Greetings and Happy Summer from Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly, Inc!
The fateful decision by the Federal Supreme Court regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was made on June 15th, and we’re thrilled to share that the Act was upheld in a 7-2 vote! In our Featured Stories section, we have an opinion piece by Susanville Indian Rancheria member Fawn Robinson who talks about her experience with adoption in the context of ICWA and how important it is for tribal identity and sovereignty to be protected and maintained by all levels of government in the United States to prevent further genocide against Native peoples in the US.
We’re also featuring an article by Indian Country Today that talks about the pitfalls of how the United States government classifies and collects data on indigenous peoples in the country. Every Nation has its own unique history, culture, and context of its relationship with the United States, and it’s, therefore, difficult to represent the existence and needs of every Native person on the census. Not to mention that many Native people fall under the “2 or more” racial category, and many people end up falling through the cracks and leaving an incomplete picture of reality.
2023 also marks the 50-year anniversary of the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, by 200 Oglala Lakota and members of the American Indian Movement. We’re featuring an article by Dennis Zotigh where he reflects on the national and international attention that the occupation brought to Native peoples in the United States. He revisits the history, reasons, and circumstances behind the occupation and retells the story on behalf of the American Indian Movement (AIM) activists who are no longer here to tell it on their own.
Check out our Featured Stories section and more for all these amazing insights into what’s going on in Indian Country.
Also, don’t forget that the 7th annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Philly will be on Monday, October 9th, 2023! We can’t wait to see you again at Shackamaxon (Penn Treaty Park) this year!
As always, our quarterly newsletter is jam-packed with information and resources for all our readers, so be sure to sign up for our future installments!
Wanishi, Chaltumay, T’oyaxsut ‘nüüsm, Gracias, Thank You,
IPD Philly – Board & Editors
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NOTE: This publication was established in the Lenape-Unami territory known as Lenapehoking | U.S.A on Indigenous Land
