Great Gilded North EP3 - The Imperialist Violence Behind Canadian Academic Prizes w/ Cassandra Kislenko

Warning: This episode contains references to acts of violence against Indigenous Peoples and may not be suitable for everyone.

Nova Scotia-born Izaak Walton Killam made his millions through pulp, paper and hydro-electric projects across Latin America. His Montreal-based International Power company controlled a monopoly on electrical power in El Salvador and charged extremely high rates on the country’s exploited workers.

When Indigenous peasants began an organized uprising in 1932, Killam called in a personal favour to protect his capital. This would end in a civilian massacre that would usher in decades of military dictatorship, and ultimately help establish prestigious cornerstones of Canadian arts, culture and academics.

We spoke with Kislenko about how Canada facilitated one of the worst acts of violence against Indigenous People in this continent's history.

This is part of our series as selected by Maple readers exploring how the ruling elite and the wealthy shape power in Canada. Read the entire series here.

Cassandra Kislenko is a non-binary settler journalist working and writing on Treaty 13 territory in Tkaronto. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.  Subscribe today and support independent journalism like this for as little as $1 per week.

Read Kislenko's article here.

Find Tyler A. Shipley's book Canada In The World here.

Further reading:

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/may/27/pacific-rim-lawsuit-el-salvador-mine-gold-free-trade

https://nbmediacoop.org/2011/06/16/student-anti-mining-activist-murdered-in-el-salvador/

https://canadians.org/analysis/anti-mining-activists-murdered-el-salvador

https://mediacoop.ca/story/2391

https://progressive.org/magazine/how-el-salvador-won-on-mining/

https://miningwatch.ca/news/2016/10/14/there-are-no-winners-after-seven-years-and-millions-dollars-pac-rim-mining-loses

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/06/bitcoin-city-el-salvador-nayib-bukele/ 

Support the show