A young Quechua woman refuses to kill her alpaca, so both are killed by Shining Path militants. An elderly woman tearfully recounts the guilt she feels about her inability to prevent the killing, and grilling, of her donkey by Peruvian military forces. A man describes being forced to hang his dogs and burn his lands to save his family. This talk will explore these and other accounts of violence against more-than-human life and relations in Peru during the recent war between the state and the Shining Path (1980-2000). As revealed in testimonies of Indigenous peoples, collected by the state-sponsored Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Quechua survivors insist that the lives of their non-human kin matter, even as processes of justice-seeking and reparations in Peru promote a human rights framework. How can Indigenous testimonies open up alternative forms of justice? How do they unsettle existing frameworks that continue to perpetuate colonial hierarchies? Through an analysis of Quechua testimonies, Professor García considers what the contours and limitations of the archive suggest for decolonial and multispecies forms of justice in Peru.
This event is cosponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
About the speaker:
María Elena García | Website
Comparative History of Ideas, University of Washington