Bolivian and Canadian Indigenous workers connect to advance global solidarity
Awareness around the importance of reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples has grown in Canada over the past years, as well as in many countries across the Americas impacted by a shared history of colonization.
The 4th National Gathering of Indigenous Steelworkers (NGIS), held last summer in Winnipeg, was part of our union’s commitment to better allyship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada. It was also an occasion for the Steelworkers Humanity Fund (SHF) to welcome a delegation of women miners from Bolivia, representing South America’s Quechua and Aymara peoples who participate in women’s rights initiatives that SHF supports in that country.
Ninfa Cayo Mamani, a union member from San Cristóbal Mineworkers’ Union in the Department of Potosí, and Guadalupe Paniagua Choque, regional leader at the National Federation of Mining Cooperatives (FENCOMIN) in the capital of La Paz, heard powerful testimonies and shared their own experiences as Indigenous women workers in Bolivia with over 100 Steelworkers present.
This important event was followed by a tour of the Impala Canada palladium underground mine in Northern Ontario, where our international guests were warmly welcomed by USW Local 9422. The tour focused on learning about modern mining practices and the company’s approach to environmental stewardship, as well as health and safety protocols and the union’s role at the mine. This experience offered participants a unique opportunity to contrast the experiences of large-scale industrial mining in Canada with the artisanal and cooperative mining sectors still prevalent in Bolivia.
The delegation ended with an exchange with members of the USW Northeastern Ontario Area Council. Ninfa and Guadalupe enjoyed delicious traditional Fort William First Nation food and had the opportunity to meet union members from the Thunder Bay area representing different sectors of our union, wrapping up a successful week of building solidarity between workers and Indigenous communities across the Americas.
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