Resistance: Building Power in the Face of Oppression
"They have always institutionalised our young people, first in boarding schools where they were abused for being Indians, then in prison. We consider all the young Indians in jail to be political prisoners. That does not mean that we condone violence or crime, but those young people never had a chance. They are pushed out of an educational system that has no relevance to their needs; the courts come down heavy on them, and parole is far less likely for an Indian"[3] |
Youth Power: Resistance in Boarding Schools
"Resentment of the boarding schools was most severe because the schools broke the most sacred and fundamental of all human ties, the parent-child bond."[4]
The goal of boarding schools was to violently strip native peoples of their culture and impose Anglo-American cultural norms and relationships. Boarding schools were a forced cultural indoctrination program that used abusive discipline to make children participate in Anglo-American social relationships.[2]
Western ideals of male dominated relationships, gendered division of work in and out of the home were bludgeoned into students upon arrival, however resistance to these ideals ranged from personal acts of defiance to militant acts of sabotage.
As a result of the cultural suffocation imposed by the boarding schools, native children would produce art out of anything they could get their hands on (usually marbles, glass or stone) to express their own ideology, spirituality and traditions. [6]
Students also took it upon themselves to build communal resistance to the imposition of western social norms. Students would hold pow wow’s and pipe ceremonies in secret in order to preserve their culture as a community.[4]
Students also took militant means to resist the social order being imposed on them. Some of the best examples are arson cases in girls dormitories and laundry rooms in multiple institutions, which represent resistance to the gendered work roles, exploitation and abuse that came along with the kind of work that was being forced on girls at boarding schools. Instead of conforming to the Anglo ideal of womens work some girls decided to burn their workplaces down as an act of resistance.[5]
People Power: Resistance to the Carceral State
“See that, man?” said Bellecourt as the car lurched forward. “That’s where the movement is — people riding around in their cars talking about it.”[1]
Native folks have the highest rate of arrest in the United States which has far reaching consequences for their community. Native Americans are systematically targeted and placed in the incarceration system which removes an inmate from their community and culture. For many native youth the being targeted by the carceral state lands them in prison for significant parts of their young lives.
In addition to being targeted by the police and justice system, Native folks are excluded from mainstream American society. Public schools impose anglo-American history and culture while employment is exclusionary. In other words, for many Native youth, prisons take the place of public insitutions that are designed to fail them.
In the face of social and carceral oppression, the American Indian Movement found it start in a jail in Stillwater, Minnesota. Founding members Clyde Bellecourt and Eddie Benton began organizing prisoners, teaching native histories and politicizing their relationship with prison.[3]
The American Indian Movement resisted the oppression they faced from the mainstream of American society through building community power in relation to sites of oppression. They preserved culture through experimental schools and fighting for Native history to be taught in general curriculum, defended their community against police violence through community patrols and created a platform for Native politics to be seen on a mass scale. For them, building resistance to the violence of the carceral system was a community wide task that needed to address all areas where Native people are oppressed in society.[1] In a similar way to students in boarding schools, AIM conceptualized resistance as personal through the preservation of of cultural identity, as well as community based against the social structures imposed by Anglo-American society.
Native folks have the highest rate of arrest in the United States which has far reaching consequences for their community. Native Americans are systematically targeted and placed in the incarceration system which removes an inmate from their community and culture. For many native youth the being targeted by the carceral state lands them in prison for significant parts of their young lives.
In addition to being targeted by the police and justice system, Native folks are excluded from mainstream American society. Public schools impose anglo-American history and culture while employment is exclusionary. In other words, for many Native youth, prisons take the place of public insitutions that are designed to fail them.
In the face of social and carceral oppression, the American Indian Movement found it start in a jail in Stillwater, Minnesota. Founding members Clyde Bellecourt and Eddie Benton began organizing prisoners, teaching native histories and politicizing their relationship with prison.[3]
The American Indian Movement resisted the oppression they faced from the mainstream of American society through building community power in relation to sites of oppression. They preserved culture through experimental schools and fighting for Native history to be taught in general curriculum, defended their community against police violence through community patrols and created a platform for Native politics to be seen on a mass scale. For them, building resistance to the violence of the carceral system was a community wide task that needed to address all areas where Native people are oppressed in society.[1] In a similar way to students in boarding schools, AIM conceptualized resistance as personal through the preservation of of cultural identity, as well as community based against the social structures imposed by Anglo-American society.