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Indigenous Peoples Day
8 years ago
Here's a writeup on what #IndigenousPeoplesDay celebrates, & should not just be celebrated today but everyday.
I realize there are many out there who don't have regular interactions with an Indigenous person, thus doesn't ever hear that experience Indigenous folks have had to put up with, & we still have to put up with so many uphill battles. But let's start from early on.
Each of our respective tribal nations mastered living in many harsh conditions on Turtle Island (America for those still colonized of mind). We thrived & made civilizations from the pounding heat of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona to the deep freezing cold winters of Minnesota. When the settlers arrived, we faced their deception, then their unquenchable thirst for violence (& read history. That's not exaggerating). We were stripped of our land & resources; the only lives we knew & we still found a way. We found away to continue into the 20th-21st centuries. But that wasn't enough for the superimposing settler cultures. Through the 20th century we faced termination policy, boarding schools torturing children, sabotage to our attempts at autonomy, we faced racism & violence. And in every turn, despite it all, we were still there to fight.
Every single one of those previous generations, from initial contact to today is accumulated historical trauma which we Indigenous ppl face. Many of us, including myself, have been severely uprooted from our cultures & trying to reconnect. We do this on top of fighting our demons. Our demons being our own personal traumas we face; & so many Indigenous folks deal w bc of the circumstances we were forced into early on. Growing up, I had a neighbor who gave me death threats. I still remember that; & I still remember how I was treated in every corner. But hey folks guess what, us Indigenous ppl are still here, & still fighting on. Still existing thru our struggles, humor, values & more.
Non-Natives, you don't see it, but we carry massive burdens in our lives no one else has to carry as the original ppl of these lands, but somehow so many of us manage to continue to carry on; thru trauma, thru oppression, thru all the obstacles we face. Recognize that. You've largely ignored our presence, bc we're "low" on ur "priorities" but no more. Today's a good day to start recognizing who's land you're on.
And for my fellow Indigenous folks today. I sit here this morning listening to Russell Means, John Trudell, Charlie Hill, & many figures, activists, musicians, comedians, other great folks that have come out of our communities & find inspiration. Yeah kinda cheesy but hey, we don't need a day to know who we are, but it's still a good day to be proud of every struggle our ancestors have done to get us here and every step we ourselves have taken for survival. It's brutal out there for us, and it's hard, but we're doing it & we got each other and if there's something important I learned from my grandmother, it's that our ancestral memory is still in us, it's dormant, but it's a matter of time. It will start kicking back in, & we will find ways to live, fight, & thrive. I love you all & you saved my life.
#IndigenousPeoplesDay may just be another greeting of the sun, but let this be the start of something greater for us Indigenous ppl & beyond.
I realize there are many out there who don't have regular interactions with an Indigenous person, thus doesn't ever hear that experience Indigenous folks have had to put up with, & we still have to put up with so many uphill battles. But let's start from early on.
Each of our respective tribal nations mastered living in many harsh conditions on Turtle Island (America for those still colonized of mind). We thrived & made civilizations from the pounding heat of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona to the deep freezing cold winters of Minnesota. When the settlers arrived, we faced their deception, then their unquenchable thirst for violence (& read history. That's not exaggerating). We were stripped of our land & resources; the only lives we knew & we still found a way. We found away to continue into the 20th-21st centuries. But that wasn't enough for the superimposing settler cultures. Through the 20th century we faced termination policy, boarding schools torturing children, sabotage to our attempts at autonomy, we faced racism & violence. And in every turn, despite it all, we were still there to fight.
Every single one of those previous generations, from initial contact to today is accumulated historical trauma which we Indigenous ppl face. Many of us, including myself, have been severely uprooted from our cultures & trying to reconnect. We do this on top of fighting our demons. Our demons being our own personal traumas we face; & so many Indigenous folks deal w bc of the circumstances we were forced into early on. Growing up, I had a neighbor who gave me death threats. I still remember that; & I still remember how I was treated in every corner. But hey folks guess what, us Indigenous ppl are still here, & still fighting on. Still existing thru our struggles, humor, values & more.
Non-Natives, you don't see it, but we carry massive burdens in our lives no one else has to carry as the original ppl of these lands, but somehow so many of us manage to continue to carry on; thru trauma, thru oppression, thru all the obstacles we face. Recognize that. You've largely ignored our presence, bc we're "low" on ur "priorities" but no more. Today's a good day to start recognizing who's land you're on.
And for my fellow Indigenous folks today. I sit here this morning listening to Russell Means, John Trudell, Charlie Hill, & many figures, activists, musicians, comedians, other great folks that have come out of our communities & find inspiration. Yeah kinda cheesy but hey, we don't need a day to know who we are, but it's still a good day to be proud of every struggle our ancestors have done to get us here and every step we ourselves have taken for survival. It's brutal out there for us, and it's hard, but we're doing it & we got each other and if there's something important I learned from my grandmother, it's that our ancestral memory is still in us, it's dormant, but it's a matter of time. It will start kicking back in, & we will find ways to live, fight, & thrive. I love you all & you saved my life.
#IndigenousPeoplesDay may just be another greeting of the sun, but let this be the start of something greater for us Indigenous ppl & beyond.
I spent the day unplugged from this internet. It was great.
more states, cities and towns have begun to recognize.