The Historical and Contemporary Implications of the Bandanese Massacre and Commemoration Ceremony
Project Lead: Mikki Stelder, PhD Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology
The year 2021 marks the 400 year anniversary of the Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands, the subsequent genocide of the Indigenous population on May 8, 1621, and the advent of plantation slavery and mono-cropping in the Bandanese archipelago. The genocide of the Indigenous population constitutes the first modern-colonial genocide in Asia. In honor of (ongoing) Indigenous struggles against imperialist (dis)possession, this event brings together scholars, cultural bearers, and artists who will shed light on the significance of this genocide and Bandanese resilience for our present. We will also use this opportunity to commemorate the loss of Bandanese lives and celebrate anticolonial resistance. The panel will also draw connections between Indigenous struggles for sovereignty on Banda and struggles for Lenape/Lunape/Lunaapeew sovereignty in Mannahatta (New York) and on Traditional, Ancestral and Unceded xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory.
This online panel and ceremony contribute to a larger series of commemorative events organized by the Banda 2021 Working Group to take place in April and May 2021. The event foregrounds Bandanese, Indonesian, and Moluccan/Malukan perspectives and highlights the global significance of the Dutch conquest of Banda, which served as a precedent for Dutch imperialist expansion in the Americas. It is also part of the UBC symposium Oceans as Archives, which takes place on 6-7 May 2021.
Speakers: Nancy Jouwe (NL), Wim Manuhutu (NL), Beatrice Glow (US), Culture bearers from Banda and Munsee Lunaape territories.
Date: May 6, time TBA (PST/CET/WIB)