Indigenous People Movements
— The Most Important Political Movements on Earth Today!
[Originally written as a Facebook Note on December 29, 2016]
Could America reverse the curse of its genocide on Native American peoples by electing a Native American into the presidency? Let’s just say that would go a long way, and what a wonderful day that would become.
For now, let’s at least get Columbus Day replaced by Indigenous People Day!
The political and economic forces prevailing in our world today are doing a humdinger excellent job at destroying our planet. Don’t believe me? Look around! Sometimes you can read about it. But read carefully as these days you’ve gotta check your sources of reference. There’s a lot out there that’s mean-spirited, misdirected and as confusing as the political and economic forces themselves seem cruel and harsh.
It never had to be this way, did it?
A vicious combination of a tilted distribution of wealth, an expanding collapse of the middle class and an underground drug war economy has filled with struggling poor folk. America now lives on a war economy that benefits only a privileged few. It’s gotten to a point where the socioeconomic-political forces no longer gel, although one actually could question if they ever did gel.
Indeed, the best way to enslave people is to make them think that they are free!
Today’s middle class now does what poor folks have long been doing and the very wealthy, whether they realize it not, have become more and more isolated. Except for symphonies, which always have been reserved, it used to be everyone would go to the same concert and the ticket pricing and seating were common — a ticket would get you in the gate. It used to be a whole lotta fun! A big-league ball game? Both the poor and the rich would attend the games very well-dressed. Anyone remember when standing room only tickets were common?
Today, it’s become like: The kid don’t get a hot dog at game ’cause dad can’t afford the price of the dog!
At one time in America, when unions were strong (which forced non-union shops to pay better wages and benefits), a single breadwinner could raise a family, buy a home with a two-car garage, go to the games or entertainment shows and travel widely on paid vacation. Like to a really nice family-friendly place! Seen many lately?
Today, it’s become: Cram the elderly onto a bus and get them to the casino! Those not in elderly homes are busy scratching lottery tickets, hoping for a break!
For most folks it’s no longer a comfy, safe world with prospects. For some it never was. For most now, it never will be. Class distinctions are now split at the seams as rich folks get richer, middle income families become poorer and the poor folk fall through cracks while struggling in the severe pecking order of the underground economy.
Drug overdoses now surpass auto accidents and gun-related deaths in America. Gang warfare is a given. Once welcomed and heralded community policing has now given way to militarized policing and fees and fines now boost an always struggling local community as national and state governments shirk on sound governing responsibilities.
The late-resting vantage point of Norman Rockwell must seem very surreal, his simple homespun art now transformed into abstract but real examples of varying tragedies.
Yup! America, just ain’t the same anymore. Sad though it be, enlightenment once again in history has phased into greed, a sense of greed religion never seems able to cure. We teach children to share only to see them practice keep, based on their observance of our own behavior.
Need it be this way?
Yes, society has lost touch with nature. Wars, climate change, species extinction, triggering earthquakes and tsunamis, economic inequality, drug wars, disease epidemics and more are widespread and worsening.
So do we just say “uncle” and continue to feed the global oligarchs who are responsible for wrecking our world and keeping people subservient in one form or another?
I say no!
Better to listen, follow and join the growing and powerful movements of our planet’s first peoples. We need to learn our nature all over again.
Once we’ve learned how to share again, we need to continue! If we get our act together, perhaps then we’ll be gifted by the creator to explore and respect our own worlds, the universe and beyond.
Why Our World Needs To Hear The Message of Indigenous People Movements:
Pricing The Planet: Can a ‘green’ economy save the planet? We investigate the buying and selling of nature.
View the movie, At Play In The Fields of The Lord:
Who Are Indigenous People?
“It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide. Practicing unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South Pacific, they are the descendants — according to a common definition — of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived. The new arrivals later became dominant through conquest, occupation, settlement or other means.”
Declaration of The Rights of Indigenous Peoples (ratified by 143 countries):
Standing Rock Sioux of North Dakota
Over 300 Native American tribes have gathered — the largest gathering ever — and have declared themselves “water protectors” destined to shut down an oil pipeline that would desecrate long held sacred lands and potentially pollute the Sioux Tribe’s sole source for water. These unarmed innocent people — utilizing prayer, song and traditional ceremony — have been brutalized and tortured by the response of the oil company’s hired security unit TigerSwan. TigerSwan is an outgrowth of Blackwater Security which once held a 20,000 member private mercenary army in Iraq.
Recently, over 2,000 American veterans of several wars have joined the inter-Tribal protest to help protect them from the ruthless force of TigerSwan. Also, Indigenous tribal members from the Amazon, from Peru, Australia, New Zealand and even people from Japan have come to offer their support.
“Roots grow out of our feet and into the Earth and it does not matter how many times white people try to kill us and murder us and put us in the ground — they do not realize that we are of this Earth and that we are going to continue to sprout out. Every time they try to bury us they forget that we are seeds, and that we will keep growing back out, and that we will come back stronger.” — From interview by Frank Barat and Vidal Cuervo originally published in French in Revue Ballast.
Over 450 Native Tribes Gathered in Unity, Prayer & Ceremony to defend Standing Rock!
