Digging Earth

Book excerpt: Digging Earth: Extractivism and Resistance on Indigenous lands of the Americas is a collection of essays and artists’ contributions that documents the practices of extractivism on indigenous lands of the American continent, and the opposition to the politics of land appropriation and exploitation, by indigenous movements, activists and artists. Authors and artists address the extractivism of neo-colonial operations, its impact on local and indigenous communities and their environment, while tracing back its practices to settler colonialism in the Americas, ​and the vision of the natural world as ready to plunder. In addition to the economic impact, some contributions look at extractivism from the point of view of the extraction of cultural knowledge and ontologies. Artists and authors highlight topics of indigenous sovereignty, land rights, environmental justice, the stewardship of the land, and the history of indigenous environmental practices. The diversity of the contributors' backgrounds brings fresh perspectives to the issues surrounding the practices of the extractive industries and the exploitation of indigenous lands and resources. Their reflections and analyses convey the urgency of rethinking our politics towards the earth and its resources, as we are warned of an approaching collective ecocide.