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DECOLONIZING YOUR NEWSFEED

 

Cover art from the Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change Report

 

A NOTE | 01.29.21

 

I hate to do it, but this week’s edition of Indigenously reads more like a note—no Index, no media criticism; not even a quote. As much as I love crafting these segments each week, other demands have gotten the best of my time: writing deadlines, pandemic-restricted travel, rare opportunities (and did I mention deadlines?)

In this scaled-down version, I at least wanted to offer a little insight from Indian Country’s news cycle this week. One big headline was the half-measured victory for water protectors in their longstanding fight over the Dakota Access pipeline. After illegally averting an environmental review, DAPL operators are now court-ordered to conduct one. But they won’t have to shut down the line to do it—what the Standing Rock Tribe and other bands of the Oceti Sakowin have long-wanted.

DAPL news is only part of this week’s takeaway for me. What else captured my eye was actually something that’s hardly been written about at all: Wisconsin’s annual Task Force on Climate Change Report. I was tipped off about it last week while researching land acknowledgments for my essay about Biden’s bright beginning in Indian Country. I was told that the task force had done something bold, at least as far as state bureaucrats go: they declared that Wisconsin’s land was stolen from Indigenous Peoples, and they framed a good bulk of their report entirely around treaties and traditional knowledge. More fantastic: they included Native stakeholders to write the report.

As I tweeted, in many ways the Wisconsin report bests the Paris Climate Agreement which, despite criticism, has laid claim to Indigenous ways of knowing but without Indigenous participation. It’s a problem.

That Wisconsin has become a voice of environmental stewardship at a time when climate justice is having a promising moment in America is also interesting. The Great Lakes region has become a battleground for Big Energy. This week, 15 Republican congressional representatives sent a letter to President Biden urging him to rescind his nomination of Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary, calling her “a direct threat” to the nation’s energy agenda. Wisconsin Republican Tom Tiffany was among the signatories.

The DAPL has its place in these developments. The Wisconsin report mentions treaty rights numerous times in relation to land protections promised to Native nations. It’s the same logic that Standing Rock and other tribes have successfully argued in court. And the fight is far from over. A Feb. 10 status hearing in a federal district court will shift pressure on Biden to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline once and for all. For all his climate-focused policies being discussed at the start of his administration, this one play could define his entire environmental agenda. We know what water protectors want.

Enjoy Wisconsin’s climate report, and if anything jumps out at you, or if you have other related reading materials, please send them my way. And thank you so much for going along with my busy flow. Next week should be back on track.

In the meantime, I hope you find ways to give thanks and root down in these quieter days. I’m loving this new beginning. 🌿

Jenni

 

THE INDIGENOUS INTERNET

 

“Thanks for Giving” | @miaohki

 

ENDORSEMENT

 

This is maybe one of the best uses of philanthropic funding I’ve ever seen. The Spirit Aligned Leadership Program is a non-academic fellowship that generously funds an Indigenous woman elder (65+) and an emerging Indigenous woman leader (18-40) to work together on the inter-generational transfer of knowledge. The team must apply together. If you or someone you know has a strong proposal, hurry. Deadline is Feb. 01.

 

FEEDBACK

 

“Where’s my newsletter?”

Many Indigenously Readers

Somehow there was a glitch in sending out last week’s edition of Indigenously. Some of you got two editions, others got them late, and then there were those of you who didn’t get one at all? I’m still not done tracking down the problem with my service provider, but I’m hoping this edition doesn’t meet the same odds. All I can say is just how flattered I am that so many of you cared enough to reach out and inquire within. It makes this work truly rewarding.

Dawaa’e, thank you for being here!

P.S. There’s a link to our archives below in case you missed anything ⤵️

 

The Indigenously newsletter is produced by Jenni Monet (Laguna Pueblo)

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Unceded Territorial Tewa Lands, Santa Fe, NM, USA

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