Summer 20Twintwin
Land Water Dignity
This summer has been an explosive time for social change and uprising. Finally people are waking up to the fact that white supremacy has plagued this country since the first settlers arrived. The Black Lives Matter uprisings have sparked a global movement that demands an end to police brutality, racial oppression, and a radical rethinking of how we protect one another without police.
These uprisings have fanned the flame of related movements to decolonize, create robust systems of care and mutual aid, and become autonomous as the state shows time and time again it is here to repress, not protect us. In this section we are going to uplift movement work from this summer and highlight efforts related to land, water and dignity. Many of these resistance efforts are ongoing, so we encourage you to click through the links and continue following and supporting these efforts in whatever way you feel called.
WARRIOR PEOPLE- Land Defenders block the highway on July 3. Photo by Willi White.
Mount Rushmore #landback
On July 3rd #LANDDEFENDERS gathered in their ancestral homelands of Ȟesápa/Paha Sapa (the Black Hills) protesting a Trump Rally at MT Rushmore- a rally that the Trump administration did not have permission from the Oglala Lakota Nation to hold. NDN Collective founder and citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation Nick Tilsen was arrested for peacefully protesting standing on a road leading to the Mt. Rushmore. He was initially charged with TWO felonies and 3 misdemeanors. About 150 demonstrators used vans and their bodies to block a checkpoint- to protest ticket holders from reaching the event through the route- as a way of protesting President Trump’s visit to Mount Rushmore. On August 18th, the state of South Dakota added more charges against Nick, one being an additional felony.
All for protesting on treaty land that is the ancestral homelands of Nick’s people, he is now facing the following charges:
Felony: Second degree Robbery
Felony: Grand theft
Felony: Simple Assault on a LE/PO & following misdemeanors:
Obstruction
Impending Highway
Unlawful Assembly
Disorderly Conduct
As this #LANDBACK action at Mt. Rushmore aka the Black Hills , Sheriff Thom escalated the situation quickly by using pepper spray and riot gear even though the #LANDDEFENDERS were engaging in a peaceful protest.
There is a long and documented history of over-charging Native Americans and persecuting leadership away from the groups and movement they work with. There is a long and documented history of creating political prisoners of Native Americans. This injustice and trumped up charges are in reaction to the #NODAPL uprising and the facts and stats of Natives and the Criminal Justice System in South Dakota:
Natives between the ages of 15 and 64 are incarcerated at 10 times the rate of white people in South Dakota. Natives make up 8.7 percent of South Dakota ‘s population, they are roughly half of those booked into jail in the state.
#FACTS about Mount Rushmore:
Mount Rushmore was created by a member of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK).
All four of the faces on Mt Rushmore are colonizers who committed genocide against indigenous people, 2 owned slaves.
Lincoln ordered the largest mass hanging in the history of the United States when he murdered 38 +2 Dakota after the Dakota Uprising in Mankato, Minnesota.
Roosevelt was quoted saying “I don’t go so far to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are.”
#FACTS about the Black Hills and the Oglala Treaty Lands:
In 1851 and 1868 the Fort Laramie peace treaties were signed between the Lakota Nation and the United States. The Sioux Nation vs. the United States was the longest legal battle in the history of the country.
In 1980 the Supreme Court ruled that the violation of the 1851 and 1868 treaties and the stealing of the Black Hills was one of the most gross violations of the U.S. Constitution in the history of the country.
To this day, the Black Hills have not been returned. Nick Tilson and the # LANDDEFENDERS have called for the closure of Mount Rushmore as a national monument and for the Black Hills to be returned to Lakota people as part of their broader #LANDBACK campaign.
20 land defenders were arrested that day, but Tilsen is the only one charged with felonies. If convicted of all charges, Nick Tilsen faces up to 16 years of prison. “The cops aren’t our enemy,” Tilsen assured viewers on a Facebook live video before the hearing. “But the systems of racism and what they represent are.” Read and watch Nick Tilsen’s statement here and find ways to support the upcoming trial. In the statement Tilsen states, “we don’t need allies. We need accomplices. We need people that are going to be accomplices with us in the dismantling of white supremacy.”
Nick Tilsen’s father, Mark Tilsen, Sr., handed the petition to state attorney Mark Vargo and implored him to take the petition seriously and dismiss Nick’s charges:“Nick is a father of four, a community leader who built the community at Thunder Valley dedicated to providing low-income housing. He’s dedicated to education, dedicated to the environment, to women and children, and has a huge national following,” said Mark Tilsen, Sr. “As his father, for our government to spend money to try to imprison community leaders like this, that’s the real crime.”
“These [Land Defenders] are community builders; These are the kind of young people we need working in our communities,” said Tilsen to Vargo. “I hope you take this request very seriously– it represents over 14,000 people in just a few days who signed this petition, and you’re going to see tens of thousands more in the months to come. I hope all these young peoples’ cases can be dismissed so they can get about their important work they’re doing to improve our community.” The petitions, which can be found below, have received approximately 35,000 signatures to date. LET’S MAKE IT 100,000!!
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT
CALL South Dakota State’s Attorney, Mark Vargo at (605) 394-2191 and demand he drop the charges against Nick and all the #LANDDEFENDERS arrested on July 3rd, 2020.
EMAIL South Dakota State’s Attorney, Mark Vargo at vargo@pennco.org and demand he drop the charges against Nick and all the #LANDDEFENDERS arrested on July 3rd, 2020.
TWEET at @MarkVargoSAO, and demand that he end racist attacks and charges against Native People.
WRITE a letter to Mark Vargo South Dakota State’s Attorney: Pennington County
Pennington County
130 Kansas City ST., #300
Rapid City, SD 57701
DONATE to the Black Hills Legal Fund Here
Source: Brian Palmer for the New York Times
Spray-painted, beheaded, toppled
From June to August, you could hear the thudded wave of confederate and racist statues being toppled across the US that then spread across the globe. It’s high time that this celebration of racist, colonial and often murderers and rapists is not only challenged but put to an end. Some of these highlights include when the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, VA got a makeover; Christopher Columbus statues in Minnesota, Boston and Richmond were toppled; and monuments of slave traders in England were tossed into the bay. In New Mexico, land defenders demanded that the statues of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate be taken down. Taking these colonizers, rapists and murderers off of their shrine is a big step towards dignity and restoring the land to whom it belongs and who is in right relationship to it.
There’s been a range of ways this was done- from rogue decorations and removals with chains at night, to city petitions and government-sanctioned removals. Richmond, Virginia Mayor Stoney paved the institutional way by ordering an emergency removal of confederate statues. If you notice a statue or monument in your town that celebrates a historical figure with a violent past, we encourage you to put the pressure on- through whatever means- to demand its removal.
Photo from Kumeyaa Defense Against the Wall Instagram
Borders are Fake, Fuck the State
This is one of the declarations from the Kumeyaay Defense Against the Wall camp that is protesting the construction of Trump’s massive wall along the so-called US border. The Kumeyaay people’s traditional land straddles the so-called US border east of so-called San Diego in California as well as northern Baja California in Mexico. As part of the construction process, explosives are being used in areas that contain burial remains and important heritage sites.
A local councilwoman states, “We found midden soil, which is signs of cremation, which is our remains. We found tools and flakes and stuff that symbolize there are villages in this area and that our people stayed here,” said Cynthia Parada, a councilwoman with the La Posta band of Mission Indians. “Usually when they stay here, they’re buried here as well. So we have a lot here. A lot of culture in this area.” The protestors were told that the consultation process was skipped due to “national security” concerns.
Despite a pandemic, wildfires, and frenetic election energy, the frontline camp has been holding it down and staying fierce in their resistance to colonial oppression and the state surveillance machine. The camp is led by prayer and there have been several actions that have successfully stopped construction. We feel so inspired by all those out there willing to sacrifice their bodies and time to physically stop the construction of this made up border as a way of protecting their ancestral lands. Follow their Instagram account to watch closely, and respond to callouts. There have periodically been call outs for supplies, funds, as well as volunteers to come and support the efforts. Here is a link to donate to the camp.
Photo from Defend O’Odham Jewed Instagram
No borders, no wall
Resistance to borders continues east of so-called San Diego and closer to so-called Tucson. The Tohono O’odham tribe, whose traditional lands straddle the so-called US-Mexico border, opposes the border wall that stops them from participating in cultural and religious events, amongst many other practices. Highways that lead to construction sites have been blocked in efforts to resist border wall construction near the Organ Pipe National monument. This situation is unfolding where there have been instances of lawful procedures not being followed with arrests. On September 9th two members of the O’odham Anti Border Collective & Defend O’odham Jewed took direct action and halted construction of the border wall threatening A’al Vappia/Quitobaquito Springs in Hia- Ced O’odham jeved (O’odham Lands) near Ajo, Arizona. This is an O’odham u’uwi (women) led direct action.
The Quitobaquito Springs, one of the only desert water sources, are located in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument right on the US and Mexican border. As one of the land defenders occupied a bulldozer they stated, “You do not have permission to be here, this is O’odham Land. This is a sacred area.” As armed Border Patrol and sheriffs arrested the two land defenders they stated, “This land means so much more than a wall.”
Organ Pipe’s Quitobaquito Springs has become a focal point for resistance to Trump’s border wall. The Department of Homeland Security started to use explosives to clear the way for the border wall. The precious water from the springs is being used to make cement to construct the wall. One of the two activists arrested, Amber Ortega, said during an Intercept interview “We just knew,” Ortega said. “We knew in our hearts that they were about to dig, so we stood in front of the construction truck.” She added: “We just knew we had to stop it in some way.”
The O’odham Anti Border Collective & Defend O’odham Jewed are calling for immediate mobilization to stop further desecration of the sacred springs. Contact them at oabc1853@gmail.com or (480) 404-2543. You can also donate to the Defend O’odham Jewed Bail Fund here: Cashapp: $DefendOodhamJewed PayPal: paypal.me/DefendOodhamJewed Or to the O’odham Anti Border Collective bail fund here: Venmo: Missy Land Back @defendoodhamjewed
For supporting future actions, you can donate to www.gofundme.com/f/defend-oodham-land-bail-fund.
Photo by: UBC Forestry Studies
A Better Way to Burn
This summer, the US has experienced the worst fire season in history by orders of magnitude. This week has marked 1,000,000,000 acres burned. California set an awful record as 4 million acres of land have been destroyed, which doubles the previous record of land burned, and fire season is not yet over. The unprecedented fires in the Pacific Northwest burned hundreds of homes and serve as an ominous sign post of what to expect in a world heated by human-made climate change.
Amidst the devastation, we see two positive lessons that have emerged from these tragedies. The first is solid mutual aid networks to support those where institutions fail, and the other is a conversation gaining traction around indigenous ways of managing the land. People are increasingly turning to indigenous knowledge of cultural burns, specifically those of the Karuk people in California. We hate to see the unnecessary destruction from our man made actions, but fully support efforts to learn from various indigenous communities such as those of the Mechoopda that have been practicing fire control efforts for centuries.
Indigenous Mutual aid
As coronavirus has ravaged communities worldwide, we’ve seen our native relatives disproportionately affected by this deadly virus. While we don’t wish any of the loss upon anyone, the mutual aid collectives that have emerged in this time fill us with hope for imagining a future where we are autonomous and able to support each other where the state fails us. The term mutual aid gets thrown around loosely these days, and we feel the need to clarify. True mutual aid is autonomous and benefits the collective, not the individual.
There have been a lot of NGOs, companies, funds and individuals who have taken advantage of the moment and used mutual aid efforts to benefit themselves. We are MOST interested in uplifting grassroots collectives of indigenous mutual aid. This is often the unglamorous work done day after day week after week taking care of our relatives in a humble way.
Indigenous Goddess Gang MUTUAL work
MANY Folx FROM IGG ARE NO STRANGERS TO THE FRONTLINES. FROM STANDING ROCK TO Unist’ot’en, TO OUR HOME COMMUNITIES, WE WORK COLLECTIVELY WITH OUR COMRADES IN SOLIDARITY WITH HOPES TO HEAL AND SPREAD RESOURCES TO OUR BELOVED COMMUNITIES. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MEMBERS IN THIER EFFORTS TO DISTRIBUTE, HERBS, WOOD, IMMUNE BOOSTERS, MASKS, FOOD, PPE,BOOKS, WORKBOOKS, MEDICINE, SNACK PACKS, MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS, DIAPERS, FORMULA,HYGIENE, PROPANE, WATER, WATER TANKS, SEEDS, AND LOVE.
alSO Here we want to uplift the work of Indigenous Mutual Aid comrades! check out this directory here.
To learn more about the philosophy of mutual aid, check out Submedia resources.
INDIGENOUS MIDWIVES AT THE FRONTLINES- Changing Woman Incentive
Greetings relatives near and far! Like other midwifery practices, due to COVID-19 we have had to shift gears a bit with how we are taking care of our families. Which has included screening all of our clients prior to them coming in to be seen, mandatory wearing of masks, and creation of written policies around late transfers. Many of our services had to be altered and were temporary closed for a short period of time in March. However, we have since resumed taking care of our birth families through it all, despite maneuvering through unknown times.
Further challenges we are facing in providing needed care to Native American families in New Mexico, is tribes closing their boarders to outsiders. Many tribes have set up check points at all their entrances to monitor, limit, and prevent visitors not from the area from entering their territory. Which means we have had to have our credentials with us at all times to enter these tribal locations to see our families. While these extra measures were put into place with the intention to “protect” communities, it also creates an added barrier for many families to access healthcare services outside of their communities. Many tribes are on full-shut down mode and none of their members are allowed to leave their communities.
Some of our families live in the Gallup, NM area, which was a recent hotspot for COVID-19 and we had to navigate providing care around state sanctioned curfews and weekend shutdowns, which sometimes changed at the last minute. We are thankful that many of our families have had access to COVID-19 testing and all remain well at this time. Through all of this, it’s amazing to see how connected we all are. Each family who is practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and using hand washing to combat the spread of COVID-19 is in turn keeping us, their midwives well. They are aware that they have an impact on each other and especially us, their midwives who are responsible for seeing so many families in many different areas. To be able to continue to do this birth work, we have to all stay well.
Additional challenges we are navigating is understanding and preparing families who need to be transferred to the hospital for delivery, while considering how each individual hospital is managing containment of COVID-19 exposure. Many hospitals are limiting birth family support to just 1 person, which may or may not include the doula, depending on risk of exposure and COVID-19 testing. Recently a local hospital was in the newspaper for racial profiling Native American women in their care, you can read the article here: https://apnews.com/8478e61a8083c810ac3ad00311aa586f. We are currently working with local birth centers and home birth midwives to publically respond to this issue.
Despite the pandemic, birth families will continue to need care, so it’s not surprising that our homebirth client list continues to grow each week. Our small team of Nurse-Midwives are not only providing needed care around birth and reproductive health throughout the week, but each take turns delivering diapers, wipes, formula, and other needed items to Navajo Nation Chapter houses. Donations are coordinated through our amazing Office Manager. You can read about this work in this newsletter as well.
What I hope you get a glimpse of while reading through this brief update about all our activities, challenges, and on-going work is that being a frontline midwife in the community doesn’t just mean we only provide care in our clinic. We have to be able to assess and navigate our communities needs as it changes. Some of the deeper issues that COVID-19 is shedding light on are the racial inequalities that exist around where and how resources are distributed in Native American communities. The complex relationship that tribes continue to have with the U.S. government, and the limitations that Indian Health Services have around providing care during this pandemic.
We hope you continue to support our work, especially as we evolve with our communities ever changing needs.
If you are looking to connect to a local indigenous mutual aid group, check out this directory here. Also feel free to add any groups that you are a part of, so others can join forces with you. To learn more about the philosophy of mutual aid, check out Submedia resources.
Nihi K’é Baa-For our Relatives Mutual Aid
Art by: Aaron El Sabrout
Nihi K'é Baa' (For Our Relatives) Mutual Aid:
"Mutual aid is nothing new to Diné People, or other Indigenous people...it is has always been in our teachings and being to take care and look out for the well being of each other. It is deeply rooted in our songs, prayers and stories. Our ancestors took care of each other when many other sicknesses came to our people brought by settlers long before Covid 19. We are just following in their moccasins and stepping up to love, nurture, pray and protect our people today. It is about how we take care of the land and life on the land...it is about how we take care of each other with K'é, love, kindness, food & prayer; it is about respect & responsibility; Nihi K'é Baa' (For Our Relatives)
We are also want to knowledge that we are collective of Indigenous people not only from Diné Bikéyah but we also have the support, commitment and solidarity in our efforts and membership of Indigenous relatives from other parts of this land, relatives from south of the colonial border, from Anahuac (Mexico), all the way south to Abya Yala (South America) members from the Yagua Nation of the Amazon region of so-called Peru. Relatives who have been with us not only since the beginning of this pandemic, but long before this. Over the years we have had the opportunity to travel, support, cook for different actions/events and work together for the well being of our communities, Indigenous communities across the land and for the defense of land, water and all things sacred. Since the Nihigaal Bee lina walk, to the Love Water Not Oil Horse Ride with the Anishinaabe people on the White Earth Reservation, the Salmon Run on the west coast on Winnemem Wintu territory, the water connect us event with Pii Paash relatives, different Indigenous encampments,campaigns, training/action camps like the Unist'ot'ten Camp, Lelu Island (in so-called Canada), Oak Flat, The Buffalo Field Campaign, Moccasins On the Ground, No More Deaths (on the border), fighting liquid genocide with Oglala relatives in the streets of White Clay (Nebraska), feeding unsheltered relatives in bordertowns, supporting as sheep herders and first responders for some of the elders and families in the Black Mesa/Big Mountain area...and others, to an invitation and visit to Zapatista (EZLN) territory in Chiapas (Mexico), all the way to Standing Rock. Fighting Fracking, Uranium and Coal mining in Diné Bihkeyah, the first Tar Sands Mine in the US in Ute territory so-called Utah and other forms of extreme extraction. Most of the time on the frontlines of land/water desecration, government repression, resource colonization, police brutality, white supremacy. Bringing together our unique skills, efforts, understanding, and ways to approach this struggle against Colonization/Capitalism as Diné People but also as Indigenous people from other regions. In that way is how we relate to each other in the true spirit of solidarity, collective care, Indigenous Mutual Aid, accountability for our presence and living on occupied Indigenous land and territories (for our relatives from the south) and kinship in between ourselves and our different communities, tribes and nations.
We are a collective made up of Indigenous people, undocumented migrant relatives, womxn, femmes, LGBTQ2Spirit relatives, volunteers, community organizers, frontline workers, land defenders/water protectors who are stepping to support the ones who need it most in many ways: Indigenous mutual aid, food and water radical redistribution for the most vulnerable, pet/cattle food distribution during this pandemic, etc. We are asking for support and solidarity not just during this Covid 19 pandemic but to use this to focus on long term support and solutions to heal our land of all the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry and by many years of extreme resource extraction, building self sustainable projects for our people, seed and food justice/sovereignty, that is our goal, our vision.With your solidarity we are recreating, we are reclaiming and bringing back our old ways of life and traditions. This means rebuilding our ancestral food hubs & apothecaries, (sustainable farming/gardening projects), food storage/redistribution, reestablishing traditional trading/economies...etc, to feed and nourish our communities. Also our duty in defense of water, land and our sacred places against the destruction of the industry is stronger than ever and will continue to be part of our efforts and work.
To our allies/comrades/accomplices: our homelands, our resources and people have powered and fed the economy of this country, metropolitan towns and cities at the expenses of our health and wellbeing. As our homelands and people are hit with the Covid 19 pandemic, we are calling on you all to stand up in true solidarity. Solidarity not charity! We are autonomously organizing our mutual aid relief efforts to reestablish our ancestral ways of taking care of each other and the land. We want to increase and sharp our skills within our communities to stand up and support each other without the interference or coaptation of alien entities and organizations. Indigenous led mutual aid. Please join us, walk with us, support truly decolonial work in the true spirit of a real accomplice. Please stay tuned, donate and share this effort.
To all of you relatives, friends and comrades: Much love, strength & prayers for you all...Remember be kind. Stay safe, stay home. Let's take care of each other now...and long after this virus.
From Turtle Island to Abya Yala! In the spirit of total resistance!
MUCH THANKS AND PRAISE TO ALL WHO HAVE SUPPORT US THIS FAR!! TOGETHER WE HAVE SERVED OVER 8000 HOUSEHOLDS! <3
''We are nothing if we walk alone; we are everything when we walk together in step with other dignified feet'' - EZLN
(We have been on the ground doing mutual aid relief since March here in Diné Bihkeyah, the Pueblos & the metropolitan areas of the Southwest. Here is a list of our ongoing mutual aid relief needs)
NEEDS: PPE for relief volunteers and community members *Funds for gas to distribute care/food packages out to families*Support to upkeep our delivery vehicles * bags/boxes for drop offs*Food for relief workers*Hand sanitizers*Masks*Supplies for our food garden projects to feed our communities *Gloves*Disinfectant wipes*Funds to cover printing costs*Seeds, herbs and medicine*Funds for a solar shower for our volunteers*Greenhouse*Pet/cattle food * A freezer * A flat bed trailer for deliveries*Shelves*Materials for a bread oven
We hope to grow food, can-food and make ancestral bread/recipes to add to the care packages in the true spirit of food sovereignty to increase the health and the consumption of healthy, organic, non-process food in between our people during this time of pandemic. Support and donations don't have to be monetary all the time, we are thankful for any support at Nihi K'é Baa'Attention Kim Smith , P.O. Box 512 Waterflow, NM 87421.
If you are planning to use Fed Ex or UPS please send the package to this address: Gretchen Groenke or Carlos Baca Attn: Nihi K’é Baa’ 7597 Rd 41 Mancos CO, 81328
Our paypal and venmo information is: https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2994210512830464113
https://www.paypal.me/nihikebaa
If you have any questions feel free to contact us at nihikebaa@gmail.com. We send out receipts for each donation for a tax right off at the end of each month.
President of the United States Donald Trump, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, Governor Doug Ducey, Vice President of the Navajo Nation Myron Lizer and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward speaking with supporters at a "Keep America Great" rally at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by: Gage Skidmore
You’re injecting what, into who?!
In case you missed it, President of Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez is planning to start COVID-19 vaccine trials on Navajo Nation. Many have raised serious alarm over administering a vaccine too early before it is tested, including the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The Pfizer Bio N tech vaccine push is an experiment targeted at Navajos and is pushed by the Trump Administration. Vice President Myron Lizer is openly a Trump supporter and working on Trump’s campaign. Pfizer and BioNTech (a german biotech company) will profit from the vaccine experiments on Dine people.
Leadership is using a separate vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine. Which is being used by Johns Hopkins University Researchers using Dine people from Chinle, Shiprock and Gallup. The risks of vaccines are unknown. Dine people have been fighting Johns Hopkins since they have been collecting blood and DNA samples from Navajos and IHS hospitals in vaccine research since the 1980’s, Its is unknown how the genetic samples are being used. Johns Hopkins University has a long standing history in testing vaccines on indigenous people. They infected indigenous people in Guatemala with syphilis in the 1940’s. It has taken decades for the truth to be exposed.
Navajos are already being used in the controversial coronavirus plasma infusions by Johns Hopkins which is being funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. These infusions are not FDA approved already underway using Navajos at IHS in Shiprock and Gallup. President Nez blocked a Diné college professor from questioning COVID-19 risks. We encourage you all to view information around the vaccine with extreme caution. Medical researchers and drug companies often offer money as an incentive for trial populations, which puts economically vulnerable populations at more risk.Although the cases have gone down on Navajo Nation, in July there was a peak in cases around 75,000. Navajo Nation has had the highest per capita rates of coronavirus in the US with over 2,000 cases per 100,000 people.
We encourage you to listen to this podcast from the Diné Situation that thoroughly reviews the research, risks, and ethics associated with an early coronavirus vaccine on Navajo Nation. This situation is unfolding, and we are watching with great concern.
https://soundcloud.com/din-situation/research-risks-and-dine-vaccine-trials
ALL EYES ON mI’KMA’KI!!
Fishing treaty Canada- Nova Scotia, chasing indigenous people out of waters
“After a night that saw Mi’kmaq fishing boats targeted by flares on the water, the NS Assembly of Mi’kmaw Chiefs declared a state of emergence in response to “political unrest” and “violence” over the assertion of treaty rights.” -Jorge Barrera
In September, Sipekne’katik fishermen had flares shot at them and became the target of vandalism and harassment by commercial fishermen in the waters of so-called Nova Scotia. Local chiefs declared a state of emergency and days later a flotilla of hundreds of boats came into the bay to haul up the traps. This trip was the first fishing licenses that had been issued to the Sipekne’katik First Nations people in a long feud of colonial oppression for fishing rights. The battle is over whether or not indigenous people have the right to harvest lobster in their own traditional territory and issue their own permits, which commercial fishermen says goes against current rules.
By the mid-19th century, the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island, much like the Mi'kmaq on the Nova Scotia mainland, were nearly destitute. The outcome of over two centuries of political, economic, and cultural interaction with Europeans, this condition was exacerbated by the massive influx of Scottish settlers to the island after the end of the Napoleonic Wars - nearly 30,000 between 1815 and 1838. With their lands occupied and access to customary hunting and fishing grounds severely limited, the island's Mi'kmaw population - estimated to be about 500 in 1847 - adopted numerous economic initiatives to stay alive: they pursued agriculture and wage labour, mobilized older skills toward different occupational niches, and maintained, at least to some extent, customary rounds of seasonal resource procurement.
The #Mi’kamaq are a SOVEREIGN NATION. They have jurisdiction.
The have every right to their food and water sovereignty!
Please support, share, & pray for our Sipekne’katik Relatives & treaty holders.
This is one example of settler colonial rules threatening food sovereignty of indigenous peoples and threatening their very existence and ways of life.
From @talon_simon IG
Hemp on Rez
Shiprock farm board President Dineh Benally has come under scrutiny lately for illegal activities related to hemp farming on Navajo Nation. Benally got tons of farmers to switch from farming food to hemp and has divided the community in the process. Without Navajo Nation’s approval, Benally started growing hemp, expanded the operation to hundreds of acres with man camps, created massive growth facilities, and allegedly unlawfully used water from the San Juan River. Benally also employed aggressive security guards that threatened elders, kids, and other community members. In mid-September the Shiprock District Court issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop Benally’s hemp production immediately and Dineh Benally was charged with aggravated assault. The hemp is now going to be seized and burned.
In the wake of these human rights abuses, there is a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) watch for hemp farms. We have a lot of questions about this situation. Where has the money come from to switch all of these farmers from farming food to hemp? Have there been any other women that have been drugged or kidnapped? Are all of the exploited workers accounted for?
We are worried about all those involved in the human trafficking piece, and we are also disappointed that the production of hemp will likely deter people for the future. Growing hemp has an incredible potential for soil remediation by being able to accumulate heavy metals and chemicals from the soil. Benally’s actions have splintered the community around hemp where people are against cannabis and started organizing protests. Dinétah is dotted with coal plants, uranium mines and power plants from settlers and the soil is definitely in need of natural remediation. Our hearts are heavy to think that this natural potential for soil remediation has been tarnished by Benally’s greed.
Hemp farm Raid in Hogback, NM.
10-05-20
Photo Tribute by: Meredith Wolting
We Remember Joyce with Fierceness and Dignity
The death of 37 Year old Joyce Echaquan of Atikamekw de Manawan communities sparked outrage as her livestream shows she was mocked by hospital staff as she was dying. Echaquan went to the hospital in Joliette, Quebec for stomach pain but never made it out. She was killed on Monday October 5th by racist nurses. Joyce was abandoned in the hallway with a gurney in extreme pain. The nurses then injected incredibly large doses of morphine despite Joyce refusing. Joyce had a history of cardiac issues and a severe allergy to morphine.
In pain, abandoned and fearing for her life, Joyce took out her phone and went on Facebook live to seek help and expose the blatant hate crime and racism. In the horrific footage she is she is pleading for help and in extreme pain. The most heartbreaking part of her footage is the dehumanizing comments from the nurses. Who called her stupid, overwieght that she was only good for sex and couldnt take care of herself AND (yes theres more!) that she is better off dead. They murdered and tortured her. The mother of 7 used her bravery and quick wit to record herself has presented the undeniable fact that Canadain government DOES NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. CANADA IS NOT INNOCENT!
This is the systemic racism we are fighting against. The Canadian government has repeatedly stated that they don't have systemic racism in their country and their provinces. If she didn't record this no one would have known the treatment people of color endure in spaces that are suppose to be safe spaces. We must never let her story go. We will remember Joyce and the bravery that she showed up until her final moments on this earth.
Happi American Horse
Fierce water protector and community leader Happi American Horse has tested positive for COVID-19 on top of having pneumonia. Happi is beloved by so many and we encourage you to send prayers and support for a speedy recovery. His brother, Elias, is also positive and quarantine in a car. Their mother, Cheryl, is still recovering from it too. Send any financial contributions to help with medical bills by Venmo: @Cheryl-Angel-1 or Paypal: c_ann_angel@yahoo.com.
Visual Moment of Silence
We would like to honor all the black lives that have been lost to police brutality and white supremacy in 2020. We must #saytheirnames and remember the deep, complex and human lives they lived before they were taken by a system that feels threatened by their very existence. Please take a moment of silence or prayer in whatever form feels right for you to honor each one of these precious lives lost this year.
Jonathan Price, 31
Dijon Kizzie, 29
Damian Daniels, 30
Anthony McClain, 32
Julian Lewis, 60
Maurice Abisdid-Wagner, 30
Rayshard Brooks, 27
Priscilla Slater, 38
Robert Forbes, 56
Kamal Flowers, 24
Jamel Floyd, 35
David McAtee, 53
James Scurlock, 22
Calvin Horton, Jr., 43
Tony McDade, 38
Dion Johnson, 28
George Floyd, 46
Maurice Gordon, 28
Cornelius Fredericks, 16
Steven Taylor, 33
Daniel Prude, 30
Breonna Taylor, 26
Barry Gedeus, 27
Manuel Ellis, 33
Ahmaud Arbery, 25
Lionel Morris, 39
Jaquyn O’Neill Light, 20
Willian Green, 43
Darius Tarver, 23
Miciah Lee, 23
