The Bobcat Beat
Beginning next week we will highlight important pieces of these histories. As Dr. Maisha Winn says in Justice on Both Sides, "History Matters...and the infinite journey of all educators is to learn about the historical contexts that affect the schools and communities we teach in. The Histories that make us uncomfortable and force us to look critically at the ... dynamics that characterize our schools."
And so each week in November, we will learn, lean in to the Histories and celebrate by honoring the cultures, histories, futures and lasting contributions of Indigenous communities. As educators, we commit to creating inclusive learning environments and a culture that uplifts and empowers each scholar and their voice.
This week we will honor Madonna Thunder Hawk.
Madonna Thunder Hawk was born in 1940 on the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota is a Native American civil rights activist best known as a member and leader in the American Indian Movement, co-founding Women of All Red Nations and the Black Hills Alliance, and as an organizer against the Dakota Access Pipeline. She is a principal in the Warrior Women Project, a collective for the development of scholarship, media, and activism around indigenous women’s stories, and tribal liaison for the Lakota People’s Law Project. A veteran of every Native occupation from Alcatraz to Standing Rock, she became active in the late 1960s. Thunder Hawk was a member and leader in the American Indian Movement, co-founding Women of All Red Nations and the Black Hills Alliance. She has spoken around the world and was a delegate to the United Nations. She established the Wasagiya Najin Grandmothers’ Group on Cheyenne River Reservation to help rebuild kinship networks and partnered to develop the Simply Smiles Children’s Village, a community of Native foster families.
