Decolonize - Tumblr Posts
End blood quantum now
Blood quantum is how much native blood you have in you and it needs to be a certain threshold to qualify you as a tribal member. Blood quantum varies from tribe to tribe.
It means my mom is a tribal member but because my dad is outside of my tribe... I don't have enough tribal blood to enroll. Neither does my daughter. Our "official" indigeneity ended with me.
My dad is still native tho. Just southern native. Others have two parents enrolled in separate tribes and can't enroll in either one despite being Full native because their parents were mixed with other tribes so they don't have enough blood of Any tribe to qualify.
And to what end are they doing this?
Under the treaties the US govt can lay no claim to native land. So how do they fix that? Get rid of the natives, of course.
And since they can't slaughter us in broad daylight anymore they did the next best thing. What the colonial government has ALWAYS done to us and other poc.
Made up a bunch of arbitrary laws to restrain and limit our power and numbers.
And this can't continue. We are the only race who needs to apply to be part of the community we were born into. The only race who needs to prove our blood.
And that's the thing: it's not even based on blood. Racist scientists defined who was a full-blooded native based on things like shoe size, head circumference, and skin pigment.
Not blood. And besides that it wasn't uncommon for outsiders to become part of a tribe!! You didn't need to be native by blood to be native! Blood quantum has made it IMPOSSIBLE for them to qualify and made it impossible for tribes to practice that long time aspect of our culture.
So please share this post. So many people legitimately think natives are extinct and even less are aware that we do more than just sit around drinking all day. Few people have good feelings about us and within that there are a few who actively help. Please be one of those few.
We need support and allies and for our voices to be heard. Please don't let this post just be me screaming into a void. We need people to know what blood quantum is, how archaic and harmful it is, and to help us spread awareness to people who otherwise would ignore us. Use your privilege.
Here are some great recipes for de-colonizing Thanksgiving
Magic Pumpkin Squash Soup by Chef Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart,
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
1 tbsp. garlic powder
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
1 stick butter
1 medium yellow onion
1 can organic pumpkin puree
2 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
Roasted pumpkin seeds (for topping)
Instructions:
Peel and cube the butternut squash, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with 1 tbsp. garlic powder, kosher salt, and cracked brown pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes
In a large stockpot, sautée the chopped medium yellow onion in 1 stick melted butter; sprinkle with salt until translucent
Add 1 can organic pumpkin puree
Add 2 cups coconut milk
Add 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
Add the roasted butternut squash
Simmer for 30 minutes
Blend with an immersion blender
Top with roasted pumpkin seeds
Cowboy Kicker Beans and Wiiyaa:
You can help give land back RIGHT NOW!
These are stunning designs by Wenatchi Wear which is an Indigenous owned business for stickers mugs, tanks, hoodies, t shirts and just generally sicc clothes.
What's more sicc than that is the go fund me run by the owner of Wenatchi Wear!
This is an opportunity for the Wenatchi tribe to buy back some of their ancestral lands.
Why is this so FUCKING important?
The current reservation is the Colville Confederated Tribe reservation which is a conglomerate of TWELVE tribes. (This alone is a disgusting violation of so many treaties and some day I'll have words about what it did to my family) More importantly right now is that the Wenatchi is a non-federally recognized tribe!!! This has many implications for the preservation of their culture but also limits their access to the resources both monetarily AND on the the lands they had treaty rights to that are part of their ancestral lands. This land purchase would put many Wenatchi people back on their ancestral lands and also funds a community center so their tribe has space to practice heal and grow their community and culture.
PLEASE DONATE TO THE GO FUND ME IF YOU CAN
Their venmo is Wenatchi_LandBack
Added to my priority reading list - then I’ll see if I can get my work to read it too!
~Welcome~
I’ve spent the past two and a half years working on this very very long essay about the history of the Pacific Northwest, and trying to understand various models for redress and rebalance (which will never truly be obtained, but can still be worked for) since this area was invaded by settlers 200 years ago.
It’s not by any means an *easy conversation* to have with other white people, but it is wholly necessary and long overdue.
So if you’re a fellow colonial settler descendant ready to get real, I hope I made a resource that helps you in that journey. You can get it for free under the “The Zine” page as a pdf, or if you’re glued to your e-reader like I am, it’s a $.99 download on Kindle.
If you want to print your own, you may download and print the zine-ready doc and DIY away.
If you want a physical copy, I request that you donate to your local tribe, Black-led Community Center, or one of the following: Salish School of Spokane/ Real Rent Duwamish/ Naya Action Fund. Then, please send a screenshot or forward a receipt to audrey_connor@icloud.com, along with your mailing info. If you are a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color, this is wholly optional, and I am happy to send you a complementary copy if you simply tell me where.
Happy reading + redistributing,
Audrey
In Vancouver, a Catholic Church was defaced in direct response to the discovery of the mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Graffiti demanding that the church “Release the Records” called out the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who both operate the church and operated the Kamloops Indian Residential School, as well as almost half of all residential schools across Canada.
In Six Nations territory, it was the Anglican Church who operated the Mohawk Institute Residential School from 1831-1970. On June 12, a suspected arson significantly damaged an Anglican church on the territory. While no one has publicly claimed the action, many community members assumed that the attack was connected the current scrutiny of churches and their role in residential schools.
- Canadian Tire Fire #3
For anyone who wants to educate themselves about Palestine and the Palestinian struggle for freedom, as we all must, please check out Decolonize Palestine.
This is an essential primer, a resource created by two Palestinians from Ramallah, the West Bank.
It is unacceptable for us, especially those who live in the West to turn away in this moment because “it’s too complicated”.
If you don’t know enough about this critical issue, I urge you to educate yourself by listening to and reading from Palestinians.
Not knowing enough about a situation is an opportunity. To learn more. From the people who are directly affected.
There are so many resources and books out there.
Don’t stop with this one.
Keep learning.
And keep doing what you can.
We all must.
“Keep colonial hands off indigenous lands”
Graphic by KRIME