Politics Archives - We Are ILI

An image of Kim Teehee speaking in front of a microphone.

Chief Hoskin announces the appointment of a Cherokee Nation delegate to Congress

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced that the tribe is taking a historic initial step to enact the Cherokee Nation’s treaty right to send a delegate to the U.S. Congress. The Cherokee Nation delegate is referenced in both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and the Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the Cherokee Nation and the federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the Cherokee Nation and the United States. For nearly two centuries, Congress has failed to honor this promise. Yet the obligation to seat a Cherokee Nation delegate remains..Read More

Loren Waters August 1, 2019

A black and white photograph showing four men sitting at a table in front of microphones, with three men standing behind them.

Rainbow Coalition

“ The First Rainbow Coalition begins in 1969, when the Chicago Black Panther Party, notably led by Fred Hampton, forms alliances across lines of race and ethnicity with other community-based movements in the city, including the Latino group the Young Lords Organization and the working-class young southern whites of the Young Patriots.” More info: https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/the-first-rainbow-coalition/ https://southsideweekly.com/fifty-years-fred-hampton-rainbow-coalition-young-lords-black-panthers/

Sarah Sao Mai Habib March 1, 1969

Umbrella Revolution, Hong Kong, 2014

Carol Zou April 23, 2014

Formation of Black Lives Matter Network, 2013

Carol Zou April 23, 2013

Occupy Wall Street, 2011

Carol Zou April 23, 2011

United States Invasion of Iraq, 2003

Carol Zou April 23, 2003

The Gustafsen Lake standoff, August-September 1995

The Gustafsen Lake standoff was a confrontation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Ts’peten Defenders in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, at Gustafsen Lake (known as Ts’peten in the Shuswap language). The standoff began on August 18, 1995, and ended on September 17, 1995. The RCMP operation would end up being the most costly of its kind in Canadian history having involved 400 police officers and support from the Canadian Military (under Operation Wallaby). The predominantly indigenous occupiers believed that the “grazing rights privilege” ranch land on which they stood was both sacred space and part..Read More

Joel Garcia August 18, 1995

The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico

The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico On 1 January 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), an indigenous armed organization, declared war on the Mexican Government, demanding “work, land, housing, food, health, education, independence, liberty, democracy, justice and peace.” The EZLN movement was an eye-opening event for both the Mexican government and the non-indigenous population to realize the alarming situation of indigenous people in Chiapas. The indigenous conflict in Chiapas not only provoked a domestic awareness of indigenous rights, recognition and self-determination, but also an international awakening on these issues.

Joel Garcia January 1, 1994