Category Archives: Indigenous

This is going to take more than windmills: Addressing Trauma at the UN Climate Summit

Climate activists from around the world converged on New York City during the United Nations Climate Summit in September, 2019, and I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to this historic moment. There were scientists, lawyers, architects and … Continue reading

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For a World Without Borders

Speech by Tariq Khan at the UIUC Ayuda Rally at Anniversary Plaza, November 29, 2018. UIUC Ayuda was a student group/campaign to raise awareness about and material support for the Central American caravans made up of people seeking asylum. I … Continue reading

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Trustee Trip

This past spring, two U of I Trustees set out on a secret mission to solve the seemingly endless Chief Illiniwek problem once and for all. And they did it. But I doubt they’re happy with the result. They hoped … Continue reading

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An Exciting Change in Children’s Literature Book Awards!

Back in February of 2018, I was astonished and excited when I learned that the American Library Association’s Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) was taking a look at the names of its book awards, asking if the award … Continue reading

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The Alt-Right Comes to Town

by David Prochaska TARIQ KHAN INCIDENT Last November 16, on the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s election, Tariq Khan, a 39-year-old Ph.D. student in history, was just finishing speaking at a rally when hecklers, including Joel Valdez, called out, “No … Continue reading

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Is Chancellor Jones in the ‘Sunken Place’?

by Kurtis ‘Sunny’ Ture Kurtis ‘Sunny’ Ture is a music producer, organizer, and graduate student at UIUC. As a founding member of Black Students for Revolution and the Speak Truth Collective, Sunny seeks to raise political consciousness, celebrate Black culture, … Continue reading

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UI Bans “War Chant”

On February 21, 2007 the University of Illinois got rid of the Chief Illiniwek mascot. On August 24, 2017 they got rid of the “war chant.” The “war chant,” separate from but related to the so-called “3-in-1,” was created during … Continue reading

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The Recolonization of Standing Rock

By Desmond Powers After a thirty-five hour drive from New Orleans, I rolled into Standing Rock’s Oceti Sakowin camp in a VW hatchback plastered with Bernie stickers with two fellow New Orleanians and a trunk full of herbal medicine and … Continue reading

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Small Victories Matter

By Jacquelyn Potter Jacquelyn Potter is on the Executive Committee of the local Sierra Club, where she is involved in activism regarding DAPL and other pipeline issues. A celebration of joy erupted in the cold, snowy and wet camp at … Continue reading

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Resolution Opposing The Dakota Access Pipeline

Resolution Opposing The Dakota Access Pipeline WHEREAS, the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of fracked crude oil per day for over 1,000 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, passing … Continue reading

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News-Gazette: Always Right

The News-Gazette has always been Right — right-wing Republican, and in its smug self-righteousness, right. The paper presents itself as “respectable Republican,” as representing the values of “proper,” polite society. It abhors what is impolitic, impolite. That the News-Gazette is … Continue reading

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The Beheading of a Saint: Junipero Serra and the California Monument Wars

During his visit to Mexico in February, Pope Francis apologized for the “systematic and organized” exclusion of indigenous Americans over the centuries. This took place in San Cristobal de las Casas, the epicenter of the indigenous-identified Zapatista uprising in 1994, … Continue reading

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New Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Offers Hope to Canada’s First Nations Populations

Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper was nearly universally viewed by First Nations (known in the US as “indigenous” or “native” people), Métis and Inuit peoples as, at the least, insensitive to their concerns and, at worst, actively hostile towards Canada’s … Continue reading

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A Running List of CU Businesses Supporting White Supremacy

Offensive imagery is a big problem on our campus.  That is, the entrenched white supremacy that formed and birthed my institution of higher learning resists erasure in powerful ways.  Each year we see a familiar slew of problems – in residence halls, some students hang Confederate … Continue reading

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Wanted!: Empire. Dead or Alive

By Jodi A. Byrd and Manu Vimalassery When President Obama stepped from the Oval Office into a live broadcast to announce the killing of Osama bin Laden this past May 1, by “beltway” estimates of American political conversation he had … Continue reading

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Racial Microaggressions and its Impact on Campus Climate at the University of Illinois

On November 4, 2008, the first person of color was elected President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. It is true that President Obama did break down some racial barriers, However, many … Continue reading

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Native American Healthcare Lagging Behind the Rest

THE EXPECTED LIFE SPAN OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS is nearly five years less than for the general population of the United States and stands around 72. In 1972-1974, infant and maternal mortality rates were, respectively, 25% and 82% higher than … Continue reading

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WAMPANOAGS FOUR CENTURIES OF STRUGGLE FOR TRIBAL RECOGNITION

The Wampanoag were the Native American tribe encountered by the early colonists when they arrived to the shores of Wampanoag lands. The tribal nation, however, was not to receive federal recognition until last year. The struggle for tribal recognition faced … Continue reading

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UPTV and the Chief Controversies

The glaring similarities between the controversy surrounding the broadcast of the anti-Semitic videos on Urbana Public Television and the characterization of a Native American during athletic events and in the Homecoming Parade at the U of I are that: (1) … Continue reading

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Vernon Bellecourt: A Life of Struggle for Indian Rights

“Our detractors always say, ‘We are honoring you,’ It’s not an honor. In whose honor? We have to ask. Beginning with the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, about 16 million of us were wiped out, including whole villages in Washington, where … Continue reading

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