Take Action Tuesday

As #NativeAmericanHistoryMonth comes to a close, we ask that our 500 Women Scientists community take time this week to a) honor the contributions of Native scientists, b) acknowledge how history—including the history of science—has worked to erase and delegitimize Native identity, and importantly, c) help redress those wrongs by holding individuals and academic institutions accountable for centering Native narratives. To these ends:

1.     Recognize that the dominant narrative of Thanksgiving often elides the impacts that settlers have had and continue to have on Native communities. Thanksgiving is not a celebration for everyone. The United American Indians of New England describes Thanksgiving as: 

“a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.”

This Take Action Tuesday, we encourage you to seek out Native perspectives on Thanksgiving, such as by reading the posts below:

• A Thanksgiving Message from Seven Amazing Native Americans

• Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Dos and Don'ts

• What it’s Like to be a Native Trans Woman on Thanksgiving

2. Follow, subscribe, and financially support the work of Native scholars, journalists, business owners, and organizations who work to center indigenous communities, their cultures, and the issues they face. These include:

• Media Indigena, Indian Country Today, National Native News 

• Indian Law Resource Center

• Mariah Gladstone’s IndigiKitchen

• Candis Callison’s How Climate Change Comes to Matter: The Communal Life of Facts 

• Shawn Wilson’s Research is Ceremony

• Maka Monture Paki’s list of organizations to support this Thanksgiving

• Native owned small businesses near you

3. Ask your institution to hold itself accountable. As starting places for this work:

• Check if your institution is part of the Thirty Meter Telescope, and if so, ask how it will address the rights of Native Hawaiians. Hear from Native Hawaiians themselves by following the #MaunaKea conversation on Twitter and other platforms.

• Ask your department to begin events with a thoughtful land acknowledgement.

• If you teach a course, read how you might begin decolonizing your curriculum. 

Photo by Sime Basioli on Unsplash