By Kaden Walksnice It’s 4:30am November 25th 2015 and I’m awake trying to hustle around before I get on the road to Eads, Colorado at 6:30am because the weather report says we will be driving through a blizzard in northern Wyoming. As I sit here in my room, I’m continuously looking over at a box sitting on the end of …
Intersectionality of Native Identity and Systemic Oppression
“Indeed, today it is popular to be an Indian. Within a decade it may be a necessity.” Vine Deloria Jr., Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact Vine was onto something when he wrote this passage because as we are amidst climate change crisis and other environmental crises, indigenous cultures seem to be most in …
Challenge What You Learn, Challenge What You Teach
By Talon Ducheneaux I remember being in third grade at a Nebraska school where I was probably one of two children of color, let alone children who were Native. I hated school at that point. I was bullied and outcasted quite often by the entire class, and I remember praying to Creator nearly every day for either an early-dismissal or …
Why We Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day: From Natives In America
Some thoughts on today from our incredible team: “There’s a lot of pain that’s comes along with a holiday celebrating the genocide of my people, but there’s also a lot of power. There’s a pride and a power that comes from still existing, from having survived genocide, from knowing our cultures still continue to thrive. If we take a cue …
Standing with Standing Rock Filled My Heart
Rosalia Badhorse All my life, there has always been a small hole in my heart. This hole is a sense of emptiness I have felt in the realization that I am not the same kind of Indian my ancestors were; the kind of Indian that lived off the land and had a close relationship with all living things in the …
Back To School
By Kirsten Shaw Starting your first day of school can be nerve racking. Figuring out where your classes are. Worrying about where to sit for lunch, who to sit next to. The feeling that everyone is looking at you. This time last year I was packing up my bags and traveling three thousand miles to Sarasota Florida. A touristy, sea …
#UpToUs
By Joey Montoya A week ago, I never would have thought I would be caravanning cross country to Philly. Towards the end of May, Calina Lawrence, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, and myself organized a dialogue in San Jose, CA for the #BernieBusTour with Rosario Dawson, Kendrick Sampson, and Shailene Woodley in attendance. Over 20 Native students from local Bay Area Universities …
Dear JK Rowling: We’re Still Here
By Loralee Sepsey I remember the first time I picked up a Harry Potter book. I was seven years old. I was in the back of our old beat up Nova that would break down a minimum of five times a year. We were driving through the rez on our way somewhere, I don’t remember where, but what I do …
Tanka Part One: Native Representations
By Taylor Schad It’s mid-March, I’m in the cab of my family’s Ford pickup, my mom is driving and my older sister sits shotgun, across from me is my little sister or Tanka as we say in our Native language. She’s not so little anymore – at 6’2” she towers over the rest of our family, myself included. I’ve been …
#NativeVoters
By Kirsten Shaw I had the chance to stand behind Bernie Sanders with my mom and I felt so lucky. I had seen him speak in San Jose but wasn’t as focused as I was today. Standing behind Bernie literally and figuratively was so empowering. To be the next generation of voters was something that gets me excited. I’ve never got this …