Important update July 28 2021: After traveling thousands of miles with a 25-ft, 5000 pound totem pole, visiting dozens of Indigenous sacred places at risk from dams, mining, oil and gas drilling–from the Snake River to the Missouri River, Bears Ears to the Black Hills, Chaco Canyon to the Grand Canyon, and tribal treaty lands and waters impacted by the Dakota Access, Line 3, and Line 5 pipelines — The Red Road to DC journey comes to an end this Thursday, July 29th, when we deliver the pole, your petition signatures, and the prayers and messages of so many to the Biden Harris Administration.
And, Big News Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will join us at a 2pm ceremony on the National Mall! This will be followed by a rally featuring tribal leaders, Native and allied organizers, and Congresspeople. Please RSVP to join us online or in person for this not-to-be-missed event on Thursday. While in DC, we will deliver tens of thousands of petition signatures calling for tribal consent to be the foundation for decision-making on the management of water and land impacting tribal lands and sacred sites. It’s not too late to sign and share the petition with everyone you know. Our original post from last week is below if you want to share or add another comment.
In this moment of climate and social crisis, indigenous people are on the frontlines of struggled to defend and care for 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity. From the Transmountain Pipeline to Line 3 and Line 5, to the Gulf of Mexico and all across turtle island, our environmental advocacy must include advocacy for Indigenous rights.
The U.S. government is supposed to abide by treaty law and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which requires them to engage with and gain consent from Native Nations before pursuing pipelines, drilling, dams, and other destructive projects that affect Native lands, waters, and resources.
But the federal government has failed in its responsibilities, over and over again. And so far, President Biden isn’t doing much better. Will you sign on to this petition with native and non-native allies demanding the Biden Administration uphold Native People’s Free Prior & Informed Consent, as guaranteed by the United Nations?
Right now, Native American activists and allies are transporting a 25 foot totem pole from Washington State to Washington DC, visiting tribal nations and Native communities leading efforts to protect sacred places along the way. The whole journey is called the Red Road to DC, and it’s the product of collaboration between the House of Tears Carvers, Se’Si’Le, Native Organizers Alliance, IllumiNative, and The Natural History Museum — all of whom 198 methods has worked with in the past on projects to protect the planet and indigenous rights. You can learn more about the journey at the website redroadtodc.org or by following #RedRoadtoDC on social media – where we have been sharing live streams, photos and videos from the events so far.
The journey ends in Washington, DC later this month, with a blessing, exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and delivering the pole and all your signatures to the Biden-Harris Administration. Act Now. Stand in solidarity with native organizers and allies by signing the petition: President Biden must strengthen environmental protections and honor Native Nations’ rights to Free, Prior & Informed Consent.