#turtle island

[opencommunion]

incarcerated people are shutting down Alabama prisons and asking for your solidarity

Alabama prisons are the deadliest and most crowded prisons in the US. Their violence extends to gas chamber executions and illegal organ harvesting. The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is currently facing two federal lawsuits: one for enslaving Black detainees by denying them parole and leasing out their forced labor and another for targeting strike organizers. ADOC rakes in more than $450 million annually in profits from forced labor, and that's not including the profits incarcerated people generate for private corporations such as McDonald's and Raytheon. In response to these abuses, and in particular the horrific beating of six handcuffed detainees by Lt. Edmonds at Donaldson Prison on February 22nd, the Free Alabama Movement (FAM) has organized a minimum 90-day statewide prison shutdown/work stoppage. They are calling on supporters outside the prison walls to show solidarity. If you're located in or around Alabama, show up to the protest at St. Clair Prison in Springville, AL on Saturday March 2nd. For rideshare coordination contact the Tennessee Student Solidarity Network on IG or by email: tnstudentsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com "Outside support for us starts at the prisons. That's where we need people. Come to one of the protests, show your face, and tell us that you support us. That's how we know that you support us. Outside support is the first step." - FAM

Everyone in the US, call Donaldson Prison at (205) 436-3681 and ask them to fire Lt. Edmonds for his brutal violence against incarcerated people.

[biophonies]

when I drew this comic 3 years ago I had NO idea how far it would reach. I'm happy to finally share a corrected version with proper abbreviations, and even MORE state names of indigenous origin ♥️

however, the goal of this comic was to inspire people to do your OWN research on indigenous history. To question everything we have been taught, and everything that has been pointedly left out. This erasure, this “forgetting”, of history is not just of the past… it is happening now. - Across so-called Canada, the US, and US-occupied islands, native women are victims of murder at 10-12x the rate of non-native people, and are the most likely to go missing without being searched for by the law. - Native reservations have the highest rates of poverty in the US, with over HALF of tribal homes with no access to clean water (with more joining this list by the year) - Native people are 6-10x more likely to be unhoused than the rest of the population, and native teens suffer suicide rates higher than any other demographic. This list of modern day genocide goes on (thank you for compiling @theindigenousanarchist <3) and yet take a look at those environmental stats!

Native people manage to do SO much for the planet as a whole - thanklessly - and with all this stacked against them. Don't even get me started on kin fighting in south america. Could you imagine if there was help? #landback is resistance to genocide, and it is the key to saving our warming earth.

So look into it and the other hashtags, cuz a cartoon goose ain't a substitute for a proper education. Love to my grandparents who always kept a map of tribal territories of turtle island on their wall, to speaking on our Tsalagi & Saponi heritage. Love & solidarity forever, happy research, and happy #indigenouspeoplesday

LANDBACK.ORG

(Also, if you care to support the artist, I'm publishing a book ! and writing another - a fantastical afroindigenous graphic novel - that I post exclusively about with tons of other art on my patreon.)

[decolonize-the-left]

I’ve seen Palestinians refer to their homeland as Occupied Palestine and “Israel” as the occupation, to better illustrate the settler colonial history of “Israel” and deny it legitimacy. As “America” is also a settler colony, would it be accurate to refer to the so-called “USA” in general as Occupied Turtle Island/the American Occupation or is that terminology specific to Palestine?

Turtle Island is the name given to North America by the Anishinaabe, though it's certainly not the only indigenous name. The Anishinaabe/Ojibwe/Chippewa just happen to be one of the largest native group so a lot of our terms are more easily popularized.

And I'd say yes and no as for it's accuracy tbh.

Like with Palestine, you have to be Very Clear when differentiating the people of Turtle Island and our wants from the US government and the people who support the US government.

You can't support Palestinian liberation and the existence of the state colonizing them. In the same way you can't claim to support Native liberation and Turtle Island but still want to remain our colonizer.

It's one thing to say you support native sovereignty, it's another entirely to realize that support in practice would mean calling & working for the US to be dismantled; it means Choosing to be a person from Turtle Island instead.

So yes, call it Turtle Island, but say it with the understanding and gravity of it.

Start by learning 5 medicinal plants and 5 edible plants in your area, figure out how you can support local tribes. Learn how to be from Turtle Island instead of the USA. Find values and principles to believe in that are your own and not just moralized propaganda.

The less dependent you are on the US, the less freedom you realize you have within it.

[guerillas-of-history]

American Indian Movement (AIM) Wounded Knee, South Dakota,1973

[antiwaradvocates]

Solidarity and love to all of our Indigenous comrades—and to all Indigenous peoples, the world over. May the murderous, destructive legacy of Columbus rot and be forgotten.

[olowan-waphiya]

A huge ancient city has been found in the Amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation.

The discovery changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon.

The houses and plazas in the Upano area in eastern Ecuador were connected by an astounding network of roads and canals.

The area lies in the shadow of a volcano that created rich local soils but also may have led to the destruction of the society.

While we knew about cities in the highlands of South America, like Machu Picchu in Peru, it was believed that people only lived nomadically or in tiny settlements in the Amazon.

"This is older than any other site we know in the Amazon. We have a Eurocentric view of civilisation, but this shows we have to change our idea about what is culture and civilisation," says Prof Stephen Rostain, director of investigation at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, who led the research.

"It changes the way we see Amazonian cultures. Most people picture small groups, probably naked, living in huts and clearing land - this shows ancient people lived in complicated urban societies," says co-author Antoine Dorison.

The city was built around 2,500 years ago, and people lived there for up to 1,000 years, according to archaeologists.

It is difficult to accurately estimate how many people lived there at any one time, but scientists say it is certainly in the 10,000s if not 100,000s.

The archaeologists combined ground excavations with a survey of a 300 sq km (116 sq mile) area using laser sensors flown on a plane that could identify remains of the city beneath the dense plants and trees.

—

"The road network is very sophisticated. It extends over a vast distance, everything is connected. And there are right angles, which is very impressive," he says, explaining that it is much harder to build a straight road than one that fits in with the landscape.

The scientists also identified causeways with ditches on either side which they believe were canals that helped manage the abundant water in the region.

There were signs of threats to the cities - some ditches blocked entrances to the settlements, and may be evidence of threats from nearby people.

Researchers first found evidence of a city in the 1970s, but this is the first time a comprehensive survey has been completed, after 25 years of research.

It reveals a large, complex society that appears to be even bigger than the well-known Mayan societies in Mexico and Central America.

—

Some of the findings are "unique" for South America, he explains, pointing to the octagonal and rectangular platforms arranged together.

The societies were clearly well-organised and interconnected, he says, highlighting the long sunken roads between settlements.

Not a huge amount is known about the people who lived there and what their societies were like.

Pits and hearths were found in the platforms, as well as jars, stones to grind plants and burnt seeds.

—

Prof Rostain says he was warned against this research at the start of his career because scientists believed no ancient groups had lived in the Amazon.

[alfredo-zauce]

EAT A DICK @staff

[bossymarmalade]

- september 30th, national day for truth and reconciliation -

Survivors experienced horrific atrocities while prisoners in these institutions. It is important that this image show the love and strength that colonialism tried to steal from us. Despite genocide, we are still here – still fighting for justice and restitution, as true Warriors. - Dorene Bernard, Mi’kmaq Survivor who attended Shubenacadie Residential School

[astraphel]

On October 12, 1492, Columbus arrived on the shores of the Caribbean, the now-called Bahamas, and the Taíno people welcomed him and his crew with respect and great care. Their kindness was repaid with vicious cruelty and enslavement. 

The horrors of genocide left no one untouched on Turtle Island and Abya Yala, but the Taínos were the first to encounter this scourge. There aren't enough people who call them by name and claim a ubiquitous "indigenous peoples" encountered Columbus. 

Know and name the Taíno and the ways they suffered as a result of First Contact. 

And also the ways they have persisted and survived to this day. Check out the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) / Confederación Unida De El Pueblo Taíno (CUPT) as a place to start.

The Taino peoples are not a monolith and include many different tribes and areas.

Image 1: Cristobal Colón, 1893 "La gran batalla que tuvo el almirante con el Rey Guarionex y cien mil indios en la Vega Real" | Wikipedia

Image 2: "Distribución de los arahuacos taínos, caribes y guanahatabeyes en las Antillas, en el tiempo de la llegada de los españoles." | Wikipedia

[opencommunion]

ACT UP contingent at a >50,000-strong protest for Palestinian liberation in New York, 2 March 24

[fluorescentwolf]

From Turtle Island to Palestine

While painting I noticed the olive leaves' silhouette matches the feather; coincidental shape harmony.

[decolonize-the-left]

MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) is a human rights crisis of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States

Quick facts:

4 of 5 Native women will experience violence

1/3 of Native women will experience sexual violence (and over 2/3 of that is committed by non-natives)

Murder is our 3rd leading cause of death

On some reservations MMIWG2S are murdered at 10x the national average rate

In general native women and girls are raped at twice the average national rate

According to a report by USA today, native women also go missing at the twice average national rate

Nearly all rapes are perpetuated by off reservations settlers who also face no legal repercussions (legal loopholes state you must be on tribal ground to be persecuted by tribal police and most don't stick sround)

Less than 1% of MMIW cases are logged

It's been awhile since I've since Ive posted about this, but it's a very important topic and one that's especially important to me right now.

Some of you following me have all the context clues but I'll say it plainly here on this post. My cousin is one of the many MMIW that have died awful deaths. I myself am one of the natives who've experiences violence and sexual violence. The article is right. I don't know a native who hasn't. And that shouldn't have to be our reality.

But it doesn't change without more support and we don't get support by keeping people in the dark. Unfortunately resources are directly tied to public interest in an issue. The actual MMIW site for example says it's on hiatus when you go to the resource section.

So please share this so that someone else can learn and become an ally to the cause. The way people treat native women, girls, and two spirits is awful and deserves more attention than it's getting.

May 5th is MMIW awareness day; please wear red, share our posts, schedule a vigil, make your own graphics/posts in support, etc. Make some time to show you care that day.

Just don't use the red hand over your mouth, this is representative of the violent silence MMIW are forced to keep in their graves and how those of us alive must speak for them. Its a heavy symbol that carries responsibility so it's best left alone if you aren't indigenous.

[smelly-fozzy]

Kosa is so incredibly stupid.

Anyway, if this is my last post here- thanks for being my friends. Thanks for creating a safe space, and for making me smile with your amazing posts/writing. Don’t forget about Palestine if this bill passes. Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, West Papua, Congo, Haiti, Hawaii, Turtle Island, Ireland, Iran, Ukraine, Uyghurs, Iraq, Aotearoa, Palestine, will all be free. Read banned books. Turn to your local libraries. Make posters and signs and petitions. Attend protest if you can. Teach your kids about what is happening. Keep boycotting. Create safe spaces to talk about what’s going on, and learn to the best of your ability.

This is not the end, there are so many ways to keep going, no matter how hopeless this all feels.

[lilies-of-the-fields]

Stand in solidarity with the Miccosukee:

Big Cypress Preserve is part of the Everglades, one of the largest remaining tracts of wetlands on Turtle Island (North America).

The Miccosukee Tribe have lived there since time immemorial and their care for their home has shaped it into the beautiful swamp we know today.

The National Parks Service is trying to rush a change in Big Cypress' designation from a Preserve to a Wilderness area. [plain text: The National Parks Service is trying to rush a change in Big Cypress' designation from a Preserve to a Wilderness area.]

This would give the area stronger protections for water quality, but would significantly limit the Tribe's access to their homelands and completely ignores how their stewardship of the lands and waters was and is crucial in maintaining the health of ecosystems.

There hasn't been a good faith effort to include the Miccosukee in a meaningful way (ie free informed prior consent & input!!!) on this change to their sovereign territory.

If you want to practice allyship, here's a chance. Sign the petition to show your support / solidarity with the Miccosukee. [plain text: Sign the petition to show your support / solidarity with the Miccosukee.]

Personalize it even just a little, even if it's just adding your own name or hometown. If you're able, print it out sign it and mail it. The Tribe and organizers working on this have a goal of getting 500 letters to the NPS/Secretary of the Interior. The online petition is almost at its goal! Just over 2,000 signatures left (as of Mar.16th 2024 21:30EST).

Please please share! I have it on good word that the NPS is trying to push this through before folks really have a chance to hear about what they're doing or make a fuss. So make a fuss we must.

The mailing addresses are below the cut for anyone who can send a physical letter!

Mail to:

Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III, Director

National Park Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240

Secretary Deb Haaland

Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240

[houseofpurplestars]

Digital illustration of an indigenous woman and her child sitting on the floor. She’s looking back and is wearing a grey bodycon dress with text that reads, ‘clean water is a human right.’ Behind her, a toddler is looking at you and is wearing a green striped shirt and green pants. Between them is a water bottle labeled ‘sink water’ filled with a brown liquid.

art by Liberal Jane @ liberaljanee