Photo of the Week: International Women’s Day 8 Mar 2023

Almost 30 years ago, in July of 1993, GJEP cofounders Anne Petermann and Orin Langelle were invited by Cree Chief Mathew Mukash to visit Cree territory to document the effects of, and resistance to, Hydro-Quebec’s damming of rivers on their traditional lands to provide electricity to Canada and the US. This documentary was the first accomplishment of the Native Forest Network Eastern North American Resource Center (NFNENA) founded by Petermann and Langelle. The Resource Center laid the groundwork that later became the Global Justice Ecology Project in 2003.

In this photograph, Cree elder women listen intently during the First Annual Whapmagoostui (Great Whale) Gathering on the banks of Hudson Bay near James Bay. At this gathering, Cree and Inuit peoples came together to discuss their resistance to Hydro-Quebec’s plans to expand their hydro-electric projects by building a new dam on the Great Whale River.

Many stories were told during this gathering about how First Nation Peoples are enduring the plundering of their land and about their struggle to protect it.

“Cree culture has a lot to offer in the area of nature, which is something very much needed in the world. In western society, everything is segregated. That is what is ruining the world. People have to think more holistically about their actions. Everything comes down to ‘how much money can I make from this.’ Until this changes, all this talk of environmental protection is bullshit.” — Cree Helen Atkinson, 1993

This photo is from the Langelle Photography website in Indigenous Issues. It also appeared in GJEPs Climate Connections.

This year Global Justice Ecology Project is celebrating our 20th Anniversary.  As part of this year-long celebration, we will be posting photos by co-founder Orin Langelle, Director of Langelle Photography, documenting different aspects and achievements of GJEP over those 20 years, as well as photos from events and activities beginning 30 years ago in 1993 that led to the formation of Global Justice Ecology Project ten years later.

Orin’s impressive bio can be found here.