Viviane Weitzner

Viviane Weitzner is a Research Fellow at McGill University’s Centre for Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (CICADA), where she co-leads the 'Indigenous Rights, Indigenous Law and Interlegality' research axis. She previously held roles as a senior researcher at The North-South Institute (Ottawa) and policy advisor with the Forest Peoples Programme (UK). Her work bridges legal anthropology, Indigenous rights advocacy, and extractive industries governance across the Americas.

Education: PhD in Anthropology from CIESAS (Mexico City), MA in Natural Resources Management (University of Manitoba), BA in English Literature (McGill University). Funded by SSHRC, Conacyt, and Norway’s University of Life Sciences.

Research Focus: Ethnographic study of Indigenous and Afro-Descendant alliances in Colombia (Embera Chamí and Palenke Alto Cauca), focusing on territorial defense against extractives, autonomous governance through the Guardia Indígena/Cimarrona, and legal pluralism in armed conflict contexts. Key themes: Resource sovereignty, intercultural legal frameworks, and grassroots resistance strategies.

Awards:

• 2019 Law and Society Association Dissertation Prize Honorable Mention
• 2018 International Commission on Legal Pluralism Young Scholar Award

Current Projects: Documenting autonomous land stewardship practices in Colombia, collaboration with the University of London on Central American legal cultures, and policy analysis for CICADA.