All Missionaries Should Be Shot Dead

Homophobes and transphobes label the LGBT community as sexual predators while doing jack shit to stop actual predatory behavior that nearly every woman has experienced as a child.

I'm still connecting back to one of my cultures but I've heard North America called turtle island. Though that includes Canada too, so I'm not entirely sure myself about a term describing just America. The closest thing I've heard from one of my aunties is turtle Island when describing pre-colonized america.

Though it probably depends on the tribe. As like many things it probably varies from tribe to tribe. But from what I've learned so far, the tribe I'm enrolled in doesn't have a word for america (or a concept like america). But rather has words for the surrounding land and tribes. I'm still relearning my language, but I haven't heard anyone use a word for america exclusively yet.

I've really only heard turtle island when talking about america pre-colonization, but a lot of my close relatives wouldn't know because they're not that connected either. Because America didn't have any foundation prior to colonization I don't think a lot of tribes have an equivalent for it. America is fairly new compared to the indigenous people in america.

From what I can recall though, we don't have a word that groups all Native Americans under one group of geographical divide other than maybe turtle island. But even then turtle island isn't what some tribes called what we would call america today. It really depends on the natives you talk to though.

i think one big problem with the united states is that they forgot to name the country

Anyway.

For those of you aren't aware and aren't involved in NDN circles, the Supreme Court just declared that tribal territories and reservations are part of states and are under state jurisdiction, including in regards to charging someone and putting them on trial in state courts for crimes related to the tribe (as opposed to this being left up to tribal courts), undoing decades of precedent for the separation of tribal and state governments.

In a few months, the Supreme Court is also going to be giving a verdict on whether or not the Indian Child Welfare Act, the only thing keeping indigenous children with their families and communities instead of being "adopted" (trafficked) to white Christian families at every chance, is unconstitutional. This act is also dependent on the belief that tribes are sovereign nations and that giving our children to people outside of our tribes is akin to the US government taking Canadian children in the Canadian foster system and trying to adopt them out to American families.

If the ICWA falls, we're going to see a modern Sixties Scoop, with Native children being stolen from their tribes and families and cultures and assimilated into white Christian society. This is not only traumatizing for the children and their families, it's also a form of cultural genocide that has been used against us before and has devastating effects.

There are family members I never knew because they disappeared into the foster system as children.

This is the beginning of what's going to be wave after wave of attacks on indigenous sovereignty and tribal governance. The Supreme Court, even with a Democratic majority, has historically decided against upholding indigenous sovereignty and tribal protection. We're seeing genocide and forced assimilation become federal policy again.

Bi women of color are lovely and deserve support, love, and happiness.

Bi women of color are lovely and deserve support, love, and happiness.

I'm in love with involuntary validation of a relationship. My best friend saying "our spot", my brother saying "our cookie recipe" or my mum saying "our song". Like YES I LOVE YOU TOO. I'm so soft for it.

Max Slobodda

We owe all the gay men and women who came before us an incalculable debt for living in the world they did and still making art, writing poetry, taking pictures of themselves loving the people they loved. Please love each other just as fiercely as they must have looked to the future and loved us.