Water protector asks: “What is American culture?”

Latest

Nirvana Anulekha, shortly after returning to camp after being attacked and imprisoned by police.
PHOTO/BRETT JELINEK, OLAFIMAGES.COM

By Nirvana Anulekha, as interviewed by Adam Gottlieb, Diana Zwinak, and Brett Jelinek 

The following are excerpts from an interview with Nirvana Anulekha (Muscogee Creek Nation), Water Protector and Journalist with Indigenous Live Movement, at the Oceti Sakowin camp in Cannon Ball, ND, in October, 2016.
We’re uniting as people of culture, not people of color. And that’s powerful. And not yet have we been recognized, but this will show that recognition of people of culture, no longer the separation of people of color. No white, no Black, no red, no yellow. Eventually we will be seen as people of culture. All of us. And that’s the way we need to be treated, because we’re human beings, you know?
There’s no need for division. We all have culture, whether you’re from Europe, or whether you’re from Africa, or Asia, or even America—American culture. And that’s the biggest issue we have right now, what is American culture? And that’s what we have to face and we have to see the truth . . . not pull the wool over people’s eyes about what history we are really sharing.
And once we tear down those lies and start beginning to see the truth, we will be able to walk more in unity and solidarity together, because we’re healing from the trauma together. Because we all carry the trauma from our ancestors. Whether you’re European or Native, whether you’re African American, or whatever, we all have to deal with the trauma. That’s where we need to break the cycle now, to move forward to build as people of culture, not people of color. That’s all we can do.

The 1851 Treaty Camp at the front lines of the Standing Rock struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
PHOTO/BRETT JELINEK, OLAFIMAGES.COM

[We need] true American culture. There’s a lot of trauma here. But what we’re doing is gonna break that cycle. We need to continue doing that because it’s not just for water. It’s for the planet, it’s for the people. It’s for humanity. It’s for everything. This very movement, what we’re doing, the way that we move, is through sacredness. That’s important. This right here is gonna change the world, and I tell you, I feel it. It may not be easy right now, you know, you don’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there is.
So that’s the way we have to continue to move. And it’s worth the sacrifice, whether we die, or whether we live to tell the stories. Whatever. It’s totally worth it. Because it’s not just us here. It’s not just this physical group here. It’s what’s after . . . And we owe it to our ancestors. Whether our ancestors were a part of what was wrong, or whether your ancestors were a part of what was good, I think we owe it to our ancestors to unite in solidarity, to change this planet for the better.
Cuz this is our life source here. This is a living organism, it breathes, and we breathe. Just like the blood veins in our body, just as the rivers of this earth, we are one in the same. So it’s important that we respect one another as brothers and sisters, and it’s important that we respect this planet as if she were our mother. Cause she is.

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

‘We Need Urgent Global Climate Action’

Eighty-nine percent of people worldwide want their governments to do more to address the global climate crisis. Conference on tipping points says situation is urgent. Meanwhile U.S. govt does more to boost fossil fuel forms of energy.

May Day 2025: United We Will Win

International Worker’s Day is celebrated on May 1st around the world. Today, the entire U.S. working class, of which immigrants comprise an integral part, is under attack. The defense of immigrants is vital to the defense of the entire working class.

White School Officer Pepper-sprayed and Kneed Black Beaumont, TX Student, Complaint says. Will Feds Act?

A 6-second video, recorded by a teacher and reviewed by the Texas Observer, shows an officer grabbing a student’s hair, kneeing her in the face, and knocking the 100-pound girl on her back.

Pope Francis Dies After Easter Plea to End War in Gaza

"In his final public message, Pope Francis decried the “terrible conflict” in Gaza.

Bring Union Brother Kilmar Home: His Deportation Is an Attack on All of Us

The deportation of union brother Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a gut punch to the labor movement, a slap in the face to every worker who dares to organize.

More from the People's Tribune