"The 4th of You Lie" by Jimmie Beason (Osage/Mvskoke)

Every year on the 4th of You Lie (July), patriotic Americans engage in
their multiple colored foray of pyromania by blowing up fireworks to
celebrate the birth of the United Snakes.

This is appropriate as it's a metaphor for Indigenous genocide. The fuse of
colonization was lit and exploded with Manifest Destiny and conquest
ripping through OUR freedom; a true Freedom that existed for thousands of
years before the European invasion of our continent.

Amerikkka's policies toward us have done nothing to help, only to destroy.
Treaties were made and signed with the "utmost honor" only to be broken. In
1492, it is estimated that 5 million Native people inhabited the Western
Hemisphere. By the 1800's our population was reduced to 600,000. At the end
of the 19th century--250,000.

Hardy patriots who support Amerikkka, claim this country to be the epitome
of "freedom."

But can a country that took the land and freedoms of Indigenous people
boast about "freedom" and how to attain it? Can a country that is built on
thievery, the enslavement of 11 million Africans, resource exploitation and
broken treaties be a beacon of hope?

It becomes apparent that any kind of Independence on the part of "brown"
people was not achieved, but merely turned into a gushing wound wrapped in
legislative band-aids by haughty European-Americans hoping to silence us.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, there our Native brothers and sisters who claim
they are fighting and dying for "freedom." Meanwhile, everyday the State
and Federal governments are seeking ways to continually restrict our status
as Indigenous people--diminishing our rights in our own lands.

It should be noted that everything about their so-called civilization has
nearly destroyed who we are. If we still maintain our ways, it is hanging
on by a thread and threatened to be cut by Christianity.

As a foreign occupying force, the United States retains no legitimacy as a
governing entity and neither do the States. The question is, in what ways
do we prove that? One way is to seriously question their institutions from
religious, to educational to legislative. Then hard work within the
community, creating our own agenda and ignoring their agenda. So on this
4th of July (You-Lie), resist the urge to light some fireworks, because
every explosion and shiny burst represents a Native life snuffed out by
Amerikkka's "independence."

Columbus Didn't Discover Us: Native People's Perspectives on the Columbus Legacy (documentary)

youtube version pt. 1
youtube version pt. 2

website

the canary effect (documentary)

THE CANARY EFFECT - Kill the Indian, Save the Man.
Based on facts, the Award Winning documentary, The Canary Effect is a culmination of Yellow Thunder Woman’s first hand experience growing up as a Native American and Robin’s passionate empathy of the need to bring such truths to a wider audience.  This is the directors, Robin Davey & Yellow Thunder Woman’s debut film and has been a hit on the International film festival circuit.
Delving deep into the often misunderstood and frequently over looked historic realities if the American Indian, The Canary Effect follows the terrifying and horrific abuses instilled upon the Indigenous people of North America, and details the genocidal practices of the US government and its continuing affects on present
day Indian country.
Featuring interviews with the leading scholars and experts on Indian issues including controversial author Ward Churchill, the film brings together the past and present in a way never before captured so eloquently and boldly on film.

official
imdb
politube
youtube

Decolonial Food For Thought...: Palabra on Indigenous Veganism

Decolonial Food For Thought...: Palabra on Indigenous Veganism: "What is the difference between Indigenous Veganism and Veganism? Primeramente, it is not the same. Indigenous Veganism is centered on the c..."

"This is a colonizers way of eating which takes from mother earth as it does by mass-producing toxic flesh grown in animal and fish farms by the millions and producing illusionary food products that are deemed necessary for our survival."

native american patriotism?

note:  all images and underlined text are hyper-linked so simply click them for additional reading/viewing/listening.

i have a once-close friend from my childhood, who is indigenous (adopted and raised by two white parents) and is now completely dedicated to the marine corps--he somehow conflates his u.s. military experience with being indigenous and concludes that it's "warrior culture."  however,  the u.s. military  isn't anything like being an indigenous warrior.  the u.s. military is nothing more than the weapon used to maintain u.s. imperialism.  just as police officers in the u.s. serve and protect corporations and the rich, the u.s. military protects corporate and u.s. capital interest globally.  ironically it was indigenous warriors, who resisted westward expansion, colonization, white supremacy, and yes the u.s. military!

i've only ever attended one powwow in my life and this was one of the most surprising and actually upsetting aspects of what i witnessed.  i am a person of color and veteran, who has woken up to the true history of the united states or as some of my latino folks say, "esclavos unidos."  i firmly feel that history has proven over and over that no matter how much a member of a marginalized community tries to acculturate they will never be completely accepted by the dominant ("white") culture.  i am reminded of these instances:

The Soldiers Speak:  Black Americans and native Filipinos discover "an affinity of complexion"

Justice for Filipino American Veterans

The Contradictions of World War II (Japanese American experience)

Fort Minor - Kenji (Original Music Video) from ShadowfoX Productions on Vimeo.

Arab-Americans in military juggle patriotism, suspicion

An Excellent Reason Not to Join the Military

excerpt:

We women, people of color, and immigrants are especially attracted by the idea that we could live our lives on equal footing with other Americans. But the military isn't the egalitarian nirvana that its multi-billion dollar advertising blitz -- with a budget of almost $4 billion in 2003 -- claims.

Quese Imc-Good Ol' Amerikkka


“let me tell you a little something about the american flag and it's red, white, and blue and all the history that it has, the genocide of this land to annihilate the red man, pay a dime for skin off the forehead of a kid no older than ten so hence the redskins were scalps of children and men, but what they would do to our women, yo! i just cannot comprehend, they would take a knife and cut her breast off and howl to the moon and if she was pregnant they would cut her baby out and mutilate the womb, they would murder little boys and girls point blank with a rifle, and it was all in the name of the american flag and their bible, so why do you find it so hard believe that they are liable to be so genocidal to a people who are so spiritual and tribal, this an american holocaust that surpasses any you study, so when you pledge allegiance to the flag your chest is bloody.”

more voices of native resistance



i've read "ojibwa warrior" and this reminds me of dennis banks realization when he was stationed in japan:

"The year was 1899, and Private David Fagen had a decision to make. He'd volunteered to serve in America's first overseas war to prove to the folks back home a black man's blood just as good as a white's when spilled fighting for Old Glory. Now, at the dawn of a new century, Fagen realized he was only a pawn in the white man's crusade for empire. Every time he pulled the trigger he helped enslave the people he came to liberate." excerpt from "cousins of color"

bonus!

Immortal Technique Migration, Indigenous & Immigration Forum +

BONITA LAWRENCE | GENOCIDE, ASSIMILATION, OR INCORPORATION: INDIGENOUS IDENTITY AND MODES

BONITA LAWRENCE | GENOCIDE, ASSIMILATION, OR INCORPORATION: INDIGENOUS IDENTITY AND MODES OF RESISTANCE from RACISM & NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS on Vimeo.

In Whose Honor?