Relatives,
It is from a place of deep love and power that we declare Indigenous solidarity and action in support of Black Liberation and Black power. With strong hearts, minds and actions, we stand and uplift our love for, and defense of, Black Lives.
Join us in taking action this week for the defense of Black lives
The Indigenous Environmental Network stands with Black Lives. We kneel with Black Lives. We cry with Black Lives and we fight for Black Lives. We dedicate ourselves to the liberation of Black people. We believe in protecting and expanding investment in community-led health and safety strategies, not funding racist police forces. We pledge to work alongside our Black relatives to collapse capitalist patriarchal colonial systems.
In this moment we lift up and center Black voices and the Black Lives Matter movement. This does not mean that police brutality inflicted upon Native communities is any less crucial to address. It does not mean that our struggles are any less important. In fact, standing in solidarity and supporting Black Lives Matter, addresses the root causes of that brutality- systemic racism and white supremacy. Dismantling these systems is the work we need to do together.
America is built upon genocide of indigenous peoples and the enslavement and labor of Africans; systems of racism, sexism, and the concentration of wealth and power among the few have been the foundation of a deeply unjust society. We have been pitted against one another to serve racist and divisive interests. We reject this false division and embrace the collective struggle.
As we continue to fight back in solidarity against colonization and white supremecist ideologies, we acknowledge the need to confront the anti-Black racism that exists within our own communities, in our families, and within ourselves. We pledge to embrace the ways in which our histories and families have been forever linked by blood, struggle, and love. We pledge to do the challenging work to build deeper solidarity. Our struggles are intertwined with each other.
Help us support the Movement For Black Lives (M4BL) and supporting allies mobilizing across the country, by rising up and saying “No More!”. The organizers of M4BL are inviting us and the Indigenous frontline to join them in a week of action June 1st – June 5th in Defense of Black Lives. This is an opportunity to uplift and fight alongside those speaking up in the streets and on the airwaves.
Change your social media profile pictures to the image below this week to show that you are committed to being in defense of Black lives and go to this website to learn how you can support!
- #DefendBlackLife #DefundPolice #IndigenousBlackSolidarity #BlackLivesMatter
- Tag @Mvmnt4BlkLives @indigenousrising @ienearth on social media during your actions
Together we are stronger. Together we are Family. Together we will prevail.
With Love for Black Lives and Prayers for All Our Relations