Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Not get so defensive. We got cops and deeds and rhyme reason and gas light us. We are not the same. We on the scene, we pass typing cuz y'all don't care about us. And we ain't come to ask. We just mind up businessing and people be so suck and mad. So pass the gun and mask and pass the athe. Nu Y'all can really kill us for anything. Y'all just bend the laws, the performance art, the same performative saving the racist head of normative. You
Speaker 1 00:00:24 Can burn a the whole thing down. Yeah, you can burn it all. I don't care if y'all uncomfortable, we can burn whole thing down. You can burn it, burn it, burn it down. Couldn't care about it. Not zone. You can burn a whole thing down down. Y'all don't really care about a brother until we burn. Yeah, we, yeah.
Speaker 3 00:01:13 Views from the ground. Views
Speaker 4 00:01:15 From the damn
Speaker 3 00:01:15 Ground views from the ground views from the damn ground views from the ground views from the damn ground. And that's on that, on that on that. Yeah. So, uh, this is dj, uh, you're agender host, uh, use day, them pronouns.
Speaker 4 00:01:31 Uh, my name is Jalen. I use she her pronouns.
Speaker 5 00:01:34 My name is Brandon. I use he him pronouns.
Speaker 3 00:01:38 And we're gonna get into it with our
Speaker 4 00:01:42 Segment. Um, actually, yeah, the segment's a little different this well today and I hope that's okay. Um, so I wanted to talk about black August. Um, so Black August honors the freedom fighters, especially those inside the walls of our sprawling in prison industrial complex, um, who have a deep love for our communities and are leading us towards the horizon of liberation. Um, black August is an invitation to reflect on the struggle of the black freedom, uh, excuse me, to reflect on the history of the black freedom struggle to celebrate those who have come and gone before us and to commit to continuing this fight of justice in liberation until we went. Um, so, um, upon this, I mean, black August is a special month, uh, for black power building. Uh, rev there's been so many different revolutionary moments in August, so it's kind of, it makes sense why August was picked. Uh, there was the white, the Watts, uh, uprising. Um, and then there was the Haitian Revolution. Uh, the Nat Turner Rebellion started in August. Um, the March on Washington was in August. And also, uh, many revolutionaries birthdays, including Marsha p Johnson, uh, Fred Hampton and Marcus Garvey. Um, and so have you heard of Black August before?
Speaker 3 00:03:06 Yeah. Um, I think I became aware of Black August, probably like 2018. 2019.
Speaker 4 00:03:12 Okay, cool. Cool. How did you hear about it?
Speaker 3 00:03:15 That's that, that's actually really funny. I actually have no idea. Okay. You did. It was just like,
Speaker 4 00:03:20 It came into consciousness.
Speaker 3 00:03:22 It just like came into consciousness. <laugh>. And then I remember last year, um, I made a, I was talking to all the library they were making, like, uh, at the library. They were making different book lists. In August, they did National Pirate Month or something.
Speaker 4 00:03:40 Okay.
Speaker 3 00:03:41 Continue. I, and I was just like, I was like, we're not gonna do black August. And everyone was like, what's that? And I was just like,
Speaker 4 00:03:47 <laugh>, what we're not gonna do is pirates, <laugh> <laugh>. That much
Speaker 3 00:03:52 Was clear. That was very clear.
Speaker 4 00:03:55 You ain't know what, but you knew that much. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. That is funny. Um, Brandon, have you heard of Black August before?
Speaker 5 00:04:02 Uh, I've heard about it since like, uh, after 2020 when everyone was trying to be as woke as they could be. Um, alright, but <laugh> all right. Yeah, I guess I've never really learned like the background or anything behind it, uh, for the most part, but I don't know, I'm all always about celebrating blackness. Oh,
Speaker 4 00:04:24 Absolutely. Well, I'm here to tell you guys a little bit more about it. Um, I think I'm gonna take the month of August to highlight different revolutionaries, um, in our struggle for black liberation. So black August, uh, began in the 1970s, uh, to mark the assassination of imprisoned, uh, black Panther author in revolutionary George Jackson, uh, during a prison rebellion in California at 19 years old. Uh, he was convicted of armed robbery in 1961, um, and was sentenced to something called, uh, one year to life term that that was his sentencing. Hmm. <laugh> meaning prison administrators had complete an arbitrary control over the length of his sentence. Um, he never lived outside of prison again and ended up spending 11 years in prison. About seven of those in solitary confinement, um, of those 11 years, uh, with the, you know, environment of extreme racism, repression in state control.
Speaker 4 00:05:27 And that just blows my mind cuz like the robbery was like $70 Now, back in the day it was, you know, more, but still like, they were able to say, this is what we're going to do and we're not sure how long we're gonna keep you here, but it could be a single year of your life or the rest of your life. Like, I haven't heard of anything like that since <laugh>. Um, and that is, I mean, under those conditions is where George Jackson's, uh, political fire was ignited. Um, he became an inspiration, uh, to many other, other revolutionaries. Um, and it is something that, um, is I think a theme of, uh, people who, you know, when they're, um, incarcerated, sitting with books and learning and, um, getting connected in a way that they just never have before. Um, in prison, Jackson was first exposed to radical political, uh, excuse me, politics by his inmate, uh, w l Nolan, um, with Nolan's guidance.
Speaker 4 00:06:23 Jackson studied, uh, many other revolutionaries, um, Carl Marx, um, Franz Fanan, uh, many others. And, um, Jackson and Nolan kind of created this cadre and coalition of folks, cuz at the time they were imprisoning many panthers. And so they ended up in the same, um, jails, like, well, most of the time, same jails. And they had to, you know, build these communities and stand up for, um, you know, different rights that were being, um, you know, mistreated and misrepresented, uh, during the time. Um, and during that time, many other political, excuse me, many other prisoners dedicated themselves to raising political consciousness among the prisoners to organizing their peers, uh, in the California prison system. Uh, they had different study sessions on radical philosophy, uh, and convene groups, uh, like the third word, world Coalition, uh, and started the San Quintin prison chapter of the Black Panther Party.
Speaker 4 00:07:22 Did you guys know that there was a prison chapter of the Black Panther Party? I did not. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> like, I don't know, I'm just like, you know, the cool things that they don't tell you about like ever <laugh> and you gotta dig real deep. And I've just, I don't know. I love being able to share this and I don't know to see what people, people's thoughts on it. Um, so while in jail he published two, or excuse me, um, after his death, uh, he published two books, Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye. Um, it was, um, very clear that, well, during his 11th year, it was clear that he would never get any parole. And then his 17 year old brother, Jonathan Jackson, actually staged an arm attacked on the courthouse, uh, in attempt to get his brother and other revolutionaries out, uh, when they were being, I mean, it was a state of things.
Speaker 4 00:08:12 It was a real like moment <laugh>, it was a real moment. And it's just something that I get, I think people don't really know it. I thought that was interesting, like his little brother was willing to do that. And these were just very different times. Um, and on, on August 21st, 1971, um, after a year, um, of that, um, when his brother trying to get him out, he was assassinated by a prison guard. It is assumed, uh, but the facts are disputed with his death. Um, they allege that he smuggled a gun into the prison in, in attempt to escape, he was killed. Um, but you know, a lot of people don't really agree with the police narrative on that because, you know, we don't usually believe the police narrative. Uh, and literary giant, um, James Baldwin wrote that no black person will ever believe that George Jackson died in that way.
Speaker 4 00:09:08 Uh, that they tell us they did. So James Baldwin for the win. Um, have you, I don't know. I feel like I'm talking a lot. Keep going. Okay. Okay. Um, while the particular circumstances of Jackson's death, uh, will forever remain contested, his death, uh, to me is a political assassination in his re in his revolutionary imprint, uh, cannot be extinguished, uh, through the efforts of George Jackson, his brother Jonathan, his cellmate, uh, Nolan, and many other revolutionaries, um, the seventies became a decade of widespread organizing and political struggle within the prisons. Uh, prisoners demanded and into, um, just the plethora of things that are wrong with the prison industrial complex. Um, and there were many tactics used. Uh, there were lawsuits, strikes, mass rebellion, uh, the most notable being the Atica Prison Rebellion, uh, which, which occurred in a New York state, uh, just weeks after, uh, George Jackson's murder. Um, and in the protest, the, the dehumanizing conditions they were suggest they were subjected to. Um, about 1500 inmates, uh, released a manifesto with their demands and seized control of the prison for four entire days, four days,
Speaker 5 00:10:31 Four days. How did it end? Well,
Speaker 4 00:10:34 How did you think <laugh>? We can guess, um, under, so it was four days beginning September 9th, and under the orders of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, nice last name, um, law enforcement, um, stormed Attica on September 12th and killed 29 incarcerated individuals. Uh, none of the prisoners had guns during all of this, so, Hmm. It was someone, say, a massacre. So yeah, that was the heavy end to Attica. Um, and I, uh, George Jackson is a very gritty revolutionary. He digs real deep when you read his writing. Um, he's very clear. He comes from not very humble beginnings, uh, and he doesn't have time to waste in this revolutionary, and I'm in this revolution. And he really, um, and he speaks about this while in jail, which I think is unique. And he speaks about, like throughout the whole book, his death, it's his death is imminent and he, you know, avoids all these, like each day, every time he goes out of his cell, even though most of the time he's in solitary confinement, um, he's always under attack.
Speaker 4 00:11:46 And I think he's able to, um, have the reader really see the parallel between like his imprisonment and the conditions and, um, the conditions that we live under, um, in our day-to-day lives. And so, um, I would suggest folks to read, uh, Walter Rodney has an essay, uh, called George Jackson Black Revolutionary. Um, it was written right after his death, um, but before Blood in My Eye was, um, published. So it's kind of, it's just, I think, really important to hear other people talk about their comrades in the time and after they pass and their legacy and kind of talk about it with, um, that kind of layman friendship aspect to it I think was really important. Um, and some of my favorite quotes that I wanted to share, um, from George Jackson includes, um, I've been patient, um, but I'm concerned, but where I'm concerned, patience has its limits. Take it too far and its cowardice. Um, which again speaks to he was not wasting any time, uh, with form and really with for revolutionary struggle. Um, and then another very notable, uh, quote is, settle your corals. Come together, understand the reality of our situation. Understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying, who could have been saved that generations more will live poor butchered half lives. If you fail to act, do what? Do what must be done, discover your humanity in love and revolution.
Speaker 4 00:13:21 So that was my little George Jackson thing today. <laugh>, how do you feel?
Speaker 3 00:13:28 Yeah, well, I, I just appreciate you, um, informing our listeners about, um, George Jackson. I must admit I didn't know about him before, um, talking about it with you the other day. So, uh, yeah. It's just nice to be able to learn more about Black August and learn about other revolutionaries and the struggles. So
Speaker 4 00:13:51 That's what we're here for in community. Teach each other.
Speaker 5 00:13:54 Yeah. It's almost like, uh, a remnant of like no name in her book club now. Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 00:14:00 No, no. Love George Jackson. Yeah.
Speaker 5 00:14:02 <laugh>. Yeah. So that's like really cool to hear like the history behind how like prison organizing started or was big with George Jackson and to know that it still exists maybe in different forms, but political education in prison, um, is very like, revolutionary at its core and holds a lot of weight in our fight and our struggles. So yeah.
Speaker 3 00:14:26 All right. Well, um, I appreciate you bringing all that research here and educating the masses. With that, we're gonna move on to our next segment, words of freedom.
Speaker 5 00:14:38 So yeah, welcome back to Words of Freedom, a segment here on views from the ground, views
Speaker 3 00:14:43 From the damn
Speaker 5 00:14:43 Ground. Yeah. Where we give local poets a chance to free their minds, free their hearts, and liberate their souls with their words of freedom. This month's featured poet is going to be Miss Ma. Ms. Murray is a Minneapolis poet and multidi multidisciplinary artist whose work spans a diverse array of topics such as womanhood, blackness, heartbreak, and hope, informed by her own triumphs and tragedies. Her work is both empathetic and imaginative as it establishes a mindful intimacy with her audience, reminding others to be romantic about their lives and tender with their own hearts. So today we're going to listen to two pieces by her. Uh, first we will be listening to her poem titled, survivor's Rage.
Speaker 6 00:15:40 We all shook our heads with familiarity that day, having been well acquainted to evil and its audacity side with disappointment that not even social distancing can keep us safe from the wicked and obscene.
Speaker 6 00:15:55 We are no longer just accustomed to this trauma, but are now wrapped in the cold perverted embrace of this pain left lifeless from the crossfires of imagery and reports we find ourselves dying along with them. When we watch these videos, our breath taken away, we die along with them. In these videos, our backs left, crippled and broken. We die along with them. In these videos, our eyes glazed and glued open, unable to turn away. I have no tears left to cry. I have no musings left to groan. Instead, seething animosity coats my insides blistering rage in my bones. I know these days come along every year like a grim holiday, a new anniversary. We're forced to keep observing. So we light up the night sky and let shards of glass glitter the streets to show how deep we are hurting symphony of sirens, harmony of chance. This concert is meant to be disconcerting. I have ulcers layering my spirit, weltz glazed along my heart. I need to do something about this burning for every black man and woman who called out to their mothers. Because heaven was approaching faster than the paramedics. I now see the privilege, not in my circumstances, but in the breath. I still breathe because the drivers I, since I carry, reads more like an obituary when found in the hands of the police.
Speaker 6 00:17:16 So what else are we to do when the love, peace, and compassion intrinsic to our genetics and generation falls on deaf ears and does little to prove our blessed humanity? What more am I to be afraid of when peaces of no eyes camouflage skulls and magazines full of rubber teeth, one's hissed with smoke and word gunfire at us all as they proud the streets? Because the audacity of this evil comes from its creativity to spawn new shapes and take on different forms. And though weary I may be the vitality of my hope will always imagine more. This is what it looks like when love goes to war. This is how redemption settles the score
Speaker 5 00:18:14 The next. So first of all, that piece Survivor's Rage. If you go to George Floyd Square, there's actually a portion of it, um, set up on like a little display at the square. Um, and if there's actually like a QR code on there, and that'll take you to like all of her information. But, so yeah, if you want to hear more of that or see that in action where that piece was inspired from, you can go to George Floyd Square and see it there. But we will listen to one more piece by her today. And her next piece is titled, what is Heaven?
Speaker 6 00:19:04 I am of hard marble and flowering piece, caramel angel putting on a salty smile, a voice like velvet, my walk like stardust, and these poor men who lie awake at night matching constellations to my footsteps
Speaker 6 00:19:25 Blinded by the twinkle in my eyes, spell bound by the bend in my spine. They are lured, enticed by the curl of my smile as my favorite coils around their neck and leaves them gasping for air. To them I am breathtaking. My courtesy intoxicating them into paralysis. They tell me I'm heart stopping stuffing themselves with meager crumbs of my consideration. They are left speechless, drunk off venom, and they're enthralled by the mere sweetness mouths. Open hearts eager it matters none to me. If these men are collateral in their kind's collective karma, having stared down, sons, having stared down sons, I am troubled by nothing indulging in everything. And still I remain unimpressed by any celestial or human body that can be outdone by luster or lust. So the only offerings I accept now are not the diamond rings that serve as the small collar of someone else's ownership or gowns long enough to fool me into thinking that it isn't a leash.
Speaker 6 00:20:35 Instead give me necklaces strung with the severed fingers of all those who pointed at me with blame and a hat made from the scallops of those who wanted me clothed in shame, gift me lipstick the color of their cheeks when they realized I loved them No more give me bracelets made of their tongues stained from calling me a whore. If I was made of his first rib, I want the rest as a corset. If I brought on the fall of man, then I deserve to be rewarded. Tell me what is heaven to a woman's affection.
Speaker 5 00:21:22 So can we, can we get some snaps please? Can we please? We are going to be listening to Miss MA's poetry all month. So like, y'all gonna want to stay tuned cuz we all had to pick our jaws up off the floor. Some of us was wiping tears away. You know, I'm not gonna name names but <laugh>. So yeah, that is Miss Ma. Uh, st please come back. You're gonna want hear more of her stuff. Uh, if you wanna follow her on Instagram, her at is how she writes. So just the words how h o w she s h e writes, w r i t at i t e s, how she writes on Instagram. You'll find a bunch of her work and, uh, yeah. So stay tuned. We'll have more of her stuff this month. We'll have her in for interview later this month. So yeah, y'all gonna want to make sure you keep listening to that.
Speaker 3 00:22:09 Yeah, you know, I'm just in touch with my emotions. Okay. <laugh>,
Speaker 5 00:22:12 <laugh>. Y'all can guess who was crying though.
Speaker 3 00:22:15 <laugh>. Yeah, that first one caught me a little off guard. That was just amazing artistry. So, uh, so coming up next, uh, this month we're um, gonna do a surprise. We're actually gonna do the DJ Spotlight. Oh, oh Smile
Speaker 5 00:22:31 Dj the dj.
Speaker 3 00:22:32 Yeah, because, uh, nerdy is actually, um, gonna take the month off. He's doing everything to prepare for his album release. Ooh. Um, which is going to be at First Ave, um, on August 19th, um, at eight o'clock. So, you know, just let people know about that, uh, nerdy album release. But this month we're actually going to be featuring, um, an artist named Kenny Gray, and I'm gonna let him introduce himself.
Speaker 7 00:23:04 Hey, it's Kenny Gray coming at you here on K F A I. I'm here to present you with my newest single, I just got a message, um, <laugh> called Sun. It's a song about hookup culture and how no one really has the capacity to love anymore. <laugh>. It sounds sad, it sounds sad, but I promise this is a summer vibe song. It's one of those ones you can drive down the road with, uh, windows down with the sun hitting you just right. And you know, you know when the sun hits you just right. And you get those, those goosebumps. Um, and it puts you like deep in your feelings and your thoughts. That's what this song feels like. And, um, I hope you enjoy it. It's called Sun and this is Views from the Ground are to Spotlight. I'm Kenny Gray.
Speaker 9 00:24:09 I've been for a long time. I'll be forever. Doesn't hurt. It was, it wasn't real was hit. Sun
Speaker 2 00:24:31 Hit in the Sun,
Speaker 9 00:24:34 The
Speaker 2 00:24:46 Sun
Speaker 9 00:24:50 Home. I've for I'll forever. It doesn't singing the
Speaker 2 00:25:29 Hit, the,
Speaker 9 00:25:32 The
Speaker 2 00:25:34 The
Speaker 9 00:26:07 I'll
Speaker 2 00:26:27 The Sun.
Speaker 10 00:26:45 K ffa. I is proud to present Word, sound, power, music and Arts Festival at 56 Brewing on Saturday, August 13th. Word, sound Power Arts and Music Festival, a first of its kind festival, celebrating sound system culture featuring international and local legends and reggae and beyond. Headliners include Michael Rose and Subatomic Sound System, Charlie Tuna and Cut Chemist Turbulence Scientists with Johnny Osborne and Junior Drag. And many more tickets for Word Sound Power Festival can be found at the ticketing company website. Visit the ticketing.co for more details.
Speaker 11 00:27:23 Hi, this is Ian Odo, the 2022 Little Africa Festival manager Minnesota. I would love to personally invite you to the Festivities. Little Africa Festival is a community family friendly event, a place and a festival where music, art, culture, dance, food and community come together. August 7th from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM Hamlin Park Riding St. Paul on Snelling Avenue. We cannot wait to have you there. You can learn more about the festival or little africa fest.com or write on our Facebook page, little Africa, Minnesota. We cannot wait to welcome you and we hope to see you there.
Speaker 12 00:28:12 First organizer. August 7th, 12 9:00 PM at Hamlin Park in St. Paul. More information, www Africa, come after Facebook, little Africa, August 7th, Hamlin Park, Paul.
Speaker 3 00:29:14 All right, so welcome back to Views from the ground. Views from the damn Ground. So, um, I think, you know, uh, we, it's important that we do a lot of, uh, like a lot of work in supporting the most oppressed people. So I, it's important to, to support black liberation, but I feel like it's also, um, extremely important that we, um, remember that we need to be supporting the people that were here before us, um, the indigenous folks. So this, um, week, we are actually going to be talking about murdered in indigenous, um, missing and murdered indigenous women and children. And so we have our guests which will go ahead and introduce themselves.
Speaker 13 00:30:00 Uh, please excuse me for speaking in front of my elders and anyone that's listening that's older than me. <unk> Minneapolis, ed <unk> Hello my relatives. Today I greet you with the Healthy Hearted Handshake. My name is Savannah Po and I live in Minneapolis. I come from Enemy Swim District. My parents are Tony and Gabriel Black Elk. I come from the P Family. I come from Syn Waap wk. I am Dakota and I am 24 years old. I am a organizer for Native Lives Matter and Native Lives Matter Youth Alliance.
Speaker 14 00:31:15 How <unk> Um, <unk> <unk> Indigenous Carissa Indigenous <unk> said hello everyone. My spirit name is <unk>, which means shining earth woman. My English name is Karissa. I'm bald Eagle Clan and I come from White Earth, um, nation. Today me and Savannah will be talking to you guys about missing and murdered indigenous woman and girls and children. As DJ had mentioned, um, missing in murdered indigenous women is a
Speaker 13 00:32:07 Epidemic.
Speaker 14 00:32:08 Epidemic that, um, has been long going ever since the beginning of colonialism. Um,
Speaker 13 00:32:19 Um, I'll just say like a lot of people I see around the world are like talking on like TikTok for instance, and trying to, you know, make other people knowledgeable about indigenous people. And like, they always tell non-natives like, oh, you can just go on native land and you won't get charged if you do any crime. But that's not really true. And I feel like it's just opening doors for non-natives to come onto indigenous land and feel like they can murder and rape us and kill us. And there's something called the Bad Man's Clause, which protects us indigenous people if we get hurt so they can be charged. And I just like, that's been bothering me for like so long, I guess because like I've been wanting to like, make TikTok and like just inform other people about it. So like that's one big thing like people really need to like understand. Um, another thing we are seeing is ex-cop who are now becoming the head of missing a murder indigenous task force, which is like cops investigating themselves for a murder.
Speaker 15 00:33:32 Who,
Speaker 13 00:33:33 Another thing we are seeing is serial killers out here that are non-native who prey on us indigenous women knowing that we have ancestral trauma and knowing that we are more likely to use drugs and alcohol knowing that we are on our own homelands. And they bring these drugs and alcohol and promises that they should not be bringing at all. They're just traumatizing us. You see Gabby Petito that was missing and the nation went crazy. You see Elizabeth Smart who went missing and the nation went crazy. You see Polly class who went missing and the nation went crazy. All these white people go missing and the nation goes crazy. But what about us indigenous people who get lost? They don't even cry for our names. They don't even call us out. They don't go looking for us. We're looking for ourselves. We have no zero. There's no media. We have in Canada. There's the, a whole highway. And this highway is called the Highway of Tears. Every indigenous person knows not to step foot on this highway. We go missing on this highway in Canada and there's rivers and one of 'em is called the Red River. And so many people are missing on that river. And in that river their bodies are dumped.
Speaker 13 00:35:07 This river flows through Minnesota and into North Dakota. I'm an organizer for Native Lives Matter and the Youth Alliance. So like it's really hard to like balance that, but also do school. So we kind of don't post a lot on the youth page, which is one of our downfalls. Um, so that's one thing I'm gonna try and do more of, especially because, um, our people need to be heard cuz we're always forgotten. Um, when we talk about missing and murdered indigenous relatives, children, men, we need to talk about our people who are murdered by the police. And why do we only include missing and murder indigenous women? How come it's not missing or murder? Indigenous children or men? I understand they do missing a murder, indigenous relatives, but it's always m and i w So we need to stop forgetting our children and forgetting our men because them children are the seventh generation and they're the ones that are supposed to be coming up and we're supposed to protect them and watch them and make sure they're okay. But this world is so unsafe. How are we gonna do that? Did you know that one and two indigenous women experienced sexual assault in their lifetime? So that means like that's half of our population.
Speaker 13 00:36:50 Um, somebody I really wanna talk about today is Winter Barker, who is three years old when he was murdered by his dad and his the dad's girlfriend. Um, in 2018 in Breckenridge, Minnesota. Winter's grandmother was trying to get winter for Easter. Um, CPS said they couldn't find Winter's dad and they also couldn't find the girlfriend. Um, winter Sky Barker's grandmother didn't know that they moved out of the area and they took winter with, um, there was many stories about how he passed away. However, the autopsy shows that he passed away from blunt force trauma. Um, the dad that murdered him was Tracy brt and the girlfriend was Ramona brt. Um, winter Sky Barker would be seven today, or not today. It's not his birthday, but he'd be seven years old this year. Um, he had a big smile and he was only three when he was murdered. He walked into every room and made everybody smile. And he just had like a big personality. But I, it just hurts my heart because I babysat for him. And it's my boyfriend's nephew. So like, I knew him personally.
Speaker 13 00:38:27 Um, it's just another baby that didn't get to make mistakes and grow up in life. He didn't get to play football, basketball, he didn't get to go to prom. He didn't get to figure out what he wanted to do with life, his life because it was taken away. I just want, um, his name to be remembered. And there's another one who passed, who is missing currently in Cton reservation where I'm from. And his name is AJ Lukins. And he's been gone for 12 years and he went missing in 2010. And I feel like his name is forgotten. I feel like everybody's forgetting him. So that's just one I wanna put out there so that he's not forgotten to. I don't know. Kk, do you wanna talk?
Speaker 14 00:39:20 Um, yeah. So, mm, i w has, um, like I said, it's been an ongoing problem ever since. Um, the settlers have landed here, if you would call them whatever. Um, but the campaign, or like the light has been shined on it just recently starting in like 2012. Um, since then there's been marches and there's like the red dress project and you see red dresses hanging. That's a representation of our missing sisters or our murdered sisters. Um, one in three women are an indigenous, women are likely to be killed more than any other race. And 97% of the time it's by somebody who is not indigenous. Um, it happens on the reservations and it also happens here in big cities. Minneapolis's ranked for the ninth or ranked the ninth for the having the highest, um, the highest rates of missing and murdered indigenous women. Um, Arizona has two of the highest cities.
Speaker 14 00:40:39 Alaska, um, Anchorage, Alaska is another one in the city there. Um, something, um, well it's, it's, um, genocide. Um, prohibiting births within a nation is one of the steps of genocide. And so when you're taking our women, you're taking the matriarchs of our, of our villages, of our communities, of our homes. And you're removing generations. And that's why indigenous people used to be 100% of the population. And now we're down to 2%. I believe we were at like one, but we came back a little bit. But as Anna was saying, it's important to realize that police brutality is also tied into it. Um, there's two instances or two women that I'm gonna talk about who were killed that, um, were tied with, um, police brutality. One of 'em is K Sarah, um, sees pretty places. Sorry, I that might not be her right last name.
Speaker 14 00:42:00 Um, she was 15 years old and she filmed an incident that happened with her cousin in police, and days later she went missing and her body was found and her family wasn't notified for like two weeks. And they demanded, the government demanded that she'd be cremated, um, to hide the evidence of what happened to her. Um, another person who was murdered, I I, my bet I said woman earlier, but his name is Cole Stump. He was murdered in Montana because he, um, caught on to traces of missing or murdered women in Montana. And he was trying to help his sisters'. Well, our indigenous relatives and police caught caught onto that and they unjustly murdered him and his family is still seeking justice. Um, so that too is another part of genocide is they're taking our men and then our children too. Um,
Speaker 13 00:43:10 Don't forget about man camps.
Speaker 14 00:43:13 Yep. Um, another big, um, problem where a lot of our women are being targeted. Targeted is where pipelines are being put in. Um, man camps where all the pipeline workers stay, they're all on reservations, are close to reservations, are close to highly populated areas of indigenous people. And a lot of our time our women get trapped in there or killed in there, or trafficked in there. And that's another thing I think like, I can't remember the percentage, but, uh, extremely high percentage of our women being sex trafficked. Um, so they're, they're missing a lot of 'em end up murdered too, doing that.
Speaker 13 00:44:03 Um, and 97% of these women who are raped and murdered is like 97% with non-natives. So 97% of indigenous women who are killed, it happens by a non-native.
Speaker 14 00:44:31 Um, another thing that's killing our women is forced sterilization started in the 1960s and is still ongoing to this day. Um, our native women are being heavily sedated and forced to sign, are prompted to sign papers against their will, which, um, basically signing their bodies away and their uteruses are taken and then they're not given the proper treatment afterwards. So they'll bleed out or they'll get infections and die that way. Um, another high thing that's killing our people is sexually transmitted transmitted diseases. A lot of that happens, um, in the sex trafficking area. Rape ever since white man came here, they've been raping our women. Um, for example, in Hawaii, syphilis killed out like a two thirds of the nation there. And to this day they have, um, natives in Hawaii have the highest rates of I v and other STDs there. And that also, um, gets carried into any babies that are born. So they have it and suffer with problems or, or our women are infertile because of that. Um, so it all ties back to colonialism oppression, um, and land dispossession. Um, taking our land from us and taking our women is, is a big problem. It's killing our community. They killed our community in any way they can. Taking our land, killing our women, taking our children and putting them in boarding camp boarding schools.
Speaker 13 00:46:39 They're still missionary schools today too. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 14 00:46:42 <affirmative>.
Speaker 13 00:46:44 I know like in Pine Ridge, my friend tells me that they have volunteers that go to their school. So they're like people that aren't even paid and they go into their school and help, you know, quotations help. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they're like nuns and priests and stuff. So it's kind of like still going on today.
Speaker 14 00:47:05 And then with all the unmarked graves being found at the boarding schools, all Lacrosse Canada and even here in the us, um, lots of children missing and murdered that way. Um, and the u the government isn't doing anything about these issues. Um, there's not even a database for a women that has been killed that are, I mean, have been killed or are missing. Um, there's been a couple of laws or acts that, um, have been introduced. Um, like Savannah's act. Savannah Grey was pregnant when she was killed in Fargo and her neighbors, um, did a c-section on her. They weren't even doctors, thankfully the baby lived and she's like four now. Beautiful little girl. But Savannah's body was found in the river. And so out of that, um, there's Savannah's act and it's, um, to help get a database going to help families who of our sisters who are missing or murdered. I don't think it's been followed much. Not that I know of. And then also in 2020, um, secretary of Interior, Deb Holland, um, introduced a bill, I'm blanking on the name, but it created, uh, well in hopes of creating a task force. I'm not really sure if it did yet. Um, a task force to also get the database going to keep track of our sisters, um, to try to get charges brought upon the killers or the perpetrators of the crimes. But still, it's, it's very, very rarely held up to expectations of that.
Speaker 13 00:49:11 I don't know. One thing that bothers me is like having to like look over your shoulder everywhere you go and wonder, like if you're going to be the next person stolen mm-hmm. <affirmative> or, you know, back home. I lived one mile away from the gas station that close to home and it's a big giant truck stop. Mm. I'm scared to drive there even during the day, but mainly at night, even though it was one mile away. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> just scared to go there because I don't know if I'll get stolen.
Speaker 14 00:49:46 Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and then here in the city it's the same. You never know what kind of people you're taking the bus with are passing when you walking down the street. And it's scary that they put our kids that are in high school on public transit, not in school buses. They did that when I just got into high school and it was scary. You know, my mom always kept me in kind of sheltered me and protected me in that way. And then having to get on the bus at 13, 14 years old and, you know, seeing people drugged out or sitting, honestly just sitting next to a white man, you never know. It was nerve wracking. Then you gotta walk to school and you're coming back from school on a winter night and it's like four 30 getting dark. You never know who you're walking by. And then this year I heard they were trying to put middle schoolers on public transit, but thankfully that didn't work cuz my little sister's only 12 and I couldn't imagine if something happened to her. And then a lot of these little girls are running away and you never know
Speaker 13 00:51:04 Thinking it's cool. Yeah. I don't wanna listen to my mom no more, but yet your mom's just there trying to protect you and here you are trying to leave for what though? Like they're just trying to protect you. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> from the worst of the worst of you being missing and murdered. It's a real thing That's a I need people to understand is that's a real thing. Like us women, us indigenous women or the children, us being scared like that and saying, I'm scared to go here. I'm scared to go by myself. It's not, cause you know, we're just overreacting. We're really scared. Like we're it's for real.
Speaker 14 00:51:53 Um, on a side, no, or like going back a little bit the, to talk about like the undocumentation of our missing women. Um, nobody cares to document if a native women goes missing. Otherwise, another big problem is, um, they don't know if they're indigenous when they identify a body. So they'll mean marked down as something else. Um, not knowing it's a native person the whole time. So
Speaker 5 00:52:27 The numbers could potentially even be underreported.
Speaker 13 00:52:29 Yeah.
Speaker 14 00:52:30 Yeah.
Speaker 13 00:52:30 It, it's, it, it is because what I meant to say, one thing is like with research and statistics is going back a long time ago, we didn't trust the researchers. So like even today we don't trust research. Like being a native person and doing research is, you know, kind of hard because I hear the non-natives always say like, oh, well indigenous people don't trust us. How do we get indigenous people to trust us? And they always want that feedback. And I know from living on the res and being native that we don't like research. Like, it, it, they don't have our trust. They always mess up our trust. So why are we gonna trust them again to do the research for us so we don't report or we report and the cop doesn't believe us. Oh, maybe you know, your relative, they just went and they'll come back. Maybe they really didn't run. Like maybe they ran away. Maybe they're not really missing. It's the chance of not being believed. So why should we report something if we're not gonna be believed? So the statistics are really bad for native people. They're very underreported. And then you get researchers that wanna do this research, but they don't give us that communication. They don't have that bond with us. They don't make a bond with us. They don't wanna make a bond with us. So what is the point of helping them with their research?
Speaker 13 00:54:14 I I, I just, that's one thing I struggle with just being a researcher and knowing that it, we are very like, we don't report and they don't believe us.
Speaker 5 00:54:25 Yeah. Like with what you were saying, like how the researchers come, it's like all this press that came after George Floyd was killed, like what are you actually doing here? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you don't care about the people here. You care about getting a story. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you care about putting your name on whatever document you're about to put out. So it's like similar, not to compare anything, but it's similar in that regard. It's like, yeah. The intentions are never pure when it comes to people that claim that they're trying to come and help.
Speaker 13 00:54:50 Yep.
Speaker 14 00:54:51 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Speaker 5 00:54:57 If you guys wouldn't mind, um, with you guys being Native Lives Matter, uh, you guys host your own events and stuff, uh, like you had the one at the capitol, uh, or the one at the cathedral, uh, for the, um, missing indigenous children or the, uh, indigenous children who were found in unmarked graves and stuff. Can you talk a little bit about how you host those events, but then you also come to so many Black Lives Matter things in solidarity and what solidarity means to you guys as indigenous people, um, and kind of your relationship between natives, lives Matter and Black Lives Matter.
Speaker 14 00:55:34 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, well, solidarity is key to I, well I feel like solidarity is key to both of our survivals. Um, when I say I have y'all back, that means I really have y'all back. And I know it's vice versa with a lot of you guys in the movement. Um, and it's important that we all support each other regardless of the race. But, you know, um, brother Marquis said in his words, I'm gonna call him directly as, um, as a black man, we were stolen from our land and your guys' land was stolen from you. And so now that we're here together, it's our fight for equality and whatnot. Um, and that has stood out with me ever since he said that. And that was back in 2020 at when, um, native Lives Matter hosted an event when we went from north side to the Indian Center here, south side and then down to George Floyd Square, um, marching for George Floyd and really all stolen lives.
Speaker 14 00:56:43 We had a lot of families there. We had people coming from out of town to support us and it was a really nice turnout. Um, and same with the other event that you were talking about at the Cathedral. Um, right across from the Capitol that we did for Every Child Matters for, um, the kids being found in the graves at boarding schools, our residential schools. Um, unfortunately it was a small to turnout on the native side, but you know, black Lives Matter stepped up in solidarity too and was there. And we really need that, you know, to keep being heard, to keep our f our fights relevant, um, to keep these problems in the light of media because, you know, W C C W C C O ain't covering nothing for us <laugh>. So we just gotta keep showing up, keep our boots on the ground for everybody and everything until we are free, which hopefully that will be one day. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Speaker 13 00:57:49 Um, we have another event coming in October for missing and murdered indigenous women, children and men. Um, I'll say like one thing for me, I love coming to Black Lives Matter events and just like the energy there, it makes me feel like I belong. And just like having your guys' support for our events. I know you guys don't see like a lot of other natives out there and we need more natives out there. And I know like they're scared, but we've always been like quiet people. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So like that's one thing. But I know our relatives need to come out more. Our people need to come out more. But it's just good to see that solidarity with Black Lives Matter and just black people and non-natives too. So I just love like the solidarity and how much like we support each other in one another.
Speaker 3 00:58:56 Wow. I really appreciate y'all coming into the studio today. Y'all educating us and telling us about the things, the facts that indigenous women and indigenous folks period have to endure on a day-to-day basis. And so I just appreciate you coming in today. I also want to thank Brandon and Jaylen for joining me in the studio today. We are out of, uh, outta of time, but we will definitely see you next week. So have a great night
Speaker 18 00:59:29 Time. Need me? I could run my own country. If you could just stop bombing me. Give my lamb back, gimme my gold back, my heritage, my birthright. You outright stole that. Organize, organize, organize. Do away with all the lies. All the lies. All the lies. They come in with the of the clock and the 45 in between the protest. We protest our Rio. Yes, we are, we organize, organize to away with all the lies. All the lies. All the lies they come in with. The tear black.
