“The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and the Monument Quilt Project will walk in support of safety for Native women and sovereignty of Indian nations,” said Cherrah Giles, Board President, NIWRC. “We ask everyone to join our effort to oppose Dollar General. Non-Indian corporations and sex predators must be held accountable. Race should not be a license to prey on Native women and children.”
The audio starts with singers and drums in the background. An audio clip starts of a Canadian member of parliament speaking on the issue of the Trans Mountain pipeline project. This audio is from 2018.
“-and his minister adds that Canada will not be able to accommodate all Indigenous concerns. What thats means is that they have decided to willfully violate their constitutional duties and obligations.”
The speaker, Romeo Saganash, a Cree Lawmaker, continues.
“Mr Speaker, sounds like a most important relationship, doesn’t it? Why doesn’t the prime minister just say the truth and tell Indigenous people’s that he doesn’t give a fuck about their rights?”
The video is of a person leaning down to the camera (in a small area of grass and trees) before turning their back to it and dancing at the end of the video with orange text stating in all caps
“WE’RE COMING FOR EVERYTHING OUR ANCESTORS WERE DENIED”.
Abortion bans are oppressive and dehumanizing and dangerous to anyone who can become pregnant. And the people who are the most highly impacted by these laws are certain minorities. This post is focused on how reproductive rights violations impact Indigenous First Nations communities in particular, please do not derail this post or make post additions unless you are Indigenous American.
(note: many of my sources use gendered language that excludes non-women who can become pregnant. i am aware of this and am unhappy about it, but i will still be using reliable data and quotes from these sources.)
Based off of United States statistics, Native American people are the most likely to be sexually assaulted out of any racial demographic in the US by a large margin.
- On average, American Indians ages 12 and older experience 5,900 sexual assaults per year. - American Indians are twice as likely to experience a rape/sexual assault compared to all races. - 41% of sexual assaults against American Indians are committed by a stranger; 34% by an acquaintance; and 25% by an intimate or family member.
A nationally representative survey indicates that while almost 18% of white women and 7% of Asian/Pacific Islander women will be raped in their lifetimes, almost 19% of black women, 24% of mixed race women, and 34% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped during their lifetimes.
Sexual assault and rape are indescribably traumatic experiences in and of themselves, even without the layer of potential for unwanted pregnancy. But pregnancy after being raped does occur. Almost 3 million people in the U.S. have experienced rape-related pregnancy. (source [x])
94% of rape victims experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their assault. (source [x]) People who suffer from PTSD are caused extreme psychological distress by things and experiences and people that remind them of the traumatic event(s) that they suffered through. Finding out that you are carrying your rapist’s fetus can and does majorly inhibit and set back the ability to heal and recover from PTSD.
And even without this factor, many people who experience rape-related pregnancy are children, disabled in ways that would make it dangerous or even fatal to carry out a pregnancy/childbirth, unable to access the resources required during pregnancy/childbirth, or otherwise unfit or unwilling to go through a full pregnancy and childbirth.
Native Americans have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the U.S.
According to a 2018/2019 study, Indigenous populations in the U.S. have the highest percentage of teen births out of any racial demographic.
Teen pregnancy and birth is often incredibly damaging to the victim’s psyche. Teen birthing parents are twice as likely to experience post-partum depression than birthing parents of an appropriate age, have higher rates of other depressive disorders, have higher rates of suicidal ideation, and have higher rates of PTSD. (source [x])
Not only are there often grievous mental health consequences to teen pregnancy, more than 50% of teen birthing parents will receive a high school diploma, and only 2% will receive a degree before the age of 30. (source [x])
Teen birth rates will only go up if abortion is outlawed. This will disproportionately impact Indigenous communities, who already suffer from low graduation rates and high mental illness rates.
Native Americans have higher pregnancy and abortion rates in general.
-Urban AI/AN [American Indian/Alaska Native] were more likely to have had three or more pregnancies and births than NH-whites [Non-Hispanic Whites]. High fertility rates were also seen among young urban AI/AN women age 15-24 years. - Urban AI/AN reports of 2 or more abortions was twice that of NH-whites (10% vs. 5%).
This one is fairly self-explanatory. If a certain demographic is receiving more reproductive care, they will be more impacted by legislation making it difficult/impossible to access that reproductive care.
Native Americans have the highest poverty rate out of any racial demographic in the U.S.
Carrying out a pregnancy, going through childbirth, and raising a child are all things that are made much more difficult by economic disprivilege, especially in the US, where healthcare is very expensive, especially without insurance.
The estimated cost of a pregnancy and birth in the United States is $30,000 for a vaginal birth and $50,000 for a c-section. (source [x]) Many impoverished people just simply do not have that kind of money, and are forced to take on pregnancy and childbirth without appropriate healthcare, or go into medical debt.
Additionally, pregnant people require more food, which they might not be able to afford. Pregnant people often experience side effects that would make it impossible or simply unsafe to work, especially in late stage pregnancy, and people living in poverty cannot afford to lose their jobs or even to miss shifts.
Native Americans have the highest rates of death due to pregnancy/childbirth complications, second only to Black people.
Black and AIAN women have pregnancy-related mortality rates that are over three and two times higher, respectively, compared to the rate for White women (40.8 and 29.7 vs. 12.7 per 100,000 live births)
With a pregnancy mortality rate more than double that of white people, if more Indigenous people are forced to endure a pregnancy, more Indigenous people will die at disproportionate rates.
Racial disparity in pregnancy mortality rates is due in part to inability to access healthcare, as well as systematic racism within healthcare resources themselves.
Native Americans have the highest incarceration rates in the U.S. out of any racial demographic in many states, and the second highest incarceration rates overall.
Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
My final point that I’m going to be discussing is about how American Indigenous people will be treated under abortion bans.
Native Americans face much higher incarceration rates out of almost any ethnic demographic, and very often face more severe punishments than non-native (particularly white) people who were charged with the same crime. If abortion is criminalized and can be punished with incarceration, Native Americans will be disproportionately impacted.
Additionally, people who miscarry can be legally punished under anti-abortion laws, because there is simply no way to prove that miscarriages weren’t intentionally induced in many cases. We are living under a justice system that is biased against Indigenous people, and with the way things are right now, the only logical conclusion that one can draw based on evidence is that Native people who are falsely accused of abortion will be more likely to face criminal charges. Because it’s already happening.
Prosecutors argued methamphetamine use caused Poolaw’s miscarriage between 15 and 17 weeks gestation. But a state medical examiner who testified for the prosecution during the one-day trial in October said there was a complication with the placenta and the fetus had a congenital abnormality. He couldn’t say for certain whether drug use caused the pregnancy loss.
Brittney Poolaw, a 19 year old woman from the Comanche Nation, was sentenced to four years in prison after a miscarriage. The prosecution insisted that she was guilty of self-induced abortion by using meth, as she was an addict, even though medical evidence proved that there were other factors that could very well have caused miscarriage.
Abortion bans are aggressions against anyone who can become pregnant, but AI/AN communities will be impacted disproportionately. Our voices are incredibly important in matters like these, but are often talked over. Allow us to have a platform. Consider how your activism may exclude us. Thank you.
The numbers are really uncommon, to say the least, for this blog. However, this is but another reminder of the #mmiw* issue and should only compel us to keep addressing it until we have something more tangible to celebrate than fleeting social media sparks. This is an old problem, an obfuscated theme and a noble cause. Please, spread the word.
In 2005, the Lakota People’s Law Project was founded with a mission to end this tragedy and win the return of thousands of children that were illegally taken from their families and tribes by creating foster care for Lakota, by Lakota. The Lakota People’s Law Project is working with tribal leaders; emerging Lakota leaders; grassroots organizers; and federal officials in the Department of Justice, Department of Interior, and Health and Human Services to finally end this genocide and create the permanent solution of tribal sovereignty.
Please support our efforts to bring the Lakota children home by becoming a member (lakotalaw.org/donate-new) and sign our petition to Obama (lakotalaw.org/action) to tell the state of South Dakota to stop kidnapping Lakota children!
Members of Tahltan Nation, above, shut down Fortune Minerals to protect sacred sites – Photo via Reclaim Turtle Island
All across Turtle Island and around the world Indigenous peoples are taking direct action to protect their lands by any means necessary. Together we are resisting colonialism by defeating corporate Imperialism, preventing resource extraction, asserting our sovereignty, and fighting White supremacy and legacies of racism. So much has happened and Indigenous peoples are rising up!
Below is a brief synopsis of Land Defense and Sovereigntist struggles across Turtle Island that burned bright this 2013. It is in no particular order and by no means complete. From disrupting tar sands megaloads and pipelines infrastructure, to mining blockades, logging blockades, kicking out Nazis, rescuing our kidnapped children, continued Idle No More demonstrations and reclaiming territories, our spirits of survival and responsibility are so strong.
If there is one thing we can take away from 2013: everywhere our people are fiercely fighting colonial expansion and resource extraction. We are rejuvenating our cultures, our languages, and our lifeways. It is through asserting our relationships to our territories that we gain strength. #2014WarriorUp
Special shout out to Warrior Publications for cataloguing so much of our peoples’ resistance.
1. Algonquin’s of Barriere Lake erect Land Protection camps to stop logging and deforestation in their unceded territories. Algonquin peoples haulted logging equipment and forced the occupying government body (Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources) to stop development as they continue to monitor their territory and seek to hold the illegal colonial Ministry accountable.
2. Members of Umatilla Nation and supporters stop tar sands megaloads from reaching the Umatilla port.Delaying the megaload transportation by several days, Indigenous peoples and supporters stood in solidarity against tar sands genocide.
3. Unist’ot’en Clan of Wetsu’wet’en Nation, affirm their sovereignty and resistance to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. In their 4th year in reclaimed territory – effectively stopping roughly 8 proposed pipelines (both tar sands and fracked gas) – the Unist’ot’en camp announced continued resistance to the Northern Gateway despite unlawful colonial approval from National Energy Board. View full statement here.
4. Secwepemc stop TransKanada HWY expansion and protect their Ancestor’s remains. Secwepemc people established a Sacred Fire and evicted TransKanada workers who had unearthed resting places of their Ancestors.
5. #Elsipogtog blockades against SWN, explodes in RCMPig raid, unites Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and settlers against fracking. Mi’kmaq erect rolling blockades (3 separate highways), seize seismic testing equipment, and continue anti-fracking resistance. October 17, RCMPigs raid the site: video here.
Court Updates:6 Warriors were held without trial, as Prisoners of War, and were assaulted by police and put into solitary confinement. 2 received bail. Of the remaining 4, Coady Stevens plead guilty to 1 count assault police, 2 counts obstruct police and 1 count of uttering threats to an officer and has been released. Jim Pictou also entered a guilty plea for 1 count each of uttering threats to officer, mischief, not keeping the peace, obstruction at large, assault with bear spray, and uttering threat to a police dog and has been released. Aaron Francis and Germain “Junior” Breau have entered not guilty pleas to 16 and 19 charges respectively. They have both been denied access to spiritual practices and Junior has been targeted for solitary confinement. Trials coming this spring.
Write to a Warrior: Aaron Francis | Germain “Junior” Breau, S.R.C.C., 435 Lino Rd, Shediac, NB, E4P 0H6, Kanada
6. Tsilhqot’in and Yunesit’in stop forestry vehicles and equipment across their territory. Tsilhqot’in and Yunesit’in peoples blocked highway access stopping Tolko and West Fraser illegal logging operations, protecting territorial forests and moose habitats.
7. Innu communities in Nitassinan territory stage blockades against Hydro-Québec construction under Plan Nord development plans. The blockades followed the continuation of the construction project despite Hydro-Québec making a show of saving colonial face with Innu communities in Uashat and Mani-Utenam.
8. Lubicon Cree tell Penn West Petroleum to frack off. The Cree of Lubicon Lake enforced their Laws against PENN WEST PETROLEUM LTD on an oil lease site located in their territory by occupying a nearby access road.
9. Red Lake Chippewa Blockade Enbridge Pipeline. Nizhawendaamin Indaakiminaan, a group of grassroots Anishinaabe from Red Lake and supporters, occupied land directly over multiple Enbridge pipelines operating without permits on Red Lake lands in occupied-Minnesota, and demanded that the flow of oil through these pipelines be stopped.
10. Direct Action Shuts Down First U$ Tar Sands Mine in the occupied territories of Utah. Dine’ Land Defenders, Lakota Warriors, and supporters, including a Land Defender of the Yagua Nation, shut down the tar sands mining site in so-called Utah, and the corporation’s (U$ Oil – actually a Kanadian company) stock dropped 13% on day of action. Footage from this action is featured in our film Kahstastenhsera. Dine’ land defenders are working towards a sovereignty camp.
11. Tahltan Protect Sacred Sites and Takeover Mine to Shut Down Fortune Minerals. Members of the Tahltan Nation order workers off of a Sacred Site being explored for the purpose of exploitation and desecration by Fortune Minerals. Tahltan peoples, lead by Elders part of the Klabona Keepers, take over the site, protecting their Sacred Headwaters and establish a blockade to prevent illegal mining of their territories.
12. Tsleil-Waututh Nation assert traditional lifeways, protest Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. Members of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation brought out traditional canoes to protest pipeline expansion as they sail through waters now occupied by Marine Terminals and supertankers.
13. Thunderchild First Nation stand up for Sundance grounds against fracking exploration. Cree peoples from Thunderchild First Nation opposed seismic testing adjacent to their Sundance grounds, but face legal challenges from the Indian Act systems and colonial courts.
14. Tar Sands Megaloads blocked by members of the Niimíipu Nation (Nez Perce). Niimíipu Elders, mothers, children, community members and their supporters block the highway where tar sands megaloads seek to pass as 20 people were arrested.
15. Sinixt Nation assert their sovereignty in the face of colonial erasure. Sinixt Nation establish a reclamation site for cultural practices and call for support in the wake of Colonial forces denying their existence and occupying their territories. Full statement from the Sinixt Nation.
16. Lakota & Dakota Grandmothers Kick Out Nazi Scumbags! Hundreds of Lakota & Dakota peoples and their supporters lead by Grandmothers asserted their sovereignty by protecting their territories from White supremacists in a small-settler town outside of the reserve. Stand off between Warriors and Grandmothers against members of the Nationalist Socialist Movement resulted in the confiscation of the Nazi flag and continued confrontations to squash Nazi scumbag organizing on stolen lands! Full story.
17. Lakota fight White KKKlay genocidal chemical warfare. Lakota Warriors, Elders, youth, and supporters stop illegal activities on their territories, combating chemical warfare known as alcohol. Lakota and supporters march on White Clay, NE to stop illegal activity by bar owners. Illegal activities include: Selling to intoxicated and minors, allowing drinking on offsale property, bartering for pornography and Sexual Favors and offering welfare checks debt for alcohol to name a few.
18. Saugeen territory reclaimed. An Anishinaabe-kwe reclaims Saugeen territory from Crown occupation and builds her own home along her traditional trapline.
19. Innu protect stolen children, barricade windows of Family Serviecs Office. Innu people barricaded the windows and blockaded the office of Sheshatshui Child, Youth, and Family Services, demanding the return of kidnapped children, including 30 children recently taken.
20. Gitga’at First Nation evicts Northern Gateway crew conducting spill response survey. An Enbridge survey crew trespassed on Gitga’at territory, and after a meeting were told to leave. Members of the Gitga’at Nation have said they will not allow tankers to pass their territory.
21. Anishinaabe of Aamjiwnaang disrupt pro-Tar Sands Conference and stand up against the “Chemical Valley.” Lead by Anishinaabe-kwe’s, youth and Elders, Aamjiwnaang community members and supporters rallied against environmental racism, standing up against new development in the “Chemical Valley” and shut down the pro-tar sands conference.
22. Inuit of so-called Labrador oppose Hydro Project, arrested asserting Sovereignty. Eight Inuit people including elder James Learning were arrested for asserting their inherent responsibilities over their traditional territories. They are fighting the Muskrat Fall Hydroelectric project that will disrupt their hunting, fishing, and trapping grounds.
23. Dakelh people from Ts’il Kaz Koh First Nation (Burns Lake) blockade Band Office, evicted by RCMPigs.Three adults and one child were removed from the Burns Lake Indian Band offices by 50 RCMP officers with shotguns and riot gear. The protesters had blockaded themselves in the building after hearing of shady financial transactions by local Indian Act Officials.
24. Attawapiskat launches multiple fierce and effective blockades against De Beers Diamond Mine, causing “irreparable financial damages.” Anishinaabe community members of Attawapiskat hit De Beers mine with a road blockade, and another blockade shortly after in order to halt operations and stop the exploitation of their lands and peoples.
25. #INM National Day of Action springs multiple rail blockades across Klanada. Border crossings, passenger train and commercial freight lines were stalled, blocked and halted by Indigenous peoples from across Klanada as part of Idle No More calls to action.
26. Haudenosaunee from Six Nations of the Grand River embark on caravan of protection, hitting over half a dozen wind turbine sites, asserting themselves over their treaty territory. Six Nations community members stood up against illegal development in their territory, as a wind-turbine companies (NextEra Energy Kanada and Capital Power Corp) displaced the nest of an Akwek’s (Eagle) family.
27. Grassy Narrows community continues to fight logging, mercury poisoning, and more. A march lead by Grassy Anishinaabe-Kwe’s raises awareness about violence against Indigenous women, as the community celebrate the 11th anniversary of the clearcut blockade and continues campaigns of resistance against new plans to resume clear-cut logging in their territory.
28. Racist newspaper letter sparks protest and backlash in occupied Suneymuxw territory, socalled Nanaimo, BC. The Nanaimo Daily News posted a racist letter laced with hate speech and ignorance against Indigenous peoples. A protest lead by Suneymuxw First Nation people and supported by the community demanded the firing of the paper’s Editor and a front page apology.
29. Innu continue resistance to Plan Nord, maintain blockades and plan for future actions. People of the Innu Nation continue to protect Nitassinan, their traditional territory, against Quebec plans for energy infrastructure including hydro dams which will devastate the natural balance of the lands, waters and impact the practices of traditional lifeways.
30. Imperial Metals AGM shut down by Neskonlith, Secwepemc, Ahousaht and Nuu Chah Nulth peoples! Protectors from Neskonlith, Secwepemc, Ahousaht and Nuu Chah Nulth Nations asserted their collective sovereignty to defend their lands by condemning Imperial Metals stating their are not welcome.
31. Journey for the Earth Walkers embark on A Sacred Journey for Future Generations, follow the Nuclear Cycle. Cree, Dene, Metis and Anishinaabe walkers joined at different spots along the route and continued on deliver notices to GE-Hitachi, walk the nuclear fuel chain to stop uranium use.
32. Aamjiwnaang 13-day rail blockade against CN rail. Just slipping into 2013, Kanadian National railines suffered financial loss as the Anishinaabe of Aamjiwnaang First Nation established a rail blockade as part of Idle No More, asserting their sovereignty and resisting the exploitation of Kanadian occupation and the impacts of Chemical Valley on their lands and peoples.
33. Mi’kmaq community members from Listuguj block Eastern railines. L’nu (Mi’kmaq) people erected a blockade of a main rail artery in protest of Omnibus Bill C-45, supporting Idle No More.
34. Dine’ peoples stand strong to protect their Sacred Sites and confront PeaBody Coal Mine from exploiting their lands and peoples. Several were arrested in street confrontations, including banner drops, at the PeaBody AGM as Dine’ (Navajo) community members from Black Mesa, joined by several groups of supporters condemned the PeaBody operation in support of Indigenous self-determination. Demonstrations were also held to further condemn PeaBody Coal’s desecration of Burial Sites on Black Mesa, as well as ongoing campaigns to Protect the Sacred Peaks, to keep the ban on Uranium mining and push for cleanup, as part of the legacy of continued resistance against ongoing land theft within Dine’tah.
35. Kanien’keha:ka of Akwesasne takeover U$ / Kanadian border bridge in opposition to fracking. Kanien’keha:ka community members of Akwesasne seized a border crossing, firmly asserting their sovereignty in the midst of Imperial borders, sending a strong message to colonial occupiers about burgeoning Haudenosaunee resistance to fracking on our territories.
36. #ShutDownCanada call to support Mi’kmaq Warriors see’s international actions. SWN CEO lawn demonstrations, major commerce Port shutdowns, rail and highway blockades, banner drops and more actions poured in from europe, across Klanada and the U$ in support of Elsipogtog resistance to fracking.
37. Lubicon Lake Nation Standing Strong Against Fraudulent Election, Demands Aboriginal Affairs Cease Assimilation Tactics in Nation. Lubicon Cree traditional leadership condemns the Imperial tactics of Indian Act governance, charging Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AAND-C) with interfering with sovereign affairs and firmly rejecting Indian Act calls for elections.
38. #Oct7Proclaim Idle No More Day of Action sparks over 50 actions globally. Including rallies, highway blockades and the delivery of an Eviction Notice from Mi’kmaq Warriors to SWN headquarters to occupied Houston, TX, actions ignited across Turtle Island in spite of the 250 years of the Crowns colonial lies.
39. Moccasins on the Ground, Direct Action training camp in Lakota territory. Lakota warriors, community members and supporters participated in training communities along the Keystone XL pipeline route. Everyone was encouraged to warrior up for Unci Maka. The Lakota have made it clear TransCanada is not welcome on their Treaty territory.
40. Cree walkers arrive in unceded Algonquin territory, so-called Ottawa on Idle No More trek. Cree youth from the community of Whapmagoostui and their supporters walked 1,600 miles from their community near so-called James Bay, QC to unceded Algonquin territory in so-called Ottawa, in support of the Idle No More Movement.
41. Why we call them RCMPigs: Mounties raped and abused West-Coast Indigenous women and girls. Feb 14th Annual Memorial Marches Continue. Human Rights Watch investigations in 10 Indigenous communities have found that RCMPigs are and have historically rape and abused Indigenous women and girls. Women and girls have gone missing so frequently on HWY 16 in occupied-British Columbia that the road it is called The Highway of Tears. Across Klanada, on February 14, there is an annual march to commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous women.
42. Campaign against racist slurs puts the R-word under heat. Across Turtle Island rallies of hundreds of people have come together to protest the continuation of the use of the R-word in football and sports teams. One such campaign was successful in occupied Algonquin territories, of so-called Nepean, ON where DJ NDN from A Tribe Called Red was successful in pressuring a name change of the local football team.
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Reclaim Turtle Island is dedicated to spreading the word on the Indigenous Insurrection in 2014, and we look forward to continue to lift up one another’s voices on the frontlines against colonial-capitalism, reservation apartheid and industrial genocide. Please support their crowdfunding initiative so they can get the basic equipment needed to continue to produce Indigenous-led grassroots media, and continue production on several exciting upcoming projects.
Atthe residential school memorial downtown, a speaker encouraged everyone present to take photos and share stories of the tributes and of what they had seen that evening. The memorial commemorated the recent discovery of 215 bodies at a Kamloops state institution that separated Indigenous children from their families and culture in an attempt to indoctrinate them into a western, Christian way of living. So I am doing as she asked.
I try to learn about and be mindful of Indigenous cultures in Canada and feel that, even as an immigrant, I still have more rights, freedoms and safety than people who were born here and who can trace ancestry back to before anyone like me ever arrived. I know, as many do, that the last residential school closed as recently as the 90s and that they were hugely harmful, abusive institutions with little to no accountability (thousands of other children remain unaccounted for to this day). I’m also well aware of the lack of access to healthcare, mental health resources and sometimes even clean water that affects many of this country’s Indigenous communities.
I have a complicated relationship with online activism and I feel I’ve known too many people who are performative or disingenuous, using it as a front and a facade in lieu of real action, and this includes much of the current Canadian administration. I also feel that what we care about and what we feel inside of us goes so much further than what we share on the internet.
I don’t know how to make other people care, but if you live anywhere in North America I would encourage you to use the internet to find out about the Indigenous Peoples who do, or once did, live in the spaces you move through, and what they are like. Education is one of the first ways that we can combat cultural erasure, ignorance and prejudice, and it’s also something that enriches all of us. If you’re in Canada and you can help financially, I’d suggest donating to the Residential School Survivors Society, or otherwise consider writing to your representatives to ask how they are working toward reconciliation, supporting and uplifting cultures and peoples who have been abused and oppressed for so long.
May 1st, 1946: The Pilbara strike, a strike by indigenous Australian pastoral workers for human rights, fair wages, and better working conditions, begins. It involved more than 800 workers walking off from their jobs and lasted for over three years.
Strikers were met with violence and unlawful arrest but ultimately won their demands. The 1946 Pilbara strike is remembered as the first and one of the longest industrial strikes by Aboriginal people since colonization.
You wanna talk about Cancel Culture? Many Native activists were getting attention in the 1960s and 1970s and some representation was about to happen in media. But America couldn’t have that and TWO U.S. PRESIDENTS started black listing Native Artists.
Native erasure was policy.
Johnny Cash at the height of his fame was censored for speaking about Native issues. He had to promote it himself. Radio stations wouldn’t play it because it was about Native struggles.
Imagine as radio stations not playing Taylor Swift because she said “hey don’t be racist”
When Marlon Brando ask Sacheen Littlefeather on the academy stage to accept his Oscar about talk about mistreatment of Natives in Hollywood. John Wayne tried to tackle her. Then it became a joke in Hollywood as it did its best to erase Natives for the next 5 decades.
Getting fired because you broke company policy by being racist isn’t Cancel Culture. Having everyone from radio DJs, to award shows, to the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES gate keep you because you’re Native, is
It’s hard to find good information about #mmiw, so here’s a little post for you: Invisible Genocide: What is the MMIW Movement?
#mmiwg #mmiw2s #nativerights #amblogging
Summary
Despite the MMIW epidemic showing no signs of stopping, there is a criminal lack of information being spread by governing bodies across the United States and Canada, much less action being taken to protect First Nations Women. MMIW refers to ‘Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’. In this article, we’ll be discussing topics such as, ‘how many MMIW are there?’ and taking a look into the…
