U.S : INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY; five anti-racist actions for the week of October 12.

 

 

 

Dear friend,

 

 

 

 

Monday, October 12, was Indigenous Peoples' Day.

 

Indigenous Peoples' Day was first introduced to public discourse by the participants of the 1977 United Nations International Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, and the movement subsequently gained momentum in states and local communities across the United States.¹ The first state to redefine the day was South Dakota, in 1990, and Indigenous Peoples' Day has since been codified by many state and local governments and institutions, and observed by many individuals and communities.² 

 

In observing Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day, we leave behind a holiday predicated on celebrating colonialism, discovery doctrine, and genocide, and instead engage with Indigenous histories, organize against current injustices, and celebrate Indigenous culture, resistance, and resilience. Both anti-Black racism and settler colonialism are steeped in European racism, and both are rooted in a painful legacy of removing people from their land, annihilating them, and erasing their culture.³ 

 

Right now, consider taking one or all of the following five anti-racist actions : 

Find out what Native land you inhabit. Use this map tool to learn about the ancestral land you inhabit and how to acknowledge territory publicly--an important first step to bring awareness of land rights and Indigenous presence into everyday conversations. 

Learn about the LANDBACK movement and land defenders, and join the fight to close Mt. Rushmore. In South Dakota, Indigenous people make up 9% of the population, yet they comprise 41% of the state's jail population.⁴ This past July, 21 Indigenous activists were arrested and are now facing criminal charges after fighting for the closure of Mt. Rushmore, because it is a symbol of settler colonialism and white supremacy. Sign the petition to close Mt. Rushmore, free these land defenders, and return the land to the Lakota people.

Give to the Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund. Anathea Chino, an UltraViolet alum, is the co-founder and executive director of Advance Native Political Leadership, a national, Native American-led organization working to address the vast disparities and unique barriers that exist for Indigenous peoples in U.S. politics. Make a donation to support Indigenous political power. 

Demand an end to the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls crisis. Indigenous women on some reservations are murdered at a rate of more than ten times higher than the national average.⁵ They are also trafficked and sexually abused at much higher rates than the general population, and lawmakers from both major political parties have passed bills to address the crisis.⁶ Almost all violence against Native women is at the hands of non-Native men, who get away with their crimes because of Indian nations' lack of authority over non-Natives.⁷ Follow the #MMIW hashtag, which stands for missing and murdered Indigenous women, on social media to amplify content by Indigenous women about the crisis. 

Donate to this COVID-19 mutual aid fund. Indigenous communities, particularly the Navajo Nation, have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.⁸ Mutual aid funds like this one are supporting the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache Nations by providing essential personal protective equipment, food, and other resources to impacted families. 

 

Thank you for taking action !

 

 

 

 

 

Shaunna, KaeLyn, KD, Kathy, Bridget, Melody, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Elisa, Katie, and Iris, the UltraViolet team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources :

 

 

 

 

 

1. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, United Nations, March 2008 

2. IN HISTORY: South Dakota Becomes the First State to Recognize Native Americans' Day, Black Hills Knowledge Network, October 13, 2016

3. The roots of European racism lie in the slave trade, colonialism--and Edward Long, The Guardian, September 8, 2015

4. Incarceration Trends in South Dakota, Vera Institute of Justice, December 2019

5. Native American Women Are Facing a Crisis, The New York Times, April 12, 2019  

6. Haaland's Bill to Increase Focus on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Moving to President's Desk, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, September 22, 2020

7. Ending Violence Against Native Women, Indian Law Resource Center, accessed October 15, 2020

8. Navajo Nation surpasses New York state for the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the US, CNN, May 18, 2020