This year, Indigenous People’s Day has more urgency than ever. The great social upheavals of 2020 have opened the floodgates for marginalized groups to voice their concerns over centuries of injustices on these lands. Kolton Nephew is a co-founder of the USC Native American Student Assembly. He is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Kolton Nephew is also a reporter for Annenberg Media. He says that recent social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, have led to increased unity among oppressed groups of people. So we see that without Black liberation, there can be no indigenous sovereignty.
Kolton Nephew: The Black community and the Native American community, are both marginalized and have felt, you know, the brutal historical traumas from this nation. But as long as we’re able to stand in solidarity with our relatives, and show that, you know, kind of adding on to the more bigger discussion of that this country is still built upon, you know, the enslaved people and their hard work and the stolen treaties and land that was taken away from our ancestors as well, though, it’s kind of showing more support for each other’s communities.
This is LA’s third year of celebrating Indigenous People’s Day. Local events include a virtual tour of The Autry’s Indigenous Art and Activism exhibition, to murals and street art created by indigenous artists across the city, to a virtual Native American Films Showcase hosted by the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Nephew: Early in the year the Navajo Nation was the worst hit in the whole nation with with being the highest infection rate per capita out of the outbuilding even New York State at its highest.
That’s Kolton Nephew again. He says that often among Indigenous communities, multiple generations live in one household which makes it too easy for COVID-19 to spread.
Nephew: So, you know coronavirus really shed light on multiple array of issues that, you know, Native communities have faced always the health disparities that we face, in that, you know, we can’t rely too much on you know, the health services are given to us because they can’t adequately, you know, they’re not suited for such, you know, they didn’t they were not suited or need for such a big, you know, population of people to be hospitalized.
That’s why this year’s day honoring Indigenous Peoples has an extra importance, says Kolton Nephew.
Nephew: Well, I think it’s just the acknowledgement that we are still here, as Indigenous People ... I think this day means a lot for Indigenous People, but should also be extended towards non-indigenous people, as well as a welcome for this day is for us, and we invite you to learn as much about us, but also take this into the future as well.
As Kolton Nephew says we are, after all, honoring the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles Basin.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Catherine Orihuela.