Truth, Peace, Justice

Sign the Letter for Peace with Justice

In the wake of the events at the Lincoln Memorial after the Indigenous Peoples March, much has been said and written. After all the spin, we believe the clearly visible facts of the incident involving Nathan Phillips highlight the importance of having a real discussion about normalized and systemic racism and the need to build bridges of understanding that allow us to move forward as a society — peace with justice.

Please watch our video, in which I describe first-hand and contextualize the events that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial. Then please sign onto our open letter saying you stand with Nathan Phillips and his effort to promote racial harmony while confronting the injustice filtering down from the White House.

We believe in our brother, and we share Nate’s goals of bringing attention to the issues that divide us, of taking strong action to stop the cycle of repression and disrespect toward Indigenous people and immigrants, and of forwarding a progressive vision for a better future.

Let’s use what happened to keep the focus on the reasons we marched in the first place: stopping the epidemics of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women; the removal of Native American children from their families and tribes in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act; and the despoiling of sacred, tribal lands by fossil fuel companies hellbent on warming our climate to a dangerous level.

Let’s show, en masse and unencumbered, that we won’t accept the spin from right-wing media outlets. Their game plan attempts to switch the focus to irrelevant details and conveniently ignore the genocide of Native Americans and past enslavement of African Americans — meaningful context to what happened in D.C. An Omaha-Ponca elder stepping in to halt a hostile exchange and diffuse racial tension is an act of bravery that needs to be replicated, not covered over.

The events at the Lincoln Memorial highlight how far we still have to go. You can help us harness the power of that moment to create real change. Your voice is needed, now more than ever.

Wopila Tanka—Your solidarity emboldens our struggle!

Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
Lakota People’s Law Project

P.S. Please sign onto our open letter today, and share it far and wide. Your support can help us continue to engage key influencers — political figures, clergy, and allied organizations among them — and ensure that Nathan’s stand was not in vain. You can help Indigenous peoples take back our collective power by standing with Nathan Phillips, in dignity, for peace with justice.