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The Indigenous Peoples March was a demonstration and march on the
National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...
in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2019. The event included speeches, prayers, songs, and dance. Its goal was to draw attention to global injustices against
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
. After prayers outside the Building of Interior Affairs, the marchers proceeded along
Constitution Avenue Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened bet ...
to Henry Bacon Park, north of the
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...
. During the day-long event, featured guests, such as
Ruth Buffalo Ruth Anna Buffalo is an American politician serving as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from the 27th District, serving from December 1, 2018. She is the first Native American Democratic woman elected to the North Dakota Leg ...
,
Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017 and a ...
and
Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...
, spoke to crowds gathered on the stairs in front of the Lincoln Memorial and the plaza on the edge of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Organizers expected a crowd of about 10,000 people. Simultaneous "solidarity marches" were scheduled in a dozen other locations, such as
Gallup, New Mexico Zuni: ''Kalabwaki'' , settlement_type = City , nickname = "Indian Capital of the World" , motto = , image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption ...
, and
Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making ...
, in the United States and
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, in Canada. In late afternoon, when the last group of the March participants were still on the Plaza beside the Reflecting Pool, an
incident Incident may refer to: * A property of a graph in graph theory * ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir * Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India * Incident (Scientology), a ...
occurred involving a small group of March participants including Omaha tribe member Nathan Phillips, five
Black Hebrew Israelites Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are groups of African Americans who believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believ ...
men, and dozens of
Covington Catholic High School Covington Catholic High School (abbreviated CCH or CovCath) is a private, Roman Catholic, high school for boys in Park Hills, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Bishop Francis William Howard and Brother George Sauer, and is par ...
teenage students on a school trip arriving at their meeting place after attending the
pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...
March for Life March for Life may refer to: * March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C. * March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion * March for Life (Prague), an annual ...
rally. In the wake of the widespread sharing of more detailed video clips, media analyses of the videos, and statements, public opinion became polarized, with some claiming the students were completely absolved of all wrongdoing and others saying they were disrespectful of a Native American elder on a day that should have been a celebration of the first Indigenous Peoples' March.


Context

The goal of the march was to build on the momentum of the 2016–2017
Dakota Access Pipeline The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) or Bakken pipeline is a underground pipeline in the United States that has the ability to transport up to 750,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil per day. It begins in the shale oil fields of the Bakken Form ...
(DAPL)
protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
, which had drawn attention to concerns of
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
s globally.The
protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
against the
Dakota Access Pipeline The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) or Bakken pipeline is a underground pipeline in the United States that has the ability to transport up to 750,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil per day. It begins in the shale oil fields of the Bakken Form ...
construction, which had been rerouted through the
Standing Rock Indian Reservation The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaks ...
under
Lake Oahe Lake Oahe () is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . By volume, it is the fourth ...
and the Missouri River, began in the spring of 2016 and ended in 2017, bu
supplemental complaints were still being filed in court in October 2018
the most recent in a list of dozens of litigation documents. One of President Trump’s first Presidential Memoranda was signed on January 24, 2017, and authorized the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline
Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Dakota Access
which according to a January 24, 2017 '' BBC'' article, "infuriated environmentalists."
The organizers of the "grassroots effort" included indigenous leaders, tribes, and celebrities, many of whom were part of the Indigenous Peoples Movement. The Indigenous Peoples March which took place the day before the third annual
Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 ma ...
, was a grassroots effort intended to "unite indigenous groups globally, not just in the United States, according to ''The Herald Sun''.


Event organizers

The main organizers of the event were Cliff Matias and Nathalie Farfan. Farfan is an
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
ian Indigenous woman who co-hosts the Latina feminist podcast Morado Lens and New Jersey-based La Brujas Club spiritual wellness community. Matias is a director of the Redhawk Native American Arts Council in Brooklyn, New York He had previously organized the Standing Rock Protests and New York City area pow-pows and Indigenous Peoples' Day events, and claims heritage in both the
Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
(Puerto Rican) and
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
(Peruvian) indigenous traditions.


Program

The march began at the Interior Department, proceeded to the
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...
, for an all-day rally, where Indigenous leaders addressed the crowd at the memorial. The evening program consisted of a fundraising concert at the Songbyrd Music House. The event began at 8:00 AM outside the Building of Interior Affairs, which runs the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
, with opening songs, prayers, and
smudging Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs (e.g., white sage) or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke (e. ...
with sage, a ceremony for cleansing "our eyes to see clearly, our mouths to speak the truth, and our hearts to spread love." The marchers, who chanted, sang, and drummed, then walked towards the
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...
from
Constitution Avenue Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened bet ...
to 17th St. NW and through the
National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...
. Featured guests who spoke beside the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool included
Ruth Buffalo Ruth Anna Buffalo is an American politician serving as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from the 27th District, serving from December 1, 2018. She is the first Native American Democratic woman elected to the North Dakota Leg ...
, a North Dakota Representative and member of the
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation), also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan: ''Miiti Naamni''; Hidatsa: ''Awadi Aguraawi''; Arikara: ''ačitaanu' táWIt''), is a Native American Nation resulting from the alliance of th ...
, and
Paulette Jordan Paulette E. Jordan (born December 7, 1979) is an American politician who served in the Idaho House of Representatives as a member of the Idaho Democratic Party from December 1, 2014 until February 14, 2018. She previously served on the Coeur d� ...
, who had served on the Tribal Council, sovereign government of the
Coeur d'Alene people The Coeur d'Alene (also ''Skitswish''; natively ''Schi̲tsu'umsh'') are a Native American nation and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, w ...
, and as a member of the
Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...
from 2014 until 2018 when she ran for governor of Idaho.
Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017 and a ...
and
Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...
, the first Native American women elected to Congress, spoke at the March. Haaland was a representative for New Mexico and a member of the
Laguna Pueblo The Laguna Pueblo ( Western Keres: Kawaika ʰɑwɑjkʰɑ is a federally recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people in west-central New Mexico, near the city of Albuquerque, in the United States. Part of the Laguna territory is includ ...
tribe; Davids was a Representative for Kansas, and a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Indigenous elders continued to speak, sing, and drum even as a concurrent
March for Life March for Life may refer to: * March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C. * March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion * March for Life (Prague), an annual ...
rally "began to overlap the Indigenous Peoples Movement among the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial." The day ended with a round dance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with chants of "We are still here."


Issues

The goal of the March was to raise public awareness of issues that affect indigenous people worldwide, such as
missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM ( First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acr ...
(MMIW),
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, diabetes and obesity in the Pacific and Indigenous communities, the 2018–19 United States federal government shutdown, "
voter suppression Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...
in Indian Country", families divided by walls and borders,
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...
including
sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the ...
, police brutality against Native Americans, "mistreatment of Indigenous peoples at the borders", and the need to protect indigenous lands. Marchers carried signs that said, "Water is Life" (a theme of the Indigenous movement), "There is no O'Odham word for wall", and "We will not be silenced." They also "came to bring awareness of the ill-effects of oil pipelines running through Indian Country."


Participants

Organizers expected about 10,000 people would attend. ''Native News Online'' said that "thousands of American Indians, Alaska Natives,
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
, Australia and other indigenous peoples from various parts of the world" attended the march. A delegation representing eight tribes from
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
included Reverend David Wilson, a member of the
Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...
and the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference superintendent. Wilson said that half of his group were young American Indian
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
s in the group ranging in age from 20 to 32 "who are more inclined to work on issues of social justice, more so than other generations.... Social justice is in their DNA". Women carrying a banner calling attention to missing Indigenous women wore red, and one woman carried a red dress, a symbol of the missing Indigenous women. American Samoan award-winning film director, Queen Mele Le’iato Tuiasosopo Muhammad Ali, shared the health issues faced by American Samoa and Pacific islanders during her speech.


Funding

Organizers raised funds through
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by cro ...
via
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
, emails,
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
, and other sites.


Late afternoon incident

In the late afternoon on January 19, 2019, when two rallies (Indigenous Peoples March and
March for Life March for Life may refer to: * March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C. * March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion * March for Life (Prague), an annual ...
) taking place that day at the National Mall had ended, an incident occurred at the Lincoln Memorial involving five
Black Hebrew Israelites Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are groups of African Americans who believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believ ...
men,
Covington Catholic High School Covington Catholic High School (abbreviated CCH or CovCath) is a private, Roman Catholic, high school for boys in Park Hills, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Bishop Francis William Howard and Brother George Sauer, and is par ...
teenage students on an annual school trip to attend a
pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...
March for Life rally, and Native American marchers. The first short videos of the encounter that were uploaded to Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube received millions of views. A photo of one of the students wearing a
MAGA Maga or MAGA may refer to: MAGA * Make America Great Again, a political slogan famously used by Donald Trump * Museo MAGA, a modern-art museum in Gallarate, Italy * ''maga'', the logo of the Cornish Language Partnership, an organisation promot ...
hat standing face-to-face with Nathan Phillips as he beat on a ceremonial drum was published in numerous mass media outlets. The first social media video clips were short and focused on this moment, leading to harsh criticism of the high school students, who some described as mocking and harassing the elder. Some people affiliated with the March described the boys as appearing threatening due to their numbers, actions, and the "
Make America Great Again "Make America Great Again" or MAGA is an American political slogan popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign. The slogan became a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants ...
" caps and clothing that some wore. By the next day, January 20, longer videos had been uploaded, revealing how the encounter had unfolded. Phillips clarified that it was he who had approached the crowd of students, in what he said was an attempt to defuse what Phillips perceived to be a brewing conflict between the students and the group of five men, later identified as Black Hebrew Israelites, who had been taunting the students. Over the next several days, statements from a spokesperson for the March, from an attorney for the Lakota People's Law Project, from Nicholas Sandmann, the student seen in the video standing face to face with Phillips, which was prepared with the help of a publications relations firm hired by his family, and statements from other officials, each offered different perspectives on the incident. In the wake of the widespread sharing of more detailed video clips, media analyses of the videos, and statements, public opinion became polarized, with some saying the students were completely absolved of all wrongdoing and others saying the students were disrespectful of a Native American elder on a day that should have been a celebration of the first Indigenous Peoples March. On the evening of January 19, Phillips led approximately 50 individuals who attempted to gain entrance to the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...
while chanting and hitting drums while the Catholics inside celebrated Mass.


Media coverage

''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' described the Indigenous Peoples March as "meaningful", and an example of how Native Americans will not be silenced. The article drew attention to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's joking about the Wounded Knee Massacre to mock the
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
from
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
.Warren has often been criticized for her claim o
Native American ancestry
See Beinart's article in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
''.
The ''Post'' also wrote in a separate article that the "tense encounter in Washington prompted outrage".


Defamation law suit

In February 2019, the family of Sandmann sued ''The Washington Post'' in the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (in case citations, E.D. Ky.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises approximately the Eastern half of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The United States Co ...
for $250 million in damages for defamation. Judge William Bertelsman ruled to dismiss the case in July 2019, stating that the material published by ''The Washington Post'' was opinion protected by the First Amendment. Sandmann's lawyers stated they will appeal this ruling.


Notes


References

{{reflist


External links


Indigenous Peoples Movement
website of the Indigenous Peoples March organizers 2019 in Washington, D.C. 2019 protests Indigenous peoples and the environment Indigenous rights protests January 2019 events in the United States Native American topics Protest marches in Washington, D.C. Articles containing video clips