We’re Still Here: Decolonize Your Mind About Indigenous People This Thanksgiving November 28, 2019 by Maile Arvin, Truthout Leave a Comment This article was originally published at Truthout under the title "The Future is Indigenous: Decolonizing Thanksgiving" and is reprinted here with permission. In 2015, a video meme circulated prior to Thanksgiving, featuring YouTube personality Franchesca Ramsey humorously breaking down the actual history of the holiday. A wet blanket to her family's Thanksgiving dinner, … [Read more...]
7 Things US History Class Should Have Taught Every American About Indigenous History November 16, 2019 by Halee Kirkwood Leave a Comment The history of people indigenous to the North American continent is often glossed over in education. We are badgered with the legend of Native benevolence to the pilgrims who landed on the East Coast on Thanksgiving. If Indigenous history is covered, students are likely to hear a tragic but vague narrative of massacre, disease, and death, a narrative devoid of the specific … [Read more...]
Why White North Americans Need To Understand Ourselves as “Settlers” November 4, 2019 by Shannon Weber Leave a Comment If you’re white, this land was not made for you and me. Like many white North Americans, I grew up with a vague idea of where my ancestors came from. In my case, they were scattered across Western Europe, and I was fascinated by what their lives must have been like. But I had no real connection to what it means, culturally, to be Irish or Scottish or British or German or … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Love Yourself When You’re Undocumented in the US August 28, 2019 by Ella Mendoza Leave a Comment From one immigrant to another, I know many people will say you could've done "it" differently. We are judged, demonized, and under constant attack. The broken US immigration system, meanwhile, tries to intimidate us into believing we have no choices left, that we must accept whatever fate a judge decides for us. But remember that your migration to this country meant choosing … [Read more...]
10 Defensive Reactions to White Privilege That Make No Damn Sense – But Are Super Common August 10, 2019 by Maisha Z. Johnson Leave a Comment This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism and is reprinted by permission. I know it probably makes me a weirdo to want to talk about white privilege so much, but I actually enjoy conversations on this topic – even with people who disagree with me. Sure, these conversations can get heated, uncomfortable, and downright aggravating. But they’re also necessary in order … [Read more...]
To Understand Puerto Rico’s Troubles, We Must Understand Colonialism August 9, 2019 by Awilda González Leave a Comment With all that has been impacting Puerto Rico in recent years, from defaulting on debt payments to Hurricane Maria to the mass protests against our now-former governor, it makes me wonder why more people aren't talking about the state of the Island. Many simply do not know, for instance, that Puerto Rico is on the brink of bankruptcy much like Detroit, Michigan was in 2014. I … [Read more...]
5 Ways Outdoor Recreation Is Inaccessible to Marginalized Folks July 22, 2019 by Emily Zak Leave a Comment This article first appeared on Everyday Feminism under the title "Outdoor Reaction Isn't Free -- Why We Need to Stop Pretending It Is" and is reprinted by permission. When I spent a summer as a river guide, I met three people who’d abandoned their homes to live on the Rio Grande. One lived out of a bus, another in a tent, and the last in his station wagon. They spent their … [Read more...]
7 Things My Unruly, Curly Hair Taught Me About Being Unapologetically Latinx July 16, 2019 by Ella Mendoza Leave a Comment Growing up, people would always asked me about my hair, about my skin, about my eyes, about my mother, about my grandmother. Anti-blackness would prompt these questions to become inquiries, attempting to trace back lineage beyond dialogue, and into imaginary stories that may have been true or may have not. In their eyes, my hair symbolized something foreign, something … [Read more...]
4 Ways Mainstream Animal Rights Movements Are Oppressive June 27, 2019 by Mahealani Joy Leave a Comment This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com and is reprinted by permission. Growing up Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), there was always a part of me that understood that my relatives did not just include people. The honu (green sea turtle), mano (shark), and pu’eo (owl) were my relatives too, and they were deserving of respect and care just like their human … [Read more...]
Intergenerational Trauma: Indigenous Resilience in the Face of Abuse May 4, 2019 by Mary Black Leave a Comment This article was originally published on Residential School Magazine under its original title "Let Me Tell You About Inter-Generational Trauma" and is republished with permission. **Content note: this article contains discussions of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and violence as well as suicide.** My grandmother was placed in residential school at the age of 6. For … [Read more...]
Listening to Mother Earth’s Voice: An Indigenous Female Perspective on Sexual and Ecological Violence October 14, 2018 by Princess Daazhraii Johnson Leave a Comment Editor's Note: This article was originally published by Princess Daazhraii Johnson under the title "What's Missing From #MeToo and #TimesUp: One Indigenous Woman's Perspective" and is republished with permission. As I have watched the national dialogue unfold around sexual harassment and sexual violence, I can’t help but take notice of the lack of tie in to a much larger … [Read more...]
5 Undeniable Reasons We Need To Talk About Christian Privilege August 18, 2018 by Shannon Weber Leave a Comment When I was four years old, my parents moved me from Los Angeles to northern Idaho, where I would live for thirteen years—plus a year-long stint in heavily Mormon Utah during first grade—until I moved away to New England for college. During this time, I was exposed to a poor and working-class, white-dominated culture in which evangelical Christianity was the reigning religion, … [Read more...]
Asian Eyes: Westernized Beauty Standards and Asian Identity August 14, 2018 by Julie Feng 3 Comments When I set forth to write something on Westernized beauty standards and Asian identity, my ideas kept circling back to the one topic I was the most hesitant to write about. For myriads of reasons, that topic is a complex issue. It has defined my life in deep-rooted ways. It has a multifaceted history in the world, as well as in my own life. It has always been my greatest source … [Read more...]
Are You Culturally Appreciating or Culturally Appropriating? 3 Ways for White Folks to Self-Reflect April 30, 2018 by Lin Kaatz Chary Leave a Comment Not long ago I had lunch with an 82-year-old friend of mine who has been a social justice activist all her life. We are both white. My friend is a poet who has been published in several small literary journals. She listens to a broad range of podcasts regularly, reads widely, and continues to take a keen interest in the world around her. Her poetry focuses on the lives of … [Read more...]
5 (More) Ways to Radically Exist in Decolonial Love February 14, 2018 by Philippe Leonard Fradet 1 Comment At TBINAA, there are articles that affect us and inspire us from other digital magazines and blogs on a daily basis. One article in particular that seemed to strike a great chord with our followers on Facebook is one by Gwendolynn Benaway for the site Working it Out Together titled “Decolonial Love: A How-To Guide.” In this article, Benaway talks about her experiences as a … [Read more...]
