
American Indian Education Program
April, 2023
April
Iskigamizige-giizis • Maple Sap Boiling Moon (Ojibwe)
Wi Itopa – Fourth Month (Dakota)
Wozupi Wi – Planting Moon begins April 19 – May 18 (Dakota)
Boozhoo
My name is Fonda Smith and I am a Cultural Family Advocate for the 196 American Indian Education Program. This month I am responsible for the newsletter. This months newsletter features the importance of honoring the earth for the future generation of our people.
Chi mii gwetch! Thank you.
HONOR
“We only have one earth. Let's take care of it.”
Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo
Secretary of Department of Interior
The month of April acknowledges Earth Day. For Native Americans, every day is Earth Day. Traditionally and culturally, Native Americans maintain their relationship with Unci Makha (Dakota word for Grandmother Earth) by protecting the land and water.
There was a time when factories would release black clouds of toxic smoke into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream, which was perfectly legal. They could not be taken to court to stop it.
There was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, when a United States senator from Wisconsin organized a national demonstration to raise awareness about environmental issues. In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EARTH DAY- AKI (Ojibwe) Day
Why is Earth Day so important?
It draws attention to the environment and promotes conservation and sustainability. Each year on 22 April, around 1 billion individuals across more than 190 countries take action to raise awareness of the climate crisis and bring about behavioral change to protect the environment.
Why should we protect the Earth?
Although the environment can continue to survive in its natural state, human intervention has caused extensive destruction in many ecosystems. It is very important for us to protect our environment, so that we can continue to live on this planet - in a healthy and safe atmosphere.
Did you know?
- The planet is losing 4.7 million hectares of forests every year – an area larger than Denmark.
- A healthy ecosystem helps to protect us from these diseases. Biological diversity makes it difficult for pathogens to spread rapidly.
- It is estimated that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction.
Resources:
Lessons of Our Land:
https://www.lessonsofourland.org/sample-lessons
Dakota Spirit Walk
TRUTH
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
In January 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline was unanimously approved for construction to create a direct route to transport crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. The controversial pipeline would destroy ancestral burial grounds and poison the water supply for a sovereign nation and all those that relied on the Missouri River. The response of the Tribal people was to be known as the No DAPL Protests. The historic event was about sovereignty, Tribal homelands but most important was the respect of the earth.
In 2016, on the home of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, an unwarranted armored vehicles rolled in. Law enforcement used automatic rifles, sound cannons, and concussion grenades against water protectors
Personnel and equipment pouring in from over 75 law enforcement agencies from around the country and National Guard troops created a battlefield-like atmosphere at Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation. The mission was to intimidate and silence water protectors’ free speech and their right to protest a pipeline which passes near the sovereign homelands of the Standing Rock Sioux. Thousands from across the globe have joined in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stop the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The protest brought together 200 or so tribes that have not united for more than 150 years.
Resources:
Youth of Standing Rock
https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2017/05/Youth-of-Standing-Rock-lesson-plan.pdf
Treaties Still Matter
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/plains-treaties/dapl
Seventh Generation
RESPECT
How are Indigenous people involved in climate change?
In the U.S., Native Americans have long been regarded as ecosystem architects, taming nature and molding it in ways to sustain their needs for food and shelter. The anthropological evidence suggests this is true in most places around the world.
First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples have been at the forefront of the impacts of climate change. Many Indigenous leaders have reinforced the need to take action to reduce pollution, to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and to improve the ways in which the natural environment is respected and protected.
Indigenous Organizations in the state of Minnesota leading the forefront on environmental and climate justice:
Honor the Earth, White Earth, MN. Founder, Winona LaDuke, White Earth Ojibwe Nation
Winona LaDuke is a longtime and well-recognized Indigenous rights activist, working tirelessly on issues connected to climate change, human rights, green economies, clean water, local foods, and renewable energy.
LINK:
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is an alliance of Indigenous Peoples whose Shared Mission is to Protect the Sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination & exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting Indigenous teachings and natural laws.
IEN activities include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments; developing mechanisms to protect sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, and the health of all living things; and building economically sustainable communities.
Link: