Moss, Caroline

Westward Expansion

Colonizers advanced through the frontier pushing Indigenous people from their land further and further west through violence and brutal manipulation. Once the indigenous people had nowhere to go, they had no choice but to live under new rule, also known as “settler colonialism.” In the podcast Resilient Histories for Resilient Futures: CA Indian History and Community Empowerment by Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy she describes settler colonialism as “y’all never left” vs the phrase “y’all came and left a big mess.” meaning they came in and destroyed the society that was already there, keeping those who were there under the new control. The new reign meant the introduction of a plethora of societal norms due to ethnocentrism of Western colonizers, pushing their beliefs for what they thought was right and wrong, all the way down to what they wore, or if they were to wear anything at all. The poem Fischer of Men when Serra metaphorically uses the word “reapers” (42) to describe the settlers that were forcefully indoctrinating them and trying to convert them to conform to their western ideals. Serra uses the line “They are entirely naked, as Adam in the garden before sin.” multiple times throughout the poem to emphasize the indigenous people’s traditional social norms/way of life which included being free and in fact naked with lack of shame for their bodies. This emphasizes the settlers forceful impositions of their western ideals of covering up in a conservative manner on indigenous people telling them what they can and can not do with their bodies. This is a direct example of one of the ways indigenous people were “stolen from their bodies.”

New Fashion: Toxic Masculinity

The implication of conservative dress and fashion on the indigenous people is just a drop in the bucket preceding the plethora of lasting effects of Colonized Sexuality.

Along with the new dress code came all of the rest of the toxic masculinity, objectification of women, sexual abuse, homophobia, etc. that comes along with the white male. Indigenous people traditionally had the freedom, sexual rights and gender fluidity in which we as women are fighting for today. Driskill explains on page 53 of Stolen From our Bodies that western colonizers were the ones that brought the idea that women should be submissive to men and sexism was pushed onto communities such as the Cherokee Indians. This is another reason Driskill explains they were not only stolen from their homes but stolen from their traditional freedoms that traditionally came from being a women in an indigenous society; “stolen from their bodies.”

White Feminism: the label given to feminist efforts and actions that uplift white women but that exclude or otherwise fail to address issues faced by minority groups, especially women of color and LGBTQ women.

The podcast All My Relations, discusses white feminism and how it's significance does not include people that do not fit into a gender binary such as those identified as a “two-spirit.” She explains indigenous communities traditionally accepted gender fluidity and multiple sexual orientation; versus the injustice, judgement and phobia is due to white settlers. She basically explains White feminism is an issue because white colonizers are the reason indigenous people have feminism, they are the reason there are imbalances in sexual freedoms and gender conformity. Due to this the indigenous people coined their own term of “indigenous feminism” that resists colonization today and allows for women to identify as an “indigenous women” which in itself represents gender equality and all of the traditional freedoms that come along with society before settler colonialism.

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

Decolonizing and Forward Momentum

Many organizations such as “Two Feathers,” “Natural Heros,” and “Project 562” work towards the recognition of and empowerment of Indigenous people. All with a similar mission to decolonize and bring awareness to the true history of the United States and bring attention to the issues Indigenous people face today due to colonization. These lasting effects and conflicts indigenous groups face today in addition to those discussed involving sexuality, gender roles, social norms, etc. come from lack of knowledge and recognition of tribes such as those described in “Natural Heros Beyond Recognition.” Lack of recognition prevents these groups from receiving federal benefits such as healthcare, business and college loans, the right to business labels and branding, etc. keeping these individuals from succeeding financially and health wise in a country that provides these benefits for the rest of it’s citizens. These organizations help to recognize these shortcomings and provide services to help those that are directly effected by so. The use of land trusts is a helpful way to decolonize and allow a sanctuary for Indigenous groups to perform sacred ceremonies, growing food, and a place to go for education and unification. The film describes these efforts of decolonization as “a way for human beings to come back being human beings, way for us to learn how to treat each other with respect, can create a healing for the people that are here today that exist on the land.” This emphasizes the need for both us white colonizers and indigenous people to come together and educate ourselves on the true history of this country and the respect we must have for it. Afterall, knowledge is power; the more we educate the rest of the country on these matters (maybe making it as simple as taking a class like this one) the more mutual respect the two groups will have for one another thus leading to equality and benefiting the greater good.

Nanticoke Indian Association:

Native Indian tribe to the Chesapeake Bay of my hometown Annapolis, Md.

Land Acknowledgement

We sail upon the same Chesapeake that was once the Nanticoke-Lenape’s own. The same Maryland blue crab that was once harvested, we feast upon today. Our brothers are still competing for the largest rockfish in the same rivers the large estuary has to offer. These winds, and waters and cold winters were not always ours. The waters of the Cheasapeake, all the way up to the Appalatian range in Pennsylvania once served the tribal nation of the Nanticoke-Lenape people. Their name tracing back to their history of being one of the oldest Northeastern tribal nations, once being called the “grandfathers” or “ancient ones.” Their origin of the Indian River in Delaware created a reputation for them as the “tidewater people.” This name is something you can easily call many of the those residing along the Indian River and Chesapeake Bay today due to our deeply rooted culture revolving around the massive estuaries we are so gifted to have.

Though without the Nanticoke-Lenape nation I as a resident of Annapolis, Maryland understand and acknowledge the fact that the sustainably systematic use and respect for this land is all due to the native indigenous people that started their own society on this land first. I want to promote the decolonization and restoration of this land before it is too late. Before us, the waters of the Chesapeake ran clear and fresh versus the algae and sediment filled waters we see when underway today. Because of us we have exploited the resourceful land and have the mess we are left with today with an abundance of social equality and systematic indoctrinations taking place in Annapolis today.

Resources:

Driskill, Qwo-Li. “Stolen From Our Bodies: First Nations Two-Spirits/Queers and the Journey to a Sovereign Erotic.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 16, no. 3, 2004, pp. 50–64.

Risling, Cutcha, director. Resilient Histories for Resilient Futures: CA Indian History and Community Empowerment . Youtube, 27 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com.

Serra, Junipero. “Fischer of Men.” Bad Indians: a Tribal Memoir, by Deborah Miranda, Heyday, 2013, pp. 4–5. Steinburg, Michelle Grace, director. Natural Heros Beyond Recognition. Natural Heros, 2015, naturalheroes.org/videos/beyond- recognition.

Wilbur, Matika, and Adrienne Keene. “All My Relations and Indigenous Feminism .” All My Relations, 26 Feb. 2019, www.allmyrelationspodcast.com.

Photo by Vikram Desmukh on Unsplash

Page updated

Report abuse