WITHOUT CONSENT: Mining in Neskantaga's Ancestral Homelands
Join Forensic Architecture (FA) and The BREAK—DOWN at Close-Up Film Centre in London for a screening and panel discussion to mark the publication of FA’s latest investigation Without Consent: Mining in Neskantaga’s ancestral Homelands.
On the occasion of the launch of Without Consent: Mining in Neskantaga’s Ancestral Homelands, which builds on Resistance on the Attawapiskat, a collation of field notes by researchers Omar Ferwati and Nessie Nankivell published in the FRONTIERS issue of The BREAK—DOWN, we gather to discuss research methodology in service of resistance on the ground, asking how we can use our tools to support struggles against the devastation of climate, communities and ecosystems, both within northern Ontario and throughout the world.
For two decades, Neskantaga First Nation has opposed mining in the ‘Ring of Fire’, a region of northern Ontario, Canada, rich in minerals. Federal and provincial governments have dismissed the harm this development would cause to Indigenous lands and have denied Neskantaga’s jurisdiction over its own lands and waters.
Forensic Architecture worked with Neskantaga and Infrastructure Beyond Extractivism to document that jurisdiction along the route of a planned mining access road. Drawing on interviews with elders and land users, community mapping, remote sensing and spatial analysis, the investigation traces Neskantaga’s historic relation to the land. The resulting maps show that extractive infrastructure is planned on top of a dense ecological and cultural fabric.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion between Omar Ferwati (FA), Nessie Nankivell (IBE) and more more guests TBC. The panel discussion will be broadcasted live by Montez Press Radio.
Schedule
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
7:00 pm: Arrivals
7:30 – 9:00 pm: Screening of Investigation and Panel Discussion
9:00-10:00 pm: Drinks and Departures