R.A.G.E.

Waziyatawin – Indigenous People and the Revolution

Hello and welcome to the 16th edition

Of  R.A.G.E.  – Radio Against Global Ecocide

Coming to you from occupied  Amiskwacîwâskahikan

And special hello to all the true anti civ persons out there working to bring it down Roll on Roll on!!

Today’s guest is Waziyatawin, Dakato activist, author and feminist.

She also works as the Indigenous Peoples Research Chair and Associate Professor in the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Victoria

Her books include  - For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook; In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors: The Dakota Commemorative Marches of the 21st Century; and, her most recent volume, What Does Justice Look Like? The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland

Her website is here waziyatawin.net

Indigenous People and the Revolution

By Waziyatawin

Indigenous Peoples have been waiting for more than 500 years for the collapse of western civilization.  We knew the day would come when Indigenous ways of being would be vindicated, even by the invaders to our lands, and the hopelessly unsustainable ways of colonizing society would be proven foolish and destructive.  That day is rapidly approaching and many Indigenous Peoples are preparing for the reclamation of our homelands.

In strategizing about building sustainable communities, those who seek to inhabit North America must plan for the return of Indigenous Peoples to our homelands.  Long before invading forces colonized what is now the United States, Indigenous populations were a part of the land base rather than a destructive force upon it.  In fact, many Indigenous Peoples maintain stories about how our bodies were actually created from the earth. Thus, we are indigenous to the land, just as other plant beings and animal beings are also indigenous.

Further, we understood how to maintain spiritual relationships with these brothers and sisters.  To live as good relatives, we learned how to pray their survival and sing their well-being.  Our distinct societies survived for thousands of years precisely because balance and reciprocity in our relations are core values of our cultures.  Given our understanding about the interconnectedness of all beings, we knew if we wanted our future generations to endure, we had to strive for balance and sustainability.  Our ceremonies and spirituality connected us to the land and we existed as beloved children.  In the age of colonization, our mother has not forgotten us and she continues to call us home.  We are the ones who know how to restore those spiritual relationships.  Even if that knowledge has been temporarily lost because the colonizers have beaten it out of us, we have the means to recover it.

If you want to inhabit North America but choose not to develop future communities with Indigenous Peoples, or you ignore the primacy of our relationship to the land, you will make enemies of us.  In fact, you will become just the next wave of colonizers.  Though your desired communities might be more respectful to some indigenous plant and animal beings, when the revolution begins, so will the war with Indigenous Peoples.  If you want a future in which your children can potentially live peacefully, how you develop your notions of a future society with us is of fundamental importance.  As many Indigenous Peoples have done since invasion, we are training our children now for the reclamation of our inherent right to live freely in our homelands.  We will go to war with any population that attempts to prevent this.

On the other hand, if you choose to work as a non-Indigenous ally in support of Indigenous Peoples, you can assist us now in two primary ways.  First, you can help restore lands to us by working for the return of public or private lands, or by collaborating with Indigenous populations in the occupation and seizing of lands.  Second, you can help us by taking down civilization.  Every blow against American imperialism is an act for Indigenous liberation.  When the revolution begins, love the land as a beloved mother and respect our right to live freely.

The Full Show

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Waziyatawin Interview Only

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We’re Right Here  –  The Filthy Politicians

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Dail Up Version

Waziyatawin Inter view Only 24K

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