Although comprising a small percentage of the world's population, Indigenous Peoples protect around 80% of the Earth's biodiversity. For many, their traditional knowledge and way of life — often stretching back through centuries or even millennia — exist because of an interdependent relationship with the land.
Colonial violence against Indigenous people isn’t a matter of the past. You don’t have to look much further than the current situation in Nova Scotia where non-Native fishermen are threatening and destroying Mi’kmaw property; intimidating and preventing them from being able to catch and sell lobster -- which is meant to be a protected treaty right.
If you live on colonized land, such as the United States, how much do you know about the Indigenous People who are its original custodians? Do you know which tribes and nations resided in your specific area before forced removal? Do you know where they are now? I would take a guess that maybe a lot of you don’t, and that’s something we should all work on to rectify.
transatlantic | notes 