“In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.” ― Wilma Pearl Mankiller, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Dear Resister,

On this day of collective national attention, we honor and uplift the voices, the fighting spirit, and the resilience of Indigenous peoples across the Americas. We at Resist see First Nations people as a leading authority on the cultural shift desperately needed in the United States and around the world. Now more than ever, with a global pandemic that has ravaged through Native communities, a call for needing to halve our world carbon emissions and the fragile state of our democracy, we must learn from Indigenous worldviews that prioritize reciprocity (with each other and the lands we occupy), connection, and relationships, if we are to keep life on earth vibrant and abundant for generations to come.

We also recognize that in order to radically transform our political landscape towards healing, connection, and liberation, we must acknowledge and reckon with the long and painful histories (and current realities) of white supremacy and colonization, while working to disrupt these systems in our everyday work and lives. And we commit to holding ourselves accountable in this work by following the lead of Indigenous folks and other marginalized communities who we know have the vision, the tools, and the heart to co-create the worlds we so desperately need.

Today, and every day, we invite you to listen, learn from, and directly support Indigenous-led Resist grantees who embody wisdom and are on the ground taking action for their sovereignty, their dignity, their health, as well as the wellbeing of planet earth.

Eastern Woodlands Rematriation mobilizes folks at the grassroots level to decolonize their current food, economic, and political systems as well as to reconnect spiritually, mentally, and physically to the natural systems to which we belong. They prioritize the return of Native womxn and youth to traditional territories and relationships with the earth.

Native Justice Coalition is a community based and progressive Anishinaabe Native led coalition. Their goal is to provide a safe and nurturing platform for their communities based in an anti-oppression framework that promotes healing, social, and racial justice for all Native American people.

Pueblo Action Alliance was created in the wake of the Standing Rock movement when Pueblo Camp relatives stood with their Oceti Sakowin relatives to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. They work to promote cultural sustainability and community defense by addressing environmental and social impacts on Indigenous lands.

Rematriation Magazine and Sisterhood is a digital storytelling platform where Indigenous women gather for collective healing from historical as well as current traumas—and for empowerment through rewriting our own narratives and the telling of new narratives.

Woodbine Education Center’s living land-based center holds space for all people - particularly Indigenous people, people of color, and queer communities - to reflect while they heal, deepen, and renew their relationships with each other and the land.

Want to connect with local grantees in your region fighting for Indigenous sovereignty and rights? Check out the Resist grantee directory here.

In solidarity,

Kathy

Director of Communications and Storytelling

p.s. For those of us who are able to survive (and even thrive) during this time, your gift (no matter the size) helps support organizations who are power-building and imagining their world anew. Invest in the new world today.