Columbus/indigenous peoples day action

Today, most of you probably have a day off from school in celebration of "Columbus Day". That's definitely a perk, but there's a lot not to celebrate about Christopher Columbus himself.
When he arrived in the Americas in 1492, it began the genocide of Native Americans that's lasted until today. He and his crew stole the land of the Arawak and Taino tribes, exploited them, pillaged and wrecked their communities, forced them into Christianity and raped, enslaved and killed them. Since then, Native Americans in America have been consistently exploited, pushed aside and mistreated. It's too much to go into the full history right now (here's a great article to read if you're interested), but we can boil it down to this: the last thing that should be happening in 2017 is exploitation of Native Americans.
Here are two ways to celebrate Columbus Day (or Indigenous Peoples Day to some other parts of the country):​

Stand up against the dakota access pipeline

​What is it? In 2014, it was announced that an oil pipeline would be built in North Dakota. Originally, the route was planned to go just north of Bismarck, a major city in North Dakota, but there were citizen concerns. So where did they decide to reroute it? Right through the Sioux Tribe's Standing Rock reservation. Construction began in 2016. The environmental review of the pipeline was essentially incomplete, and immediately, many concerns rose. According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Sunoco Logistics, which is set to be the operator of the pipeline has been responsible for more oil spills and pipeline leaks than any other pipeline organization, with at least 203 leaks documented. If the Dakota Access Pipeline springs a leak, the oil will completely ruin the water supply of the Sioux tribe and destroy wildlife. The pipeline will also affect the farmland of the Natives. This has been classified as environmental racism, as the Sioux say the pipeline specifically threatens their "way of life, water, people and land." For most reservations-- areas of land Natives have been forced onto-- economic struggle is abundant, the education systems are failing and the federal government provides way too little funding. This pipeline will certainly not help. Additionally, the treatment of the protestors at Standing Rock has been terrible.

How you can speak out: Currently, the pipeline is still being built and the official "environmental review" has been postponed until the spring, even though it was originally planned to be finished by the end of 2017. You can call the government and urge them to stop construction until the review is over, and if you have the means, donate to the Standing Rock Water Protectors.
Script: Hi, my name is ___________, and I live in ____________. I'm calling to ask that construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline stop immediately and be cancelled and to stop the brutal treatment of Standing Rock Water Protectors. The pipeline threatens the life, land and water of the Sioux [pronounced Soo] people. It is diabolical to threaten such a basic right and resource such as water, and even more so considering the endless torture and terrorism Natives have endured in our country's history. I hope that you will separate ethics from party politics in order to see what an immoral and unjust act this is. Thank you.
Numbers: 202-514-2701 (Dept. of Justice Environment and Natural Resource Division); 202-761-8700 (DAPL comment line)
Resources: standingrockinfo.com; standingrock.org

CHECK out the Aclu of montana

While in Montana this summer, I had the honor of speaking with Meg Singer, the Indigenous Justice Outreach Coordinator of the ACLU of Montana. Montana is home to 7 reservations and has a large Native population. It’s also a mostly conservative state. While Native Americans make up 6.6% of the population of Montana, they make up 17% of the adult incarcerated population and 33% of the female incarcerated population. Singer shared with me some of the work she does with Native American kids who are being bullied in schools and at Montana state colleges and universities. She also identified one problem as being that Natives aren’t sure of what counts as a civil rights violation and so don’t always report a crime committed against them or a hate/racism-based violation of their rights.
Singer is the only staff member of the entire national ACLU who works exclusively on reservations, and she’s doing some great work (she also led the charge to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Bozeman, a major Montanan city). The ACLU of Montana receives money when you donate to the national ACLU, but check out some of the amazing things they’re doing and if you have the means, perhaps donate directly.
Website: ​aclumontana.org