American Indian Studies Association Conference Keynote AddressIndigenous Activism: Our Resistance, Our Revitalization, Our Indigenous Native Studies: And Our Healing within Our Indigenous Context (or From Alcatraz 1969 to Standing Rock 2017. Or Perhaps—Truth Be Bold—Liars, Killers, Thieves Invade Sacred Stone Camp)

Weeyanah-ehyuu uu oooh
Weeyanah-eh' yuu 'ooo 'oooo
Now we know oh what we must do ooo
Henaah shrow uh weeyaah hay nehyah
The land shall endure, there will be victory
The people shall go on, we shall have victory
Yes we know oh what we must do ooo
Yes, let's do so oooh' weeyah hay neh yah
The land shall endure, we will have victory
Our people shall go on, we shall have victory

Haahtse. Land. Ooyuugaiyih. Culture. Dzah-aah-shteetrah. Community. Land and culture and Community. Our Land—Our Culture—Our Community. Firmly. Strongly. Loudly. OUR LAND. OUR CULTURE. OUR COMMUNITY. Firmly. Strongly. Loudly.

Say it. Speak it. Voice it. Live it. Voice it. Voice it again. And again. Own it. It is ours to own. All ours.

We must own it. We have to. We need to. There is no other choice. We must own what is ours. Our Indigenous past, including the destructive and devastating imposition of Euro-American colonialism upon it, is ours. It is still ours. Land—Culture—Community is still our responsibility and obligation. All of it. It is still our responsibility; it is still our obligation; all of it. Own it then. It is ours to own. All ours.

We, as Indigenous peoples, must own this truth in every sense of the word and meaning. No matter how difficult it may be to contend with such a meaning, our Indigenous past is still ours. In fact, our Indigenous past depends upon our Indigenous present dealing with it. Because our present needs our Indigenous past. Because our Indigenous present wants us to be honest, sincere, and engaged with it. Our future wants it, in fact. Because our Indigenous future depends on our willingness to deal with our Indigenous present and past.

And like I said, there is no other choice because it is a choice we make, to claim and own what is ours.

Essentially this has to do with our Indigenous continuity. Our ancestors—grandmothers and grandfathers of our peoples way way back, meeshruh hamaah, way back, yuunah kaatyah kah-shraitih, way long years ago into the past—spoke of our Indigenous continuity when they spoke of the future, likely speaking of now, like the now that's right here with us now. Yes, the now that is now! They said we must respect life and land with our love, in other words, with our bodies-hearts-mindssouls or spirits no matter what. Because land and life are together, and they are us. In terms of responsibility and obligation specifically. To me, there is no question about that. Yes, as Indigenous peoples, with responsibility and obligation, we are together with land and life.

Indigenous activism is basic to our bodies, minds, souls or spirits, and to our core beings as human persons within our Indigenous communities. As Indigenous peoples, we know activism from the traditional teachings of our ancestral peoples all across these lands of the Americas that are namely the continental lands of South and North America connected by Central America. Yes, even if we—some of us anyway—did not grow up and were raised to experience, acquire, and develop fully within the traditionalism of Indigenous social-cultural communities, we still, none the less, have and retain activism, a spiritual mind-set, within our cultural DNA that's everlastingly embedded in our Indigenous consciousness and continues to be there from generation to generation.

Meh yuu'nah shraah-haa'nuuh-stutaah'ah. We are still our peoples. From time everlasting and continuing, we are still our peoples. Eh shruuweh wai-ih dai'steeyuuqkuu, meh yuu'nah shraah-haa'nuh nuhtaah-ah shruustah! And from this day forward, still we shall be our people existing!

Indigenous activism moves forward with assurance when our Indigenous continuity is assured. Indigenous activism, in fact, surges forward with assurance when continuity is positive...