A tipi or tepee is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The loanword came into English usage from the Dakota and Lakota languages.
The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police brutality against American Indians. AIM soon widened its focus from urban issues to many Indigenous Tribal issues that American Indian groups have faced due to settler colonialism in the Americas. These issues have included treaty rights, high rates of unemployment, the lack of American Indian subjects in education, and the preservation of Indigenous cultures.
Russell Charles Means was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of American Indians and all oppressed First Nation Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) after joining the organization in 1968 and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage.
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Indigenous peoples of North America that employs the quills of porcupines as an aesthetic element. Quills from bird feathers were also occasionally used in quillwork.
Annie Mae Aquash was a First Nations activist and Mi'kmaq tribal member from Nova Scotia, Canada. Aquash moved to Boston in the 1960s and joined other First Nations and Indigenous Americans focused on education and resistance, and police brutality against urban Indigenous peoples. She was part of the American Indian Movement, participated in several occupations, and participated in the 1973 Wounded Knee incident at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, United States.
The Oglala are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the United States.
Two-spirit is a contemporary pan-Indian umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a traditional third-gender social role in their communities.
Native American feminism or Native feminism is, at its root, understanding how gender plays an important role in indigenous communities both historically and in modern-day. As well, Native American feminism deconstructs the racial and broader stereotypes of indigenous peoples, gender, sexuality, while also focusing on decolonization and breaking down the patriarchy and pro-capitalist ideology. As a branch of the broader Indigenous feminism, it similarly prioritizes decolonization, indigenous sovereignty, and the empowerment of indigenous women and girls in the context of Native American and First Nations cultural values and priorities, rather than white, mainstream ones. A central and urgent issue for Native feminists is the Missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis.
Peggy Flanagan is an American politician, community organizer, and Native American activist serving as the 50th lieutenant governor of Minnesota since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Flanagan served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), also known as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and more broadly as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) or Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), are instances of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, notably those in the First nations in Canada and Native American communities, but also amongst other Indigenous peoples such as in Australia and New Zealand, and the grassroots movement to raise awareness of MMIW through organizing marches; building databases of the missing; holding local community, city council, and tribal council meetings; and conducting domestic violence trainings and other informational sessions for police.
Adrienne J. Keene is a Native American academic, writer, and activist. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she is the founder of Native Appropriations, a blog on contemporary Indigenous issues analyzing the way that Indigenous peoples are represented in popular culture, covering issues of cultural appropriation in fashion and music and stereotyping in film and other media. She was also an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, where her research focused on educational outcomes for Native students.
Scatter Their Own was a Rock Band by Scott Clifford. In the Lakota language, the tribe name Oglala translates to "scatter one's own", desiring to scatter Lakota perspective throughout the country.
The prison–industrial complex is the rapid expansion of US inmates and prisons in favor of private prison companies and businesses that profit from the services needed in the construction and maintaining of prisons. The businesses benefit and profit from cheap prison labor, food services, medical services, surveillance technology, and construction. The financial incentive of building prisons encourages incarceration and affects people of color at disproportionately high rates. Native Americans are the largest group per capita in the US prison system and are more likely to be affected by police violence than any other racial group.
The Indigenous Peoples March was a demonstration and march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2019. The event included speeches, prayers, songs, and dance. Its goal was to draw attention to global injustices against indigenous peoples. After prayers outside the Building of Interior Affairs, the marchers proceeded along Constitution Avenue to Henry Bacon Park, north of the Lincoln Memorial. During the day-long event, featured guests, such as Ruth Buffalo, Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids, spoke to crowds gathered on the stairs in front of the Lincoln Memorial and the plaza on the edge of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Organizers expected a crowd of about 10,000 people. Simultaneous "solidarity marches" were scheduled in a dozen other locations, such as Gallup, New Mexico, and Bemidji, Minnesota, in the United States and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in Canada.
Rosalie Fish is a Native American runner, member of the Cowlitz Tribe, former student athlete at Iowa Central Community College, currently studying and running for the University of Washington. As a senior at Muckleshoot Tribal School, Fish made international headlines when she painted a red handprint over her mouth, the fingers extending across her cheeks to honor the lives of missing and murdered indigenous women. Rosalie Fish has also been a featured speaker for Tedx Talks.
Aaron Yazzie is a Diné (Navajo) mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His work involves planetary sample acquisition and handling. He has worked on the Mars Science Laboratory, InSight, and Mars 2020 missions.
A red handprint, usually painted across the mouth, is a symbol that is used to indicate solidarity with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls in North America, in recognition of the fact that Native American women are up to 10 times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted.
Jasilyn Charger is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and is from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, USA. Charger is a land activist, water protector, community organizer, and advocate for Native American and LGBTQ rights, and a youth founder of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. They have also protested against the Keystone Pipeline, and were arrested for their non-violent civil disobedience in November 2020.
Patricia 'Patsy' L. Whitefoot is a member of Yakama Nation, is Indigenous elder, activist and professional educator along with being the traditional food gatherer for the Toppenish Creek Longhouse. She served as the President of the National Indian Education Association and President Obama appointed her as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. She is a prominent advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and Indigenous rights.
