Native Lives Matter

12/05/2024

THE HISTORIC RETURN OF TATANKA

Something extraordinary happened in the Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation this week!

Thanks to a generous gift from the nearby Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, bison are once again roaming on Birdtail land for the first time in more than a century.

Eleven young bison, including a sacred white female calf, were presented in an emotional community celebration. The Tatanka were released into their pasture as the bison song was being sung.

Please turn up your volume and enjoy witnessing history in the making!

12/02/2024

Joshua Papigatuk, 26, was killed when Nunavik police opened fire on Nov. 4 in Salluit, Que. His twin brother, Garnet Papigatuk, was seriously injured and flown to hospital.

Tears were shed, hugs were exchanged and words of solidarity were shared at a protest in Montreal on Saturday calling for justice for two brothers who were shot last month by police in Nunavik, Que.

12/02/2024

Since 2000, over 16 per cent of those killed through police use of force were Indigenous, though they make up only five per cent of the Canadian population, according to data collected by Tracking (In)Justice, a project by Carleton University, University of Toronto and Queen’s University, tracking police-involved deaths nationally.

Families of people who died in police encounters say getting accountability is a long journey and sometimes proves impossible.

11/30/2024

The descendants of a 19th-century federal official decided to return a prized collection of heirlooms to a descendant of a Lakota leader, Chief Spotted Tail.

11/28/2024

As Indigenous Peoples, we reject the celebration of colonial holidays that are rooted in the GENOCIDIAL erasure of Indigenous Peoples from Turtle Island to Palestine, and beyond.

The one-sided, false narrative of “Thanksgiving” was forged to conceal the violent and brutal stealing of Indigenous lands and the attempted destruction of our cultures. This narrative ultimately romanticizes and glorifies colonialism while ignoring the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples who are fighting for survival, justice, and sovereignty.

We also continuously demand and organize for — to exercise our inherent sovereign rights, to repair our relationship with Mother Earth, and rebuild connections with one another and all life. This is about ensuring a future where Indigenous ways of life are honored, protected, and upheld for generations to come.

Support Indigenous-led movements today and forever GLOBALLY—movements dedicated to defending our lands, waters, languages, and traditions for the benefit of all people and Mother Earth. Your monetary support sustains organizations like ours, and your solidarity helps amplify our work so if able make your impact today at ndncollective.org/donate.

Follow and support these Indigenous-led organizations + all the other grassroots groups supporting LANDBACK and join the movement to defend, develop, and decolonize:





+Others

11/28/2024

At 12 years old, Cree piano prodigy spreads ‘medicine’ through music.

Adam Smallboy and his family are from Maskwacîs, and although he plays masterfully — he doesn’t have years of training. He taught himself to play the piano by ear in a matter of months. On any given day, can find Adam playing at any one of the public pianos throughout “Calgary.”

Adam treasures music for its ability to spread joy and create connections. He comes from a tight-knit family who all uplift their children’s musical skills and talents together. It was his aunt who first posted a video on TikTok of Adam playing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, which now sits at 54,000 views, and with over 500 comments lifting up the young nêhiyaw.
Tanya says the best thing to do is listen to your children and be there to nurture their gifts.

Adam first learned to play piano when watching his older brother play, he says that was his inspiration to learn. It was intergenerational.

Ashton Smallboy is Adam’s older brother and was the first among the four brothers to learn to play piano by ear.

Tanya Bruno (Adam's mom) advises other parents whose children are musically advanced to listen to their kids and watch for their talents and skills.

“I wanted to put them in lessons for a long time, [but] financially it hadn’t been very easy for me to do. It didn’t stop us though,” she said.

Adam is continuously refining his skills with the hope of inspiring his little brothers to learn the piano — and he dreams of creating his own music.

When asked what advice he gives to other kids who are interested in learning to play an instrument, Adam’s guidance was straightforward.

“Practice, practice every day,” he said.

(Full article at Indiginews dated Oct 21/24)

11/27/2024

Read: https://bsky.app/profile/decolonizemyself.bsky.social/post/3lbrhisaoos2c

The grandparents of a teen who was killed by RCMP in a northern Manitoba First Nation say they can't fathom why police would see the need to use lethal force on the boy they helped raise since he was a toddler.

Elgyn Muskego was shot by RCMP in the early hours of Friday on Norway House Cree Nation, about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg. He was 17.

Police say the teen was holding an edged weapon, and that he didn't drop it despite numerous demands for him to do so. The RCMP says that when he moved closer to the officers, one of them shot him.

11/12/2024

In 2021, Washington lawmakers created the nation's first state-funded office to investigate police killings like Chiefstick's, providing an extra layer of accountability for deadly use-of-force incidents that disproportionately impact Native Americans but that are rarely prosecuted.

Most cases under review involve the deaths of Native Americans

11/12/2024

Good ole girl Kkkristi Noem has been appointed Homeland Security 😂😂😂

11/09/2024

❤🖤💛🤍

A strategy meeting for Pipestone hosted by the Brave Heart Society will be at Fort Thompson on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation on November 25, 2024.

11/06/2024

Remembering John T. Williams ❤🖤💛🤍

We remember John T. Williams
Free screening of Honor Totem

11/06/2024

White Supremacy Wins Again.....