On Friday (January 18), an international coalition of Indigenous activists will host the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington D.C.
On January 18th, 2019, we are uniting the Indigenous peoples across the World to stand together to bring awareness to the injustices affecting Indigenous men, women and children from North, Central and South America, Oceania, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. #ipmdc19 pic.twitter.com/51Xz7cFV16
— Indigenous Peoples Movement (@IndigenousPpls) December 7, 2018
The action is a project of the Indigenous Peoples Movement, a grassroots collective that aims to mobilize these communities against political and environmental assaults on their autonomy. Ecuadorian Indigenous activist and protest co-organizer Nathalie Farfan told Remezcla yesterday (January 15) that the march will specifically advocate for policies that strengthen these communities’ rights and the election of politicians who honor them. She added that the march aims to encourage solidarity across geographic lines that White colonizers originally created.
“We’ve been colonized so much and in so many different ways, whether by the Spaniards or the Brits, so the European colonization is what’s really divided so many Indigenous people,” Farfan says. “That’s why we are saying unity is power, and we need all Indigenous people to come.”
The day will include a morning prayer, rally and concert with Indigenous musicians. There will also be solidarity marches across the U.S. and Canada. Learn how to register or otherwise support the action here.