By: Laura Medina

There once was a time I felt my identity never mattered. Being young I needed it affirmed yet only received it on tribal holidays and powwows. My mom being apart of the generation of stolen children, why Indian Child Welfare Act exists, was determined to explore who we are together.

Along the journey it took understanding how colonization worked against Indigenous people. It took acknowledging our displacement on other Indigenous peoples territory. At one point our living continued colonization and eventually through the process of decolonization we knew a paradigm shift was needed. The more our community put in the work to heal the more people saw a need to organize and create space, and this is how we came about as organizers.

There was a time I would keep a sharp eye out for the rare native events that were organized before social media, thankfully times have changed. Now we live in a time where there are so many events organized by Indigenous peoples and centering Indigenous voices. We are building discussion on much needed topics as it is our narrative that is transforming the way settler colonialist engage with us. Most people have a moral compass that dictates right and wrong behavior, with the actions of historical colonialism and the genocide that takes place it hits the heart of every ethical individual. Settlers are realizing we are people like them, and we love our family like them, and we want to live happily like them. For us every day we have to face a reality that our society was constructed to obliterate Indigeneity.

That is why, every single day is Indigenous Peoples Day, for our existence is resistance to the continued injustices and the institutions that uphold the colonial system.