Embedded Files
Picture from Project 562
Settler Colonialism
Settler Colonialism
"where masses of people from the imperial state
move to and occupy the colony, overriding the social, political, and economic
systems of the people who are indigenous to that place, and minimizing or ignoring
the claims to land and resources of indigenous people"
The arrival of European settlers brought forth the annihilation of the Indigenous way of life. Culture, religion, and language were deprived from the Indigenous people through the process of cultural imperialism. With the establishment of cultural imperialism the beliefs of White Europeans were forcefully indoctrinated into the livelihoods of Indigenous people. Until this day, Indigenous people reap the ramifications of the acts committed by European settlers. Colonization and its tools of violence have, as said by Qwo-Li Driskills, stolen the homes and bodies of Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people.
From WebComic
Trail of Tears: the forced relocation of approximately 100,000 indigenous people
Violence and sexual violence was the means used in settler colonialism to take the homelands and identities of Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people. Euro-American settlers followed a pattern of squatting land and participating in irregular warfare to achieve their expansionist goals as was noted by Dunbar-Ortiz. Natives of the land were left with no other choice then to flee from imminent danger or to assimilate to the dominant culture. However, those who fled could no longer return because White settlers desecrated and built settlements on top of native land. Those who assimilated to the dominant culture were forced to psychologically internalize the European way of life.
From Native American Roots
Lies My Ancestors Told Me
Lies My Ancestors Told Me
" Don't teach old songs to your grandchildren, don't make the regalia in front of them, don't dance where young eyes might see. Sing the alabada when the priests can hear; hum the Deer Song when they can't."
" Tell the lies now and maybe later your descendants will dig the truth in libraries, field notes, museums, wax cylinder recordings, news paper reports of massacres and relocations, clues you left behind when you forgot to lie lie lie."
" Tell the lies now and maybe later your descendants will dig the truth in libraries, field notes, museums, wax cylinder recordings, news paper reports of massacres and relocations, clues you left behind when you forgot to lie lie lie."
Crow Giclee, Loving Spirits
Los Pájaros
Los Pájaros
"The women were caught with Spanish ropes Indian men defended their wives- prey for Spaniards' unbridled lust- only to be shot down by bullets.
The Californian Indians, for example, were coerced to become “civilized” during the Spanish Missions. The Spanish missionaries introduced their idea of gender roles and their system of patriarchy. Two-Spirit people had their identities invalidated and were forced into binary sex roles. Indigenous women’s bodies were violated by the Spanish and sexual violence was enacted by priests in the Missions. In addition, Indigenous bodies were greater afflicted through corporal punishment such as flogging and upside-down hanging used to instill European customs.
From Wikimedia Commons
From Gettys Images
Indigenous Feminism and Two Spirit People
Indigenous Feminism and Two Spirit People
"Battered Women’s Support Services offers cultural services run by Indigenous women for Indigenous women."
These violent acts continue to negatively impact Indigenous communities today. Studies show that one in three Indigenous women are raped in their lifetime by predominantly non-Indigenous perpetrators. Homophobia and transphobia that originated from colonialism have assimilated into Indigenous communities which terrorize Two-Spirit people. Two-Spirit people are shamed, hated, and forced to leave their families because of their gender expression. This fact has lead to high rates of suicide and high rates of abuse of drugs and alcohol within Two-Spirit communities. Nevertheless, Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people continue to resist colonization.
These violent acts continue to negatively impact Indigenous communities today. Studies show that one in three Indigenous women are raped in their lifetime by predominantly non-Indigenous perpetrators. Homophobia and transphobia that originated from colonialism have assimilated into Indigenous communities which terrorize Two-Spirit people. Two-Spirit people are shamed, hated, and forced to leave their families because of their gender expression. This fact has lead to high rates of suicide and high rates of abuse of drugs and alcohol within Two-Spirit communities. Nevertheless, Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people continue to resist colonization.
Indigenous feminism allows Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people to actively dismantle the effects of settler colonialism and patriarchal violence. Indigenous feminist text teach Indigenous people to restore their original identities and precolonial traditions. By resisting colonialism, Indigenous culture, history, and language can be further conserved. Today Indigenous women are fighting through campaigns for murdered and missing Indigenous women. In addition, sovereign erotic texts are an important weapon against decolonization which help integrate Two-Spirit identities again into Indigenous communities. Sovereign erotic texts allow Two-spirit people to learn about their sexuality and to find solidarity.
Indigenous feminism allows Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people to actively dismantle the effects of settler colonialism and patriarchal violence. Indigenous feminist text teach Indigenous people to restore their original identities and precolonial traditions. By resisting colonialism, Indigenous culture, history, and language can be further conserved. Today Indigenous women are fighting through campaigns for murdered and missing Indigenous women. In addition, sovereign erotic texts are an important weapon against decolonization which help integrate Two-Spirit identities again into Indigenous communities. Sovereign erotic texts allow Two-spirit people to learn about their sexuality and to find solidarity.
"When I think of feminists, I think of white women and the ways Indigenous women were excluded from the benefits of feminist movements."
"White feminism is this idea that your identity as women should supersede your identities."
"Colonialism brought patriarchy into indigenous communities."
"As an indigenous feminist, I am not just fighting against patriarchy; I am fighting against colonialism."
Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak
Decolonization
Decolonization
"BEYOND RECOGNITION explores the quest to preserve one’s culture and homeland in a society bent on erasing them."
"Land acknowledgements cannot be used as excuses. You have to give the land back because you stole it. "
Nevertheless, to completely rectify the effects of colonialism, native land must be given back to Indigenous people. As stated by Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy, “There is no environmental justice, social justice, racial justice, climate justice, or food justice until there is land return.” Land acknowledgment does not compensate for the inherited colonial trauma against Indigenous bodies. However, giving land back and continuing to work on reparations in Indigenous land is what is needed to begin the decolonization process. Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people should be able to find healing in Indigenous land and recuperate their stolen homes and stolen bodies.
We were stolen from our bodies
We were stolen from our bodies
We were stolen from our homes
We were stolen from our homes
And we are fighters in this long war
And we are fighters in this long war
To bring us all back home.
To bring us all back home.
-Qwo Li Driskill
From Native-Land
Land acknowledgement serves to recognize and respect "Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories."
Land Ackowledgement
Land Ackowledgement
Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgment
We exist today in the land that the Kumeyaay dwell. This land has coexisted in harmony with the Kumeyaay mode of life. This land has offered the Kumeyaay vast valleys, low slopes, meadows, and green pastures. And in the land, do the deers jump, the rabbits graze, and the quail dart. The Kumeyaay, expert hunters, would take from the land and give back ten-fold. For the Kumeyaay were also adept in maintaining the land. The Kumeyaay and this land harbor a sacred relationship that cannot ever be severed.
As residents of San Diego County, we acknowledge this land as being the land of the people, the land of the Kumeyaay. The land in which Ipai, Tipai, and Kwaaymii are still spoken and heard today. We find inspiration in the Kumeyaay spirit to establish harmonious ties with these ancestral lands. To continue the Kumeyaay legacy is to tend the land in which the Kumeyaay gathered, hunted, and trailed.
From Civil Eats
Resiliency
Resiliency
"Our history is a history of resilience and our present and future is going to about resilience and what is possible" - Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy
From North Coast Journal
Tuluwat
Tuluwat
The Wiyot people had the island of Tuluwat returned to them after 150 years. In 2014, the Wiyot people held the first World Renewal Ceremony and this event showcased that decolonization and reconciliation is possible.
Citations
Citations
Information
Miranda, Deborah. Bad Indians: a Tribal Memoir. Heyday, 2013.
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2015.
“Trail of Tears.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Trail-of-Tears.
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. 2, 2004, p. 50-64. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/ail.2004.0020.
“Land Acnowledgement.” Northwestern, www.northwestern.edu/native-american-and-indigenous-peoples/about/Land%20Acknowledgement.html.
“Kumeyaay History.” Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, 8 Nov. 2016, viejasbandofkumeyaay.org.
Miskwish , Michael. “SDSU Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement.” SDSU Senate Approves Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement Statement, 11 Sept. 2019, ais.sdsu.edu.
Images
Wilbur, Matika. “Project 562.” Home, www.project562.com/.
“Colonial America Images.” Colonial America Images Free Download Clip Art - WebComicms.Net, webcomicms.net/colonial-america-images.
“Trail of Tears.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Trail-of-Tears.
Admin. “California's Mission Indians.” Native American Netroots, 16 Jan. 2010, nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/345.
Giclee, Crow. “Loving Spirits – Crow Giclee.” James Ayers, www.jamesayers.com/loving-spirits-crow-romantic-giclee.
Alexander, Tommy. “Yes, We Live on Ohlone Land. But What Does That Mean?” Medium, The Bold Italic, 13 Sept. 2017, thebolditalic.com/yes-we-live-on-ohlone-land-but-what-does-that-mean-70a34c249e70.
“Native Perspectives.” Metmuseum.org, www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/the-american-wing/native-perspectives.
“NativeLand.ca.” Native, Native Land Digital, native-land.ca/.
Wilson, Emily. “Returning Stolen Land to Native Tribes, One Lot at a Time.” Civil Eats, 31 Oct. 2018, civileats.com/2018/02/08/returning-stolen-land-to-native-tribes-one-lot-at-a-time/.
Greenson, Thadeus. “Indian Island Likely to Return to Wiyot Tribe Next Month.” North Coast Journal, North Coast Journal, 30 Nov. 2020, www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2019/05/24/indian-island-likely-to-return-to-wiyot-tribe-next-month.
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