Native Americans

first, i was surprised that there was no thread on this, and i think it says a lot about us. i also think people are capable of changing their minds and their priorities over time, and it's never too late and it's never too late for anyone else either.

that's probably a moralistic opening sorry, but especially in light of "recent events" (note to future readers, look at this date and ask the ai that ate your search bar what happened at the white house) it really makes me think of how important it is to recognize the bitter horrible roots of the united states, built on cruel widespread slavery and the proud genocide of native americans - both of these horrific violences dependent on a racist and spiritually foul belief in manifest destiny and/or blessings and violent victories for god's children. we have an unspeakable past, but sometimes it really goes unspoken far too often.

anyway, all i really wanted to do tonight was revive a thread on native americans to ask for the best place to give money to give the land back to tribes and indigenous groups? if i lived near a reservation i would just do that, i believe in being really local, especially right now (pay attention to national and act locally). but is there another recommended group to support, perhaps a fund to help those trying to acquire land that was stolen?

I'm Lakota, you can venmo me.

jeez, also i'm sure my thread title is weird, sorry. it was just the search term i was using to try to revive a thread and so it was my placeholder subject for the thread, but i should have noticed that sorry!
it would be odd to title a thread "White People" (although much funnier in that case). anyway, if anyone feels similarly i can let a mod know to change it and acknowledge my stupidity

i would do that akm, hit me up with your venmo! it won't be much - i made this great decision earlier today to take a leave of absence because of...everything...for 3 weeks, and i'm part-time/hourly so now i'm going to go into the negative again, oof - BUT i'm putting out a single on bandcamp monday and wanted to direct any proceeds (it will be $50 if i'm lucky) to someone who deserves it

I don't think there's anything wrong with the thread title, especially since there was nothing even close existing

I'm about as euro as can be, but I've been spending more and more time thinking about and reading about those who lived in my neighborhood in Oakland.. there was even an area quite close to me formerly known as 'Indian Gulch' which was apparently the site of a village in the early 19th Century and has since been whitewashed to 'Trestle Glen'. I don't know what they called themselves back then, but this group of coastal California peoples currently call themselves Ohlone, which I understand to be more of a linguistic group than a 'tribe'.. i.e. the Ohlone in Gilroy may not have even been aware of those in San Francisco or Santa Rosa, for instance.

I picked up a book at a shop recently that had photos of native sites in the nearby hills, including a cave with paintings! (The authors suggest we all stay the fuck away).. mostly it's these mortars carved in rocks where they used to grind acorns, but also low stone walls of an unknown purpose

Anyway, I'm glad to see more respectful visibility (thinking of Reservation Dogs, I haven't seen Killers of the Flower Moon) and more representation. But I also know when to shut the fuck up and just listen to their voices and not offer any opinions without being asked. I guess Native Hawaiians should also be included here as well

(oh, the other thing is that even though I'm a native californian, I recognize that doesn't make me any less of a colonizer)

I'm just kidding, you don't need to venmo me.
I recommend donating to NDN Collective who spearhead the Landback movement, but you could also just try to buy things from legit native artists.

Oh Z, I've donated to this org before: https://www.niwrc.org/

I found out awhile back what tribe's ancestral land I live on and pay some Real Rent to their foundation. I don't know if every tribe has a program like that but it seemed like a place to start for me.

xp akm i thought you might know exactly who could use it, so i thought you were serious! i'm also a believer in direct mutual aid and i know it often works best, so for real hit me up if you want, i trust you.

andy i will check that out!

and jaq, yes, i was just looking at a list of the tribes whose land i'm on right now, and it's so daunting - osage was most prominent i think, cahokia also a huge historical civ (but also a much smaller group than the "mounds" peak centuries before, but also ponca, kaw, omaha, quapaw, cahokia, kaskaskia, tamaroa, peoria, michigamea, moingwena, shawnee, delaware, sac, fox, apache, miami, winnebago, otoe, missouria, mingo, cherokee, kickapoo, potawatomi, chickasaw, onondaga, pawnee, padouca, and oceti sakowin. but i was thinking along similar lines, to see what i can do for the osage now, even though (well, because) they're gone

Interesting.. I just looked up a local tribal advocacy website and saw this:

The Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that non-Indigenous people living on the Confederated Villages of Lisjan’s territory can make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

NDN Collective who spearhead the Landback movement

sweet thank you for this

yeah, you're down in Native central... coastal California tribes were mostly hunter gatherers but that part of the country had some real large functioning governments, cities and of course earthworks

https://www.centerfornativefutures.org/

Here is an art gallery in Chicago featuring modern Native artists if anyone is interested in that

But politically speaking this Supreme Court ruling (and the state of Oklahoma's response) seems to be the most interesting for the land back movement

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889562040/supreme-court-rules-that-about-half-of-oklahoma-is-indian-land

Also this isn't something causal observers of Supreme Court nominees saw coming. Neil Gorsuch is a staunch supporter of Native rights

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-opinions.html

His track record with Native-related cases is literally Gorsuch's only redeeming quality.

^^ otm, but with extra emphasis on the "only"

Ya, I found it very surprising as a casual observer of Supreme Court nominees