|
Native American protesters
at the Black Hills, now the site of Mount Rushmore. Micah
Garen/Getty Images
|
In many parts of what is now the United States, communities have
in recent years replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous
Peoples Day.
Celebrating Indigenous cultures every Oct. 12 is important. But
in this moment when the U.S. is reckoning with legacies
of racism and colonialism,
many Indigenous nations call for something more the return
of ancestral lands.
Having spoken to Native Americans activists, leaders and community
members in the course of my research into sacred sites protection
movements, I understand that land is often the center of Indigenous
life. It is not just where people live, but a site of complex relationships
among humans, waters, plants, animals and spiritual beings. This
is why the famous Standing Rock Sioux scholar and activist Vine
Deloria Jr. wrote
"American Indians hold their lands places as having
the highest possible meaning, and all their statements are made
with this reference point in mind."
Stolen lands
In my research with California Bay Area Ohlone
tribes, I have learned how land is central to identity and culture.
Even in highly urbanized places like San Francisco and Oakland,
Ohlone people have talked to me about how the land still holds meaning.
As a non-Indigenous
Latino scholar, I have also been challenged to continually reimagine
those places and the continent as a whole as Indigenous
land. Like many people in the U.S., my education growing up taught
me to think about Indigenous peoples in the past tense looking
at their history and not their contemporary experiences.
This reimagining is necessary given important U.S. policies related
to Indigenous lands. Laws such as the Indian
Removal Act of 1830 worked to displace tribes from their homelands
into "Indian Territory" in Oklahoma. This law intended to open lands
for non-Native settlers.
Such is the context of the Trail
of Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee and other tribal
nations from their homelands to reservations in the 1830s.
|
A 1911 poster advertising
'Indian land' for sale. WikiMedia Commons
|
Similar policies are found in the Allotment
Act of 1887, which sought to dissolve communally held reservation
lands into individual allotments. After allotments were granted,
the "excess land" was sold to white settlers. Tribes lost 90
million acres as a result.
Some policies sought to take away land through less explicit means.
These include the establishment of Indian
boarding schools that worked to assimilate tribal youth. Native
children were forcibly taken from their homes to assimilate them.
Many suffered physical,
sexual and psychological abuse.
Other policies like the Indian
Relocation Act of 1956 worked to assimilate Native peoples by
encouraging them to move to major cities.
This last policy ended up backfiring significantly. Instead of
assimilating, Native peoples in urban spaces eventually joined forces
to create the American Indian Movement in 1968. This intertribal
political movement sought to protect tribal lands, stop police brutality
and hold the U.S. government accountable to treaty agreements with
tribal nations.
Beyond acknowledgments
In recent years many institutions in the U.S. have attempted to
recognize the wrongs done to Indigenous peoples. For example, some
organizations, universities and businesses have issued land
acknowledgments brief statements that mention the Indigenous
peoples of the land where the institution operates.
The land
acknowledgment at Syracuse University, where I work, is typical
of such statements:
"The Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences would like
to acknowledge with respect the Onondaga Nation, firekeepers of
the Haudenosaunee, the indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands
Syracuse University now stands."
These statements work to bring awareness to Indigenous lands and
peoples. They can also be a first step toward solidarity between
Native and non-Native peoples. Leaders like Corrina Gould of the
Bay Area's Confederated
Villages of Lisjan/Ohlone encourage institutions to take this
further. "Land acknowledgment must begin with a relationship with
the people on whose land you are on," she said at a workshop
in San Francisco. "And I think the next step I'm looking for is,
how do we now live in reciprocity with one another on our homelands?"
Indigenous leaders also call for the return of land. The social
media hashtag campaign #LandBack addresses this directly. Forbes
writer Michela Moscufo traces
the origins of the campaign to Indigenous activists' critique
of the ways Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has handled pipelines
through First Nations territories. Moscufo also notes that the phase
"Land Back" has been used in the U.S. as well.
This has included protests
by Lakota peoples and allies during President Trump's visit
to Mount Rushmore on July 4. Mount Rushmore is part of the Black
Hills, a sacred place to the Lakota that was taken by U.S. forces
after gold was discovered in 1874, a violation of the 1868 Treaty
of Fort Laramie.
Resistance at the U.S./Mexico border
The phrase "Land Back" has also been invoked in resistance to the
construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Tribal
nations whose territories exist along this border such as the Kumeyaay
in California, Tohono
O'odham in Arizona, and others are active in protesting against
its construction.
|
|
kumeyaaydefenseagainstthewall |
TRIGGER WARNING
BP being aggressive towards us for holding ceremony. We shut
down construction and desecration for the last week with under
20 ppl. And today, we had a beautiful day of prayer and action.
Border patrol was getting so frustrated that we held prayer
for about 10 hrs. We will pray for as long as we need and we
will grieve for as long as we need. Eyay ahun to the Chumash
family for the beautiful banner. Creator willing, we press on.
If you ever get a chance, and have been on the frontlines. @mtilsen's
poems are heart wrenchingly true and give incredible insight
while out in the world. Buy a book! |
Last month, two Kumeyaay activists
were arrested while protesting the wall construction. The San
Diego Tribune reported that activists were part of "Camp Land Back,"
which began in August to protest the wall. Kumeyaay leaders have
voiced concerns that the construction of the wall will disrupt ancestral
lands, especially sacred and burial sites. On the Instagram page
@kumeyaaydefenseagainstthewall,
the campaign describes itself as a "Small indigenous initiative
that is rooted in prayer to defend Kumeyaay lands and people."
Expanding Indigenous Peoples Day
The Yellowhead Institute, a Canadian First Nations-led research
center, describes
"land back" as being about "reclaiming Indigenous jurisdiction"
and "breathing life into rights and responsibilities."
As Indigenous peoples the world over continue to defend ancestral
lands, Indigenous Peoples Day can have important meaning, more than
just the renaming of a national holiday. It is an invitation to
contend with the impacts of colonialism and the wrongful appropriation
of Indigenous lands.
Kumeyaay
Nation
This Web site is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of
the Kumeyaay culture. Kumeyaay.com tells the story from the Kumeyaay
perspective, and is the premiere source for Kumeyaay Indian information.
https://www.kumeyaay.com
Tohono
O'odham
We are pleased to present to you, the members of the Tohono O'odham
Nation and Internet communities, the official web site of the Tohono
O'odham Nation! With this site we want to open a window to our world
to educate others about our history, culture, governance and other
aspects of the Nation that otherwise may not be readily available.
http://www.tonation-nsn.gov
|