Indigenous Peoples' Day
A letter from our executive director
Don't just celebrate. Act.
 

The ACLU-WA is a proud sponsor of KEXP's Indigenous Peoples’ Day programming, all day on October 9. On the air at 90.3 FM Seattle, worldwide at KEXP.org. 

Join us on October 21 for our Annual Celebration. This year’s theme “Dwell in Possibility” captures the expansive and healing vision of our keynote speaker Edgar Villanueva, member of the Lumbee nation, and author of “Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance.”

Watch an interview with illustrator Emma Noyes (Sinixt band of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation).  Her images are used on this page. Follow her on Instagram: @expertink

  • Brackeen v. Haaland: In June, the Supreme Court issued a landmark victory for tribal sovereignty by rejecting all the constitutional challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), legislation that seeks to ensure that Native families stay together, and that Native children are raised by tribal members. 

    This decision recognizes the centuries-long history of Native child removal pursuant to state and federal policies, but the work is far from over. Today, states still remove Native children from their families and tribes at alarmingly high rates. Fourteen states have already incorporated ICWA protections into their own codes, and several more states are poised to do the same. Read more

  • Juvenile Points: Last year we worked with partners to successfully end the practice of lengthening state prison sentences based on prior juvenile records, a practice that disproportionately impacts Indigenous people. Unfortunately, that legislation only applies to sentences going forward. This year we are fighting to make that change retroactive so that no one is left behind.

Find out whose land you're on: Native-Land.ca 

See the severity and scale of Native American Land Losses.

Learn from your local Tribe: Follow on social media, check out their websites, see if they have publications or other media outlets.

Attend an event:

Educate:


Support the Land Back Movement:
NDN Collective
Landback.org
Indigenous Environmental Network
Honor The Earth 

Advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women:
Sovereign Bodies Institute
MMIWHOISMISSING
National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (NIWRC)

Follow the hashtags: #MMIW, #MMIWG, #MMIWG2ST, #MMIP  

Listen – Read – Watch – Shop
 
Listen:
All My Relations
At Liberty: The Fight For Indigenous Education
At Liberty: It's Time to Tell Accurate Indigenous Stories
American Genocide Podcast by Illuminative
In Our Power by NDN Collective
Finding Our Way: Seeds, Grief, and Memory with Rowen White
Finding Our Way: Aloha ‘Āina with Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio
Parks Podcast: A podcast on the creation of U.S. National Parks, retold by Indigenous voices.
Seedcast by Nia Tero

Read:
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
Children’s books by Native authors, including Baby Speaks Salish by Emma Noyes

Watch:
Daughter of a Lost Bird by Brooke Swaney
Check out the past Indigenous Showcase series by Northwest Film Forum for ideas of what to watch

Shop:
Support Native artists through Eighth Generation
Use this directory to find other Native-owned businesses in your area
 


Learn more from these organizations and institutions and consider donating to them and supporting their work.

Washington:

 


National: