Native American Heritage Month 2022
Winona LaDuke is a Native American activist, economist, and author, who has devoted her life to advocating for Indigenous control of their homelands, natural resources, and cultural practices. She combines economic and environmental approaches in her efforts to create a thriving and sustainable community for her own White Earth reservation and Indigenous populations across the country. Find out more.
As we begin Native American Heritage Month, we encourage you to follow the work of Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio and Indigenous Women Rising, and to support their efforts to set the historical records straight and to provide resources, education, and equitable care to Native and Indigenous Peoples. OWA stands with all Indigenous communities who continue to heal from the atrocities that have been and continue to be committed, and we will not stop fighting until comprehensive, holistic reparations are brought to the forefront. Read more about the incredible work these groups are doing below!
In Ohio, the attempted erasure of indigenous communities—and their history—began in the 1790s and continues to this day, over 230 years later. The deceptive and misleading “negotiation” tactics used by colonizers to occupy Native American lands not only led to the eventual forced removal of the majority of Ohio’s Native communities, but also served to create conflict between Native tribes and to erase the indigenous identity and ancestry of those who refused to participate in the removal. Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio is an organization that works to name and reclaim Native American history and identity through traditional, cultural, educational, family, community, and wellness-driven values and initiatives.
Indigenous Women Rising was founded by women and gender nonconforming folx who work to resist oppressive legislation like the Hyde Amendment through education, advocacy, and providing resources that help indigenous communities access full health care, including abortion and other vital reproductive care. They are the only abortion fund created by and for indigenous populations!