topics. Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel will be interviewing Indigenous scholars, activists, artists and knowledge holders from across Turtle Island and around the world in order to gain insight into how Indigenous peoples practice their own forms of Internationalism through intimate connections to land/water, culture and community.
#2 Frontlines Are Everywhere — Regenerating Indigenous Food Sovereignty
featuring Nephi Craig of White Mountain Apache & Diné Nations (founder of the Native American Culinary Association (NACA), Creator/Chef at Café Gozhóó)
Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel of Cherokee Nation sits down with Nephi Craig of White Mountain Apache and Diné Nations for the second episode of the Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast series. Nephi Craig is the founder of the Native American Culinary Association (NACA) and the Creator/Chef at Café Gozhóó.
They discuss Nephi’s journey as a chef, and how it brought him back home to the White Mountain Apache Nation where he continues to share his skills and cultivate his cooking style. They discuss the frybread (bannock) controversy, as well as being at the frontlines of health and wellness.
Listen to Episode Two of the Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast on YouTube.
The Frontlines Are Everywhere podcast takes a critical look at world politics and Indigenous nationhood by discussing Indigenous-led resurgence and activist movements, Indigenous trade networks, Indigenous climate action and the formation of new alliances that transcend colonial state borders among other topics. Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel will be interviewing Indigenous scholars, activists, artists and knowledge holders from across Turtle Island and around the world in order to gain insight into how Indigenous peoples practice their own forms of Internationalism through intimate connections to land/water, culture and community.
#30 & 31 BIG Podcast – Democracy, Migration Studies, and Border Studies: Bridges and/or Gaps
featuring Oliver Schmidtke, UVic European Studies Scholar, Professor, and Director of the Centre for Global Studies
Classically, Migration Studies explore all mobility regimes of human groups. There is a spectrum of public policies ranging from the migration of high-skilled workers to refugees. For the Migration Studies, national borders provide a form of social closure. Traditionally, Borders refer to issues that are fundamental to political community (state sovereignty, territorial delimitation, national security, political identity). And for this reason, borders are also instruments for regulating flows, policy tool for inclusion/exclusion. Several authors have pointed out a form of gap between Border Studies and Migration Studies. That there was a lack of cross-fertilization between these two research traditions. And some populist and nationalist discourses can exploit the ambivalence of the borders and the confusion around it. In this episode, Oliver Schmidtke joins BIG_Lab to discuss all the relations between democracy, migration, and borders and get answers to some important questions.
Listen to Part One: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Listen to Part Two: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Oliver Schmidtke is a Professor in the Departments of Political Science and History at the University of Victoria where he also holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European History and Politics. He received his PhD from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. He taught at the Humboldt University Berlin before joining UVic in 2000 and has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Bonn University, the European University Institute, and Hamburg University.
BIG_Review 5.1
Fall/Winter 2023/2024
The long-awaited and much anticipated new issue of Borders in Globalization Review is here! This outstanding collection of scholarship and artwork enriches border studies and cultural reflections on (and against) borders, and it is available for free, in open access CC-BY-NC (except where stipulated).
This issue of BIG_Review inauguates our new focus on Indigenous Internationalisms, with a Special Section: Honouring Indigenous Land and Water Defenders, edited by Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel and featuring original essays, interviews, poetry, and artworks by Indigenous contributors. The issue also presents a new Portfolio: Documenting Border Barriers, by Pamela Dodds, which starkly portrays the rise of international walls and fences around the world. In addition, we share a Special Section on the rebordering of Europe: Border Renaissance, edited by Astrid Fellner, Eva Nossem, and Christian Wille, featuring seven research articles and an introduction.
Herein and going forward, all Indigenous content in BIG_Review is marked by a decorative design by Métis artist and BIG Indigenous Coordinator, Braelynn Abercrombie. Braelynn’s artwork depicts salmon (as well as the sustainable practice of reef net fishing) and kwetlal or camas, which are vital to the food systems, sacred relationships, and the future health and well-being of Lekwungen, W̱SÁNEĆ and coastal Indigenous nations.
Read the latest issue here!
Cover art © Francis Dick.
An Interview with Tiffany Joseph: Land and Water Stewardship in a Time of Crisis
On November 3rd, 2023, Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel spoke with Tiffany Joseph. Tiffany is of Sḵxwu7mesh and W̱SÁNEĆ ancestry. She currently coordinates the Rematriate Stewardship project with the XAXE TEṈEW̱ Sacred Land Society. She describes herself as being “drawn to work that promotes wellness of our minds, bodies, and the environment in which we live, because the wellbeing of the land and the people is intertwined” (visit her website for more). The following conversation covers pollinators, extractivism, Palestine, and what it takes to show up for land and water defense. This interview is part of the Special Section: Honouring Indigenous Land and Water Defenders, edited by Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel, in Borders in Globalization Review 5(1): 7–53.
#28 & #29 BIG Podcast – Hadrian’s Wall, Frontiers of the Roman Empire and Border Studies (Part One)
featuring archeologist David J. Breeze, British archaeologist and scholar of Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine’s Wall, and the Roman army
The history of the Roman Empire is intertwined with the control of the entire Mediterranean Sea and reached at its peak 5 million km² for 60 million inhabitants. The empire was heterogeneous and expanded through conquests and was maintained through a network of frontiers and a system of friendly, allies or “client” states (reges amicique populi Romani). Due to rebellions from some tribes as the Brigantes, and after having visited the Danube and Rhine frontiers, the Roman Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117–138) came to Britannia in July 122 BC. By ordering the construction of the Wall (between 122 – and maybe before according to certain authors – and 127 AD), Hadrian put an end to the territorial expansion of the Roman Empire. In short, Hadrian adopted a policy of protecting frontiers without expansion.
What functions did the borders of the Roman Empire have? What functions did Hadrian’s Wall have? Can the frontiers of the Roman Empire be considered strict separations between the civilized (Roman) world and the world of the barbarians (“qui barbaros Romanosque Divideret”)? How is archeology an interesting and relevant discipline for Border Studies? We will discuss all this and get answers with archeologist David J. Breeze.
Listen to #28 (Part One): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Listen to #29 (Part Two): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
David J. Breeze is an archaeologist, teacher, and scholar of Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall, and the Roman army. He has been Chair of the International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies and President of several archaeological societies in the UK. He was Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Scotland from 1989 to 2005, and subsequently led the team which successfully nominated the Antonine Wall as a World Heritage Site in 2008. David has excavated on both Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall and written several books on these frontiers, on frontiers elsewhere in the Roman Empire and on the Roman army.
#26 and #27 BIG Podcast – “Nation State Model and Creative Solutions for Border Problems”
featuring Nick Megoran, Political Geographer at Newcastle University, England
The Nation-State model is built on the synchronization between a so-called state territory and a so-called national population. The mechanical imposition of this specific model has led to serious conflicts in certain parts of the world (we will discover the ancient situation of Denmark/Germany border and the current one of Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan border). There have been several ways of thinking and representing the construction of this nation-state with its constituent factors, its regime of political sovereignty and territorial boundaries: community of origin, community of language, community of interests and values, cultural homogenization, elective community, common history and territorial patriotism but also imagined community. What are the consequences of this model on the design of the country’s borders? How to organize borderlands while avoiding conflicts with neighbors? With Nick Megoran, this podcast (in 2 parts) is an opportunity to talk about several original practices such as condominiums, joint development zones, territorial leasing, enclaves, the exchange of territory, statutory autonomy, free and customs zones, mobile borders, decoupling of international borders from other functional or administrative limits, juridical and economic cross-border cooperation. So many illustrations that allow us to think differently about sovereignty and state borders. Sovereignty doesn’t have to be Zero-Sum. Borders don’t have to be Walls and Barriers.
Listen to #26 (Part One): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Listen to #27 (Part Two): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Nick Megoran is a Visiting Fellow working with the Borders in Globalization program and the Centre for Global Studies and Professor of Political Geography at Newcastle University. His work focuses on nationalism and border dynamics in the Danish-German and Uzbek-Kyrgyz borderlands, which he has been researching for three decades. He has authored numerous articles and books on this topic, including Nationalism in Central Asia: A Biography of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Boundary (Pittsburgh 2017).
#24 and #25 BIG Podcast – “Māori People, Tribal Borders and Customs in New Zealand”
featuring Thomas Tawhiri, Indigenous Māori Customs Manager and Researcher, Aotearoa (New Zealand)
The Māori are Indigenous Polynesian peoples with distant roots in the Lapita civilization. They are the first inhabitants of what is called New Zealand and arrived there more than one thousand years ago. The Māori people are a minority, forming about 18% of the New Zealand population. In this podcast, Thomas Tawhiri talks about the anthropological, political and legal history of New Zealand, the context of the declaration of independence (in Māori: He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni), the treaty of Waitangi, the societal organization of the people Māori (Iwi, Whanau, Hapu), and relations with colonial institutions. This episode is an extensive discussion about Māori culture, social boundaries between different Māori tribes and the importance of genealogy, the involvement of Māori culture within the governance of customs borders, and the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples on border research.
Listen to #24 (Part One): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube.
Listen to #25 (Part Two): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube.
Thomas Tawhiri is an Indigenous Māori Custom Manager for Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa (New Zealand Customs Service) and a researcher in Indigenous Studies. He holds a Master’s degree in Indigenous Studies from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi along with a postgraduate diploma in Māori Studies from Massey University.
