#Indigenous Party

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XVIII (NSW 2023): Indigenous­–Aboriginal Party of Australia

Prior reviews: federal 2022, VIC 2022

What I said before: “Their policy platform is really simple stuff: a community that wants to be taken seriously and not treated paternalistically. They seek the space to address their own issues on their own terms.”

What I think this year: The IAPA is not registered at state level in NSW but it is endorsing two candidates. One, Brett Duroux, is standing in the Legislative Assembly electoral district of Clarence. The other, Aunty Colleen Fuller, is running for the Legislative Council as an ungrouped independent—this means she appears in the column at furthest right of the big ballot for the upper house. Her name is second in the list of 11 ungrouped indies. Neither Duroux nor Fuller will get to specify a party affiliation on ballots. Note that Colleen Fuller is not the woman of the same name who is a Gunnedah shire councillor.

The party retains the purpose and goals described in my previous reviews to promote Indigenous communities, provide them with political representation, stop Indigenous deaths in custody, and improve services for Indigenous peoples. The very existence of some of these challenges and unmet needs should shame Australia.

All NSW voters can express a preference for Fuller, but only if you vote below the line. Fuller’s leading goal is to protect the Kariong sacred lands near Gosford. She also wants to protect the right to protest, stop child removals (she is a descendant of the Stolen Generations), and provide more affordable housing. She and two other independents were profiled as the Three Sisters of the Sacred Sites and Environment. I’m a little confused why the other two—Gab McIntosh in the seat of Terrigal and Lisa Bellamy in Gosford—do not have IAPA endorsements, particularly McIntosh because she is featured on the IAPA’s About Us page as their education spokesperson! But both the IAPA homepage and Facebook only feature Fuller and Duroux as endorsed independents.

As for Duroux in Clarence, he has a mix of local policies and statewide goals. The statewide goals concern things such as sacred site protection, better relationships between land councils and traditional owners, better housing for Aboriginal communities, no children in jail, and healthy rivers and forests. His local goals include no mining or fracking in the Clarence Valley, better mental health services in Clarence hospitals, and restoring local swimming pools and allowing kids to swim for free. It all seems positive.

Recommendation: Give independents affiliated with the Indigenous–Aboriginal Party of Australia a good preference.

Website: https://www.indigenouspartyofaustralia.com/ and Duroux’s HTV is here

[mayasaura]

did you see te pati maori declared independence??

I DID NOT! Holy shit! Thanks for the news!

Okay, now reporting back from one research deep-dive, the recent context as I understand it is this:

Last November, a conservative right-wing Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, assumed office. He's got a lot of less than stellar right-wing policies, and that includes making cuts to the Ministry of Social Development and opposing co-governance with the Waitangi Tribunal and other Māori leadership organisations over the administering of public services such as education, health, and infrastructure. He's been openly critical of Māori seats in Parliament, though he hasn't (yet) opposed them. Over the course of his administration, there's been an initiative to omit or cut mentions of the Treaty of Waitangi, the foundational document of New Zealand that forms the basis of arguments for Māori protections, from official language.

Which brings us to yesterday, May 30th. Budget Day. The day the new administration would announce their first budget and a day of mass action for supporters of te Pāti Māori protesting the treatment of Māori under the new government. I don't have any concrete numbers, but RNZ reports thousands of protestors, while the NZ Herald estimates "tens of thousands" turning out nation-wide, and a walking protest that delayed rush-hour traffic in Auckland for hours.

You may have already guessed that the budget was Bad. As I understand it, the budget effectively cut any kind of targeted funding for Māori health or education, and decreased funding for Māori cultural festivals and celebrations. And again, I cannot stress enough how much I am not an expert on this topic, so there's probably a lot more in there I don't know about.

In response to the new budget, Māori Party MP Rawiri Waititi issued a Declaration of Independence to the New Zealand Parliament, (video of his speech in link) with the support of his fellow te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

There doesn't seem to be any concrete plan in place yet for the organisation of the new Māori parliament, but MPs Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer met with protestors to collect signatures for the Declaration, which they plan to bring to a hui taumata (meeting of congress) today, Friday, May 31st. The text of the Declaration can be found on te Pāti Māori website, in the form of a petition. You do not have to be Māori to sign, but I believe you do have to be kiwi.

[cpyclopse]

Navajo Miku!

I'm mixed so we gotta represent both sides:)

I love saying "miku, miku, ooohweeeoooh" idek what that song is called but it's on loop in my mind

This is peak Americana

[My art]

[genericpuff]

hi this is your obligatory reminder from a Mi'kmaq-Saulteaux pal that:

1.) the ribbon skirt is a traditional ceremonial garment worn by many First Nations women to celebrate their connection to Mother Earth and reclaim their Indigenous identity from and in spite of colonization;

2.) the RCMP was literally founded as a colonial police force meant to drive Indigenous / First Nations peoples out of their territory to make way for settlers (see: the "starlight tours")

3.) racism towards indigenous people in Canada is still alive and well (the last residential school didn't close until 1996) and so the RCMP adopting ribbon skirts is not only incredibly tone deaf towards their own history and the role they played in wiping out Indigenous culture, but insulting to the practice of ribbon skirts and what they mean to many Indigenous people across the country

4.) when a government entity limits who can comment on their posts, that should tell you exactly where their priorities and intentions lie.

[decolonize-the-everything]

I think there's some cognitive dissonance surrounding progress that I really need you all to accept:

Regime changes are not smooth. They're scary even. And rebellions are messy and scary too.

A lot of you are like "yes that makes sense" and I'm glad because when I say this next thing I want you to Not be reactionary and immediately defensive, but listen and remember that progress means taking risks that make you uncomfortable. Remember that you want progress. Don't blurt out the first excuse that comes to mind like Really sit and think about it. Because you're gonna have to accept being uncomfortable if we want things to change.

Stop voting for Democrats and pressuring everyone else to vote democrat. They signed an agreement with Republicans saying that they denounce socialist policies (good welfare programs) in an era of late stage capitalism, poverty, and severe climate change. They intentionally platform extremists to help themselves win (and in fact this strategy backfiring is exactly why Trump won in 2016)

Democrats are not a party of progressives who are trying to fix things. They're literally trying to replace Republicans with extremists on ballots just so ppl feel obligated to vote for them. Democrats are intentionally scaring voters with an alt right & fascist candidates for votes.

If you have ever said "vote blue or else-" or "vote Blue and we might be able to save (state)" then this strategy has worked on you.

If you want Actual progress then you gotta vote for people who are promising you progress. Progressives, independents, green party.

Democrats keep promising that the fire won't get worse, but they've been fanning the flames the whole time cuz they love the heat.

Quit voting for people who prefer that your house be on fire.

And yeah it'll be scary to vote for a party without as much support and yeah maybe it does cause a swing vote.

......But maybe it doesn't.

Maybe we end up with a president willing to do more than compromise our rights with transphobic Republicans. Maybe we get our rights codified & even get a process for handling fascist politicians like trump & Desantis. Maybe we get a president with a personal and genuine interest in the betterment of us not just our economy.

And it starts with you doing something just a little different than usual.

We cant have change if you're too afraid to create it.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The daughter of a woman whose remains police believe are buried at a Winnipeg-area landfill has filed two human-rights complaints, including one against Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party over ads opposing a landfill search that she says amount to discrimination. "[To] see your mom being used for a political game to score points and votes was distressing," Cambria Harris, whose mother Morgan Harris's remains are believed to be at Prairie Green landfill north of the city, told CBC on Monday. "It's distressing to know that someone would be so open and brazen about making those kinds of discriminatory comments to the point where they're willing to spend funds on those billboards and not put resources towards the vulnerable people their system is actively failing."

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[ghostnebula]

[r7-b7]

I refuse to help reelect this. I fucking refuse.

I refuse to be bullied by white people/people who uphold and benefit from white supremacy who have no concept of what it means to be oppressed, truly oppressed. To be denied your access to your children, education, water, land your blood has cared for for thousands of years, entire cultures decimated, the generational trauma that lives on. Fuck that.

Some of them are just so scared of the idea of maybe losing their privileges that they would rather sell out people who are actually losing their human rights and lives.

[bfpnola]

introductory excerpts on COINTELPRO

it came to my awareness that some folks don't know what COINTELPRO is still, so imma drop some excerpts from the wikipedia page. ofc there are a billion other resources you can check out, especially firsthand accounts, but this is always a good place to start! link attached below:

[Note that the embedded link above's photo has the following caption: "COINTELPRO memo proposing a plan to expose the pregnancy of actress Jean Seberg, a financial supporter of the Black Panther Party, hoping to "possibly cause her embarrassment or tarnish her image with the general public". Covert campaigns to publicly discredit activists and destroy their interpersonal relationships were a common tactic used by COINTELPRO agents."]

The Introduction:

COINTELPRO (syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal[1][2] projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic American political organizations.[3][4] FBI records show COINTELPRO resources targeted groups and individuals the FBI[5] deemed subversive,[6] including feminist organizations,[7][8] the Communist Party USA,[9] anti–Vietnam War organizers, activists of the civil rights and Black power movements (e.g. Martin Luther King Jr., the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party), environmentalist and animal rights organizations, the American Indian Movement (AIM), Chicano and Mexican-American groups like the Brown Berets and the United Farm Workers, independence movements (including Puerto Rican independence groups such as the Young Lords and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party), a variety of organizations that were part of the broader New Left, and white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan[10][11] and the far-right group National States' Rights Party.[12]

Methods COINTELPRO Utilized

According to attorney Brian Glick in his book War at Home, the FBI used five main methods during COINTELPRO:

Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main purpose was to discredit, disrupt and negatively redirect action. Their very presence served to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.

Psychological warfare: The FBI and police used a myriad of "dirty tricks" to undermine movements. They planted false media stories and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted groups. They forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous telephone calls. They spread misinformation about meetings and events, set up pseudo movement groups run by government agents, and manipulated or strong-armed parents, employers, landlords, school officials, and others to cause trouble for activists. They used bad-jacketing to create suspicion about targeted activists, sometimes with lethal consequences.[74]

Harassment via the legal system: The FBI and police abused the legal system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily enforced tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" interviews, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence their supporters.[73][75]

Illegal force: The FBI conspired with local police departments to threaten dissidents; to conduct illegal break-ins in order to search dissident homes; and to commit vandalism, assaults, beatings and assassinations.[73] The objective was to frighten or eliminate dissidents and disrupt their movements.

Undermine public opinion: One of the primary ways the FBI targeted organizations was by challenging their reputations in the community and denying them a platform to gain legitimacy. Hoover specifically designed programs to block leaders from "spreading their philosophy publicly or through the communications media". Furthermore, the organization created and controlled negative media meant to undermine black power organizations. For instance, they oversaw the creation of "documentaries" skillfully edited to paint the Black Panther Party as aggressive, and false newspapers that spread misinformation about party members. The ability of the FBI to create distrust within and between revolutionary organizations tainted their public image and weakened chances at unity and public support.[49]

The FBI specifically developed tactics intended to heighten tension and hostility between various factions in the black power movement, for example between the Black Panthers and the US Organization. For instance, the FBI sent a fake letter to the US Organization exposing a supposed Black Panther plot to murder the head of the US Organization, Ron Karenga. They then intensified this by spreading falsely attributed cartoons in the black communities pitting the Black Panther Party against the US Organization.[49] This resulted in numerous deaths, among which were San Diego Black Panther Party members John Huggins, Bunchy Carter and Sylvester Bell.[73] Another example of the FBI's anonymous letter writing campaign is how they turned the Blackstone Rangers head, Jeff Fort, against former ally Fred Hampton, by stating that Hampton had a hit on Fort.[49] They also were instrumental in developing the rift between Black Panther Party leaders Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, as executed through false letters inciting the two leaders of the Black Panther Party.[49]

...

In order to eliminate black militant leaders whom they considered dangerous, the FBI is believed to have worked with local police departments to target specific individuals,[78] accuse them of crimes they did not commit, suppress exculpatory evidence and falsely incarcerate them. Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a Black Panther Party leader, was incarcerated for 27 years before a California Superior Court vacated his murder conviction, ultimately freeing him. Appearing before the court, an FBI agent testified that he believed Pratt had been framed, because both the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department knew he had not been in the area at the time the murder occurred.[79][80]

...

In 1969 the FBI special agent in San Francisco wrote Hoover that his investigation of the Black Panther Party had concluded that in his city, at least, the Panthers were primarily engaged in feeding breakfast to children. Hoover fired back a memo implying the agent's career goals would be directly affected by his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the Black Panther Party was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means".[84]

Hoover supported using false claims to attack his political enemies. In one memo he wrote: "Purpose of counterintelligence action is to disrupt the Black Panther Party and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge."[85]

Intended Effects of COINTELPRO

The intended effect of the FBI's COINTELPRO was to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, or otherwise neutralize" groups that the FBI officials believed were "subversive"[58] by instructing FBI field operatives to:[59] 1. Create a negative public image for target groups (for example through surveilling activists and then releasing negative personal information to the public) 2. Break down internal organization by creating conflicts (for example, by having agents exacerbate racial tensions, or send anonymous letters to try to create conflicts) 3. Create dissension between groups (for example, by spreading rumors that other groups were stealing money) 4. Restrict access to public resources (for example, by pressuring non-profit organizations to cut off funding or material support) 5. Restrict the ability to organize protest (for example, through agents promoting violence against police during planning and at protests) 6. Restrict the ability of individuals to participate in group activities (for example, by character assassinations, false arrests, surveillance)

When did they start?

Centralized operations under COINTELPRO officially began in August 1956 with a program designed to "increase factionalism, cause disruption and win defections" inside the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Tactics included anonymous phone calls, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, and the creation of documents that would divide the American communist organization internally.[9] An October 1956 memo from Hoover reclassified the FBI's ongoing surveillance of black leaders, including it within COINTELPRO, with the justification that the movement was infiltrated by communists.[31] In 1956, Hoover sent an open letter denouncing Dr. T. R. M. Howard, a civil rights leader, surgeon, and wealthy entrepreneur in Mississippi who had criticized FBI inaction in solving recent murders of George W. Lee, Emmett Till, and other African Americans in the South.[32] When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an African-American civil rights organization, was founded in 1957, the FBI began to monitor and target the group almost immediately, focusing particularly on Bayard Rustin, Stanley Levison, and eventually Martin Luther King Jr.[33]

How did the news get out about COINTELPRO?

The program was secret until March 8, 1971, when the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI burgled an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, took several dossiers, and exposed the program by passing this material to news agencies.[1][54] The boxing match known as the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in March 1971 provided cover for the activist group to successfully pull off the burglary. Muhammad Ali was a COINTELPRO target because he had joined the Nation of Islam and the anti-war movement.[55] Many news organizations initially refused to immediately publish the information, with the notable exception of The Washington Post. After affirming the reliability of the documents, it published them on the front page (in defiance of the Attorney General's request), prompting other organizations to follow suit. Within the year, Director J. Edgar Hoover declared that the centralized COINTELPRO was over, and that all future counterintelligence operations would be handled case by case.[56][57]

[fleshadept]

"the US education system didn't teach me about other countries so i didn't realize mexico had modern cities until i was 21" (real reply someone made on a post) is so telling about the general issue with the whole deal about blaming the US education system for everything. like that is just racism. pure, unanalyzed racism and lack of curiosity about the world around you. when people say "unlearn racism and prejudices" this is what they mean--the assumption that mexico hasn't hit the industrial revolution comes from somewhere, and that somewhere is the uncritical acceptance of racist ideas that permeate white america, whether you consider yourself racist or not.

you're right, the US education system does not have required classes that say where major urban centers are, but so what? it betrays an embarrassing lack of curiosity and passivity in your own experience and conception of the world to so freely admit that not only did you never speak to anyone from mexico or think about it hard enough to realize the irrationality of that thought, you passively took in racist ideas about our neighbors and accepted them with ease. did you think all mexicans were involved with drug cartels, too? would you have needed a class in high school to teach you that wasn't true?

so many of the worst example of people saying "but the US education system--" are people using the stilted, slanted historiography the education system perpetuates as an excuse for their own racism. whether that is about mexicans or any other group of nonwhite people that a certain kind of white american believes they could never have conceptualized as full humans without a required high school course on it, a belief they are shockingly willing to admit publicly

[dancesingay]

Yes, Trump's VP did in fact say this about him.

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XXIV (Victoria 2022): Indigenous–Aboriginal Party of Australia

Prior review: federal 2022

What I said before: “This is a party that simply wants an opportunity for their people to thrive.”

What I think this time: Here I was, thinking I had successfully reviewed every micro-party fielding candidates in Victoria’s state election, whether registered or not. It was only on the final stretch of my entry about independents running for the Legislative Council that I discovered two ungrouped independents endorsed by the Indigenous–Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA). Let me know if I've missed any others!

The IAPA ran candidates in NSW and Queensland back at the federal election, and in the lead-up to Victoria’s state election they tried to expand into Victoria and gain registration with the VEC. They weren't able to be registered, but they have endorsed three candidates. Two are standing for the Legislative Council: ungrouped independent Colin Mancell for Northern Metropolitan and ungrouped independent Storm Hellmuth in Western Victoria. These two men will only appear below the line in the furthest-right column on the ballot and you cannot vote for them above the line. A third candidate is standing in the Legislative Assembly: IAPA endorses Laylah Al Saimary, independent candidate for the electorate of Melbourne, and if you live in this electorate you will have to include her somewhere in your preferences to cast a valid vote.

The IAPA remain as I described them in my federal review. Their goal is more Indigenous representation in government and for Indigenous perspectives to be heard. I was a little surprised to not see some specific content about Victoria’s Treaty process. It predates the Uluṟu Statement: Victoria had already begun the Treaty process when the Uluṟu Statement settled on the order of Voice, Treaty, Truth. But I think we can safely assume that whether it’s Voice at federal level or Treaty at state level, the IAPA simply want Indigenous people to thrive. Their policy platform is really simple stuff: a community that wants to be taken seriously and not treated paternalistically. They seek the space to address their own issues on their own terms.

Since the IAPA has had to resort to endorsing independents in the absence of registration, let’s have a quick look at the candidates. The IAPA's website doesn’t give much specific info on the two upper house candidates, so we can take it as read that Colin Mancell (Northern Metropolitan) and Storm Hellmuth (Western Victoria) support the IAPA’s policy platform. The blurb about Hellmuth emphasises that he wants systemic change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policies (he also has the best name on the ballot in the entire state).

Laylah Al Saimary might well be the youngest candidate in the state. She’s 18 and her goal is to represent Indigenous youth, particularly so-called “school refusers” such as herself. She wants to provide Indigenous-controlled schools that have a curriculum for Indigenous youth who struggle in the mainstream system. She also wants Indigenous drop-in centres where kids can receive help with homework and reading and writing skills—and eat some fresh fruit. Come on, how are we in a position as a country where an Indigenous candidate has to campaign for something as simple as fresh fruit for marginalised youth.

My recommendation: Give the candidates endorsed by the Indigenous–Aboriginal Party of Australiaa good preferences. To vote for their Legislative Council candidates, you must vote below the line; all ballots with 5 or more preferences marked below the line are valid votes.

Website: https://www.indigenouspartyofaustralia.com/

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

Why do you hate Alexander Hamilton so much? The guy lived and died before you were even born dude. He isn’t going to come alive and bite you XD

No, his actions just persist in the policies that my home nation was founded upon.

[littlestpersimmon]

"Long hair for men was the norm in precolonial SEA" this makes me happy as a long-haired transmasc who has no plans on cutting my hair. Salamat po.

LETS GOOOO!!!!!

[hakaiika]

So I was perusing about Reddit, as I do cause I'm normally chillin' in trans and lesbian subreddits just vibing, and I see a post in r/Liberalgunowners talking about Kamala Harris's gun policy. Now, for whatever reason, in the last month, this subreddit has become pretty conservative. Now I went to make a rebuttal against someone saying they wouldn't vote at all cause Kamala isn't a good candidate for gun rights. Now, being a transfemme with a lot riding on this election, I point out this fact and how we can't pidgeon hole ourselves into single issues and how now is the time of putting the good of all Americans first before petty issues. He responds, saying how he's 55 years old and doesn't really care anymore cause he only jas 20ish years left.

I could not fathom this argument. As I am very open about growing up as an indigenous woman and, for us, the community, doing right for all, and providing for the next 7 generations are our paramount values. So to see someone say "yeah this doesn't affect me, so I'ma just care about this one thing for my personal benefit." honestly disgusted me. I am not one to judge most folks since many folks have their personal convictions for believing things... but really? Is this what colonial culture is? This is what killed my people? People who only care for themselves but not their neighbors and community? How could people be so heartless and greedy?

I know this was an emotional piece, but... I'm just... tired of this. Tired of people who benefit from colonial history trying to say that it's good to perpetuate colonial order. Can we, as Americans of all colors and backgrounds, do right by all, especially if you're older... we look up to you as our elders...

P.s If you're my gf reading this, don't kill me for not going to bed at midnight like I promised. I had to get this off my chest :3

[post-futurism]

"how someone identifies impacts others" yeah no shit??? That's not new?? White people's identity have had an impact on aboriginal people since 1788 babe!

Also the colonial planning process DID deprive indigenous Australians of their collective say because it prioritises only one section of the aboriginal community. Idek who Susan McDonald is but she can get kicked in the nuts