Indigenous Rights
Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the preservation of their land, language, religion, and other elements of cultural heritage that are a part of their existence as a people.
Video / Audio
Check out this collection of videos and podcast episodes focused on equality and justice for all.
Steve Martin-Ojibwe and Erik Rydberg-Kashia on #NoDAPL
Members of The Pomo indigenous people of California discuss the Environmental Impact Statement of the Dakota Access Pipeline with Steve Grumbine.
Macro n Cheese Podcast Ep. 76 - An Activist's Quest for Aboriginal Inclusion with Jengis Osman
Our guest is Jengis Osman, an activist and labor organizer who was led to Modern Monetary Theory through his life experiences and those of his family and the people he works with. After graduating from university, he struggled to find work and questioned why it had been easier for his grandparents who had immigrated to Australia from wartorn Cyprus in the 1970s. When he taught English to new immigrants, they asked the same question: why aren’t there enough jobs?
Water Is Life: March & Rally for Standing Rock (DC) #NoDAPL
On November 27, 2016 at noon, activists wear blue and join Last Real Indians as they demand that the Justice Department intervene to protect water protectors. The March & Rally for Standing Rock takes place in Washington DC and goes from the Department of Justice to the Washington Monument in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. We hear from Chase Iron Eyes, Dolores Huerta, Alayna Eagle Shield, and others, including Richard Averitt, Tokata Iron Eyes, Dana Yellow Fat, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Monica O. Montgomery, with special guests Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich, Shailene Woodley, and Ezra Miller, along with performances by Lakota Thunder and Jingle Dress Dancers. Special Appearance by Dave Matthews, Dave Matthews Band.
Written Materials
Check out these related articles from our local community and beyond.
Academic Publications
A collection of peer-reviewed white papers and working papers from our friends in the MMT academic community.
Local Solutions for Environmental Justice
In the context of the prevailing abundance of diversity (biological, ethnic), the profound social inequalities, and the trends and attitudes of hegemonic forces in Latin America, a coherent process of environmental governance is proving difficult and environmental injustice is aggravated. Regardless of where one turns in the region, there is an increase in the number and intensity of conflicts between groups committed to promoting economic development (i.e., growth), and those claiming to speak for the planet and/or the welfare of the large majority of the population or particular minorities, who feel excluded from these processes and are bearing the brunt of the negative impacts of state led ‘developmental’ activities.
"Doctrines of Dispossession" - Racism against Indigenous peoples
Historians and academics agree that the colonization of the New World saw extreme expressions of racism - massacres, forced-march relocations, the "Indian wars", death by starvation and disease. Today, such practices would be called ethnic cleansing and genocide. What seems even more appalling for contemporary minds is that the subjugation of the native peoples of the New World was legally sanctioned. "Laws" of "discovery", "conquest" and "terra nullius" made up the "doctrines of dispossession", according to Erica Irene Daes, chairperson/rapporteur of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations, in a study on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land.
S.1179 - Arctic Policy Act of 2019
Specifically, the bill (1) modifies the membership requirements of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission to include additional indigenous representation; (2) provides statutory authority for the Arctic Executive Steering Committee; (3) establishes regional tribal advisory groups to provide input and recommendations to the steering committee on specific issues or regional issues of the Arctic, including the establishment of the Bering Sea Regional Tribal Advisory Group to advise on issues in the Northern Bering Sea and the Bering Strait region; and (4) establishes the Arctic Advisory Committee to advise the steering committee on federal Arctic policies, including existing policies and policies that are under consideration.
H.R.1694 - Native American Voting Rights Act of 2019
This bill modifies the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters. Changes made by the bill include the following: expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies, increasing polling site accessibility, providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general, requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place, validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering, and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility.
Policy Resources
Links to progressive bills and proposals currently making their way through the United States Congress
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