Our country has a history of disrespect and ill-treatment of Native Americans. This year EMU decided to raise awareness of this by celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day in lieu of Columbus Day. The goal of this holiday is, as the name implies, to celebrate the indigenous peoples that once lived across the entirety of North and South America.
EMU focused on educating its student body and community on the historical and current oppression that these people still face, and how this relates to current students’ lives. This was accomplished through a professor-led workshop discussing the Doctrine of Discovery, followed by a student-planned viewing of “The Eagle and the Condor: From Standing Rock with Love,” a documentary on the Standing Rock protests.
The Doctrine of Discovery was essentially the Christian justification for colonization. It was used for over five centuries to “allow” European settlers to steal land from, and enslave, indigenous people the world over.
The hope of having a discussion on it, as stated by Timothy Seidel, a professor at EMU and one of the leaders of this workshop, was that “this year’s events [would open] a space for all of us to not only learn about our histories but also to discover the ways that those historical truths are inseparable from present-day realities of settler colonialism.”
The film perfectly portrayed these present-day realities by highlighting the treatment that the indigenous protestors at Standing Rock had to face from the U.S. government. They were beaten, shot with rubber bullets, tear gassed, pepper sprayed, sprayed with fire hoses, and attacked by dogs — and these were only what was shown.
All of this was done by the U.S. government —with the exception of the attack dogs that were released by a private security firm hired by the oil company— in defense of a big oil company against American citizens with a legal right to peacefully protest.
The film had the desired effect on at least a few students. Junior Ariel Barbosa said, “I felt a fire burning within me as I watched innocent Native Americans disrespected again, seeing the footage of teepees torn down, sacred land torn up, and the agony of adorned elders.” This was reflected by many in the audience during a follow-up discussion after the film.
A few people specifically asked how they could get involved with protests locally and all who shared expressed a deep pain for the people that experienced Standing Rock.
The closing comments from the event leaders, Katrina Poplett and Kirby Broadnax, were to urge those in attendance to sit with the thoughts and feelings provoked by the documentary, and consider what we can do to help those that have been mistreated for so long.
Sophomore Anisa Leonard perfectly summarized the purpose of the events. “It is all too easy for me, born and raised in Kenya, to disassociate myself from the Doctrine of Discovery, the DAPL, and the systems of oppression which face indigenous people in the United States. The movie reminded me that I shouldn’t disassociate myself. While I may not have caused the harms to Native Americans, I still benefit from them.”
