Author
Ms Nita Amriani
Organisation/Institution
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS)
Country
INDONESIA
Panel
Women and Law
Title
Everyday Ecological Resistance: The Struggle of Barambang Katute Indigenous Women Against Mining Development
Abstract
This research examines the everyday forms of ecological resistance undertaken by indigenous women in Barambang Katute, South Sulawesi, against gold mining projects operated by PT Gelana Sumber Energi (2008-2013) and PT Trinusa Resource (2025). Using a critical ethnographic approach, this research examines how women's everyday practices, such as farming, cooking, weaving, and protecting water sources, become subtle yet ongoing forms of ecological and political resistance. Drawing on James C. Scott's (1985) theory of Everyday Resistance and Ambelin Kwaymulina's (2018) Ecofeminism, this study introduces the concept of "everyday ecological resistance" to explain how indigenous women resist extractive capitalism and the discourse of green mining promoted by the state and corporations. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis to capture women's everyday experiences and strategies for maintaining ecological balance and cultural sovereignty. These findings demonstrate that women's local knowledge and care work practices present a sustainable alternative to destructive models of extraction, while simultaneously affirming women's role as defenders of these models and their roles as environmental defenders. By placing women's agency at the center of the analysis, this study contributes to the discourse on legal pluralism, feminist environmental ethics, and ecological justice in Asia. It also calls for a policy framework that recognizes women's ecological knowledge as a vital component of inclusive and sustainable environmental governance. Keywords: indigenous women, everyday resistance, ecofeminism, mining law, environmental justice.
Biography
Nita Amriani is a postgraduate student at the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Her research focuses on gender issues, environmental justice, and the rights of indigenous peoples in Indonesia. Her current fieldwork examines the everyday forms of ecological resistance of indigenous women in Barambang Katute, South Sulawesi, against a gold mining project through cultural and environmental critiques rooted in local cosmology. Nita integrates James C. Scott's theory of everyday resistance and Ambelin Kwaymulina's ecofeminism to connect gender, law, and ecological politics. She actively collaborates with the Barambang Katute indigenous community and non-governmental organizations engaged in women's empowerment and environmental advocacy in Indonesia. Through her work, Nita strives to promote the recognition of local knowledge, decolonial perspectives, and ecological ethics in the development of just and sustainable legal policies.
