Note to all, the Bus Offices are going to be closed today in solidarity and observance of Indigenous People's Day, as opposed to celebrating Columbus Day (which celebrates a not-so-awesome colonizer.)
Fun fact—we're living on stolen, unceded land.
At the Bus, it is our duty to educate young voters of history and political context that the land we organize on holds. We acknowledge that the land we are on belongs to the Coast Salish peoples here in King County, along with other tribes across the state where we organize, which includes (but is not limited to) the Yakima, Colville, Spokane, Quinault, Tulalip, Puyallup, and countless more tribes. Both the State of Washington and the US government have been complacent in and responsible for the genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced removal of these tribes as a means to acquire land.
Despite centuries of colonial theft and violence, Washington State is still Indigenous land and will always be Indigenous land. Indigenous people are not relics of the past. They are still here, and continue to demonstrate their gifts and resilience amidst a mess of ongoing colonialism and oppression.
As important as it is to acknowledge the stolen land we organize on, land acknowledgements like these are purely ceremonial and hold no legal weight. Which is why it is more important than ever that young people organize toward a future that upholds Indigenous Sovereignty and rejects colonialism and oppression.
Our solidarity lies with the oppressed peoples of our state, and beyond.
(BTW, credit to the awesome IntoAction library for this evoking GIF!)
#IndigenousPeoplesDay
