Choose one thing to read, watch, listen to, do, or engage with today. Try to mix it up each day between the categories!

READ

Advancing Indigenous futures with two-eyed seeing: Strategies for restoration and repair through collaborative research This article builds on the Indigenous research concept of two-eyed seeing, that is, learning from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing. by Carolyn Smith, Sibyl Diver, Ron Reed Sage Journals (2023)

4 Ways To Honor Without Appropriating Culture by Four specific asks of allies and why each matters. Taté Walker (Lakota) everyday feminism (2014)

Changing the Narrative About Native Americans - Guide for Allies Extensive guide initiated by Reclaiming Native Truth, a collaborative initiative of Echo Hawk Consulting and First Nations Development Institute, and added to by many others. (2014)

American treaties: What it would mean if the US honored them The US has signed hundreds of treaties with Indigenous peoples. Here’s what would happen if the government actually honored them. By Rory Taylor Vox.com (2019)

Decolonization is not a metaphor Current trends to “decolonize” are often confused and conflated with ongoing social justice initiatives in ways the undermine true decolonization and instead recenter whiteness and settler privilege. by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang (2012) focus on pages 1-10

9 Facts About Native American Tribes There are more than nine million Native Americans living in what is now the United States, representing hundreds of tribal nations with incredibly diverse languages, cultures and traditions. Here are just a few fascinating facts about the tribes and histories of Native Americans. by Michelle Cyca History Channel (2022)

WATCH

Creating A More Equitable Society Is In White Americans’ Self Interest Dr. Ibram X. Kendi joins Stephen Colbert to discuss what it takes to call one’s self antiracist and how he believes it’s in everyone’s interest to end the racist policies that cause inequality in this country. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2020) 12 minutes T CC

Trudell Documentary about American Indian activist and poet John Trudell that traces Trudell’s life from his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska through his role as a leader of the American Indian Movement. Available on multiple platforms (2005) 80 minutes

LISTEN

Recovering the Voice of Native Americans in the Classroom Jenna Chandler-Ward interviews Native American educator Claudia A. Fox Tree (Arawak) about how we learn about Indigenous Peoples in school- or don’t. Teaching While White podcast (year?) 30 minutes

Gentle book, giant impact: 10 years of Braiding Sweetgrass Author Robin wall Kimmerer and readers around the world share how this humble book spread like seeds in the wind around the world, selling more than 1.6 million copies in the US alone. Unreserved (2024) 51 minutes

Listen to the song Indanee by Folk Singer Pat Humphries

BRING IT HOME

Evaluating American Indian Materials and Resources for the Classroom Montana Office of Public Instruction

Iroquois or Haudenosaunee? Onondaga storyteller Perry Ground explains the difference, and why the distinction is important.

Frozen 2 Discussion Questions These questions are written with non-Indigenous families in mind, can be adjusted for the age of kids, and contain spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie, proceed with caution!

Claudia A. Fox Tree, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Russ Cohen at Brandeis University, 2024

DO

Follow Indigenous activists, educators, and organizations on social media. Here are some ideas to get you started. Ally proTip: follow +, quote, repost, and retweet!

Attend a [Social Distance] Pow Wow. Prep for Pow Wow here, here, and here

Research an Indigenous issue in your area, join it, and/or take action:

Removing monuments or placing new monuments/placards nearby
Not Your Mascot campaign [writing letters to public officials]
Current local repatriation requests
Local tribal, state, and federal recognition requests
Environmental racism/damage
Controversies around building a casino
Water/hunting/fishing rights [usually related to treaties, access to pathways]
Current Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act [NAGPRA] cases

Support Indigenous commerce by purchasing Indigenous gifts and goods. Here are some sites to get you started:

Sweetgrass Trading Co
Pacific Northwest Shop
Shop Native
Beyond Buckskin

EXPLORE & REFLECT

Reflect on the Agent Skills Model on page 38 to see where you are and where you want to be in terms of being an Ally.

Invite a friend[s], family, and/or colleague to do this challenge with you. Interrupt the pattern of white silence by speaking openly with family, friends, and colleagues about what you’re doing and learning in this challenge.

Does your school, workplace, or faith group have an Equity Committee? Share this with them. Can they make it a school-wide initiative, particularly in the fall when two especially oppressive “holidays” [observances] occur? Why should we use a word other than holiday?

Explore this online Indigenous bookstore, paperbacks & frybread

Explore this website about Native American activist

Leonard Peltier who’s spent over 40 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Prosecutors and federal agents manufactured evidence against him. People are commonly set free due to a single constitutional violation, but Peltier - innocent and faced with a staggering number of constitutional violations - has yet to receive equal justice.

Treaties: Being a Co-Conspirator [Ally]

Choose one thing to read, watch, listen to, do, or engage with today. Try to mix it up each day between the categories!