I am writing to you to bring attention to escalating injustices affecting Indigenous populations in the United States and Palestinian communities in Gaza. In a recent interview on Democracy Now!, Nick Tilsen, a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and the President of NDN Collective, articulated the ongoing trauma and systemic violence imposed on Indigenous communities, as well as the profound solidarity between Native Americans and Palestinians.
In his interview, Tilsen emphasized the demands of Native American communities for justice, healing, and reparative action after generations of colonization and oppression. Among these demands is accountability for the historical and ongoing harm from institutions like the residential school system, which sought to erase Indigenous identities and has inflicted intergenerational trauma. The Indigenous community’s requests are rooted in rights to sovereignty, land, and the preservation of their cultural heritage, as well as calls for systemic reforms to address economic, educational, and health inequities that continue to impact Native populations.
Tilsen’s discussion also highlighted striking parallels between the historic genocide against Native Americans and the current genocide being perpetrated upon Palestinians in Gaza by Israel and the United States. He noted that both Native Americans and Palestinians experience forced displacement, cultural erasure, and militarized violence intended to suppress and marginalize their communities. The ongoing blockade, dispossession, and violence in Gaza resonate deeply with Native histories of forced relocation, systemic deprivation, and cultural genocide within U.S. borders. In both cases, powerful state apparatuses continue to control, surveil, and economically disadvantage these communities, stripping them of self-determination.
This letter is a call to support policies that address these injustices. Specifically, we urge Congress and the administration to:
1. Support Indigenous-led healing initiatives that directly address the legacies of residential schools, including comprehensive funding for mental health services, education programs, and legal support for Indigenous land claims.
2. End U.S. complicity in international human rights abuses, especially in Palestine, by halting arms sales that contribute to the suffering of civilians and advocating for policies that protect the right to self-determination for all people.
3. Legislate reparative policies for Indigenous and other historically marginalized communities in the U.S., promoting policies that secure land, respect cultural autonomy, and provide justice-centered reparations.
I urge you to stand with Native and Palestinian communities in the face of colonization, as Nick Tilsen reminded us of the enduring resilience of Indigenous peoples and their fight for dignity and justice.
First sent on October 30 by BlueCollarJew
