Venice Beach, California – To the local Gabrieleno/Kizh tribe of Los Angeles, the area of Venice Beach is known as Sa’Angna, meaning “Place in the Sun.” Community members took action Monday to honor the struggle for the planet and the rights of indigenous peoples as well as remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., participating in a round dance and drum circle held on the sand.
“The ground on which we stand is sacred land. It is the blood of our ancestors.” Chief Plenty Coups, Oglala Lakota
“I’m confronting those profiting from the destruction of human life and property through the continued burning of non-renewable carbon-intensive fuels.” – Peter Jefferson Nichols, Venice Beach CA
New Orleans, Louisiana – On Saturday January 20th, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe and Ilse de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe stood in solidarity with their Attawapiskat brothers and sisters and Chief Therese Spence as part of an ongoing struggle against issues that directly affect their way of living – including land loss, loss of tribal sovereignty and industrial pollution in these dire times for the people of Mother Earth.
The event included an offering of prayers, round dance, presentations, and more, as the community united in one voice for all of our relations and in protection of our Mother Earth. Let our voices be heard, let us take action, let us be Idle No More!
Watch their video here.
Upcoming events
This week, communities across the across the continent are making noise to say NO to tar sands extraction and to demand an end to the fossil fuel industry’s path toward ecocide. The anti-extraction movement is growing and it is everywhere. Idle No More’s international day of action on January 28th follows shortly after Tar Sands Free Northeast’s week of action culminating on January 26th.
ACTIONS IN : New York, Alabama, Washington DC., Tennessee, British Columbia….
….For a comprehensive list of solidarity actions with groups around the world, visit http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/current-solidarity-actions/
The Idle No More Movement is a revitalization of the ongoing indigenous resistance to the exploitation of the earth and the suffering of indigenous peoples. Idle No More emerged after the introduction of Bill C-45 in Canada, which alters legislation of 64 acts and regulations. Especially alarming are the changes that Bill C-45 proposes to the Indian Act, the Navigation Protection Act, and the Environmental Assessment Act. For centuries, indigenous communities have felt the brunt of the systematic, capitalistic greed that has torn apart the land on which we are only temporary visitors. Idle No More embraces indigenous culture and tradition and is a push to return to traditional relations to the land upon which we live.
Across the continent, people of all creeds and cultures are banding together to resist imperialistic ecocide. By adopting indigenous culture as a platform to protest, people are acknowledging the traditional and deep-rooted relationship to the land and the importance of returning to the ancient mindset of a people who understand what it means to be guardians of the earth.