An indigenous woman wearing red clothing and a felt hat flips off the camera. Image reads: "The 12th of October is nothing to celebrate!"
By Juliana Britto Schwartz • @JulianaBrittoS • 10 years ago

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is over. Now what?

An indigenous woman wearing red clothing and a felt hat flips off the camera. Image reads: "The 12th of October is nothing to celebrate!"

Image reads: “The 12th of October is nothing to celebrate!” Image found here.

Well, Indigenous Peoples’ Day — what some still think is Columbus Day — has come and gone. After a day of celebrating indigenous resistance across the Americas, what’s an activist to do with their holiday hangover?

Keep learning! Let’s take this year’s Indigenous People’s Day as a kick in the pants to stay educated about the existence, resistance, and resilience of those who occupied this land long before any confused white dudes landed here thinking they had made it to India. 

So without further ado, here are some links and resources to follow indigenous resistance all year long:

Check out the Save Wįyąbi Project‘s initiative to map the disappearance and murders of indigenous women throughout the Americas.

Evo Morales, the first indigenous president, who was recently re-elected to his third term as Bolivian President, and Nobel Prize-winning Mayan activist Rigoberta Menchu spoke recently on poverty, climate change, and indigenous rights at the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples.

Adrienne K over at Native Appropriations is thinking maybe it’s time for a Native Bechdel Test. What movies can you think of that would pass?

Congratulations to Seattle for reclaiming Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

In Guatemala, Mayan women recently celebrated an exciting victory against biotech giant Monsanto. However, corporations after the country’s natural resources continue to use violence against indigenous communities to get what they want.

The Zapatistas marched in solidarity with victims of the Ayotzinapa massacre in Mexico.

Want to learn about indigenous women’s resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico? Educa’s English language Twitter handle is a great place to start.

Check out Jessica Yee’s awesome list of indigenous feminist resources at Bitch.

The Guaraní are an indigenous nation living across multiple South American borders. Read about how they are surviving and struggling to preserve their traditions in the face of globalization.

Transgender people have existed for centuries, and across cultures and continents. The “tida wena” of Venezuela’s indigenous Warao are a testament to that.

Never read Andrea Smith’s “Indigenous Feminism Without Apology”? It’s time.

Brazil just announced plans for another mega-dam, provoking outrage among indigenous communities who have been to this rodeo before.

The Save Wįyąbi Project is co-hosting a series of Tweet chats on decolonizing domestic violence awareness month. Check out their Storify and be sure to tune in for next Saturday’s chat!

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Juliana is stoked about her new t-shirt from My Heroes Have Always Killed Colonizers.

Bay Area, California

Juliana is a digital storyteller for social change. As a writer at Feministing since 2013, her work has focused on women's movements throughout the Americas for environmental justice, immigrant rights, and reproductive justice. In addition to her writing, Juliana is a Senior Campaigner at Change.org, where she works to close the gap between the powerful and everyone else by supporting people from across the country to launch, escalate and win their campaigns for justice.

Juliana is a Latina feminist writer and campaigner based in the Bay Area.

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