From reservations to refugee camps, and from manifest destiny to Zionism, racist apartheid practices are carried out not only in Israel, but also right inside Turtle Island (âNorth Americaâ). However, just as Palestinians rose up over the last decade during the Second Intifadah, indigenous communities have been engaged in their own Intifadah (âshaking offâ) against settler colonialism since the arrival of Columbus on these shores, and it is an Intifadah which continues until today.
During the summer of 2009, a group of 18 Native and Xicana youth from the United States/Turtle Island will travelled to the Occupied West Bank and Israel to connect with Palestinian youth and to collectively imagine a more just future for all indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Youth Delegation to Palestine, the first of its kind, is a project of grassroots organizations in both the U.S. and Palestine who have come together with the purpose of connecting Native and Xicana youth in the U.S with youth in Palestine. By creating a forum to reflect together and to share common struggles, this cross-continental exchange was an opportunity for youth to learn first hand from each other by sharing tools and strategies of resistance against displacement and colonization. Melissa Franklin, Marei Spaola, and Jodi Voice were members of the delegation, and they are all part of the 7th Generation Indigenous Visionaries (7thGIV), a grassroots collective at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, where they currently study.
For more information: www.indigenousdelegation.wordpress.com www.iawmontreal.org
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