Indigenous Peoples’ Day
I moved from Connecticut to Arizona in January 2021. Not long after moving here I was invited by a friend to join a weekend climbing trip in Central Arizona. They were super stoked to climb here and told me I’d get some great photos. The spot we were going to was Oak Flat, a historic place for climbing, but more importantly, the land is sacred to the San Carlos Apache. I was fortunate enough to witness (with permission) a coming-of-age ceremony, which has been done in this ancestral territory for thousands of years. After speaking with a neighboring camper, I learned about how Oak Flat was under extreme threat of being destroyed by a US-backed foreign mining operation.
Being from the Northeast US, the only exposure to Native American history is from carefully selected books and publications. Any existing remnants of the cultures within the Stolen Land have been virtually eliminated by settler-colonialism. I’ve often felt this void of Indigenous culture creates a disconnect between the people who live there and the urgency of Indigenous people’s rights.
Oak Flat reminded me there are significant pieces of culture and Land left that must be protected and returned. Oak Flat is no where near the Northeast, and may seem irrelevant to the people of where I am from, but the obligation to protect is more relevant than ever. Corporations continue to commit government-enabled ecocide on whats left of our native lands and their people. Indigenous peoples have consistently been the ultimate protectors of the Land. Justice for Indigenous peoples means justice for the planet.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is everyday.
For more info about Oak Flat and how to help, visit www.saveoakflatws.com and follow @protectoakflat on Instagram
To learn more about Indigenous Liberation, check out Common Notions recently published handbook by The Red Nation, “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth”. Follow @therednationmovement on Instagram , and visit their website therednation.org