A Green New Year
By Ayden Clytus
One thing this past year has taught me is that lots of power can be generated by a people; especially when that power is stemmed from love. When we come together, we become more powerful. That is what I love about the activism. Unlike revolts or insurrections, activism is stemmed from love and that is what makes the movement persist. Movements are especially more powerful when we come together collectively like we did in the Civil Rights movement, the Keystone and DAPL protests, and the BLM protests for example. Being Black and Native American, I thought I had to choose where my priorities lie but I now realize that I should not have to choose. It is not about prioritizing one issue over another, it’s about working collectively to progress each other’s efforts. When we focus on who had it worse in the past be it slavery, xenophobia, or colonization, we become enemies to ourselves. The strongest thing we can do is acknowledge our differences and use those to our advantage. It is what makes us more powerful, and creates hope for me while I grow in this world of activism.
“When masses of black folks start[ed] thinking solely in term of “us and them”, internalizing the value system of white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, blind spots developed, the capacity for empathy needed for the building of a community was diminished. … Until we are all able to accept the interlocking, independent nature of systems of domination and recognize specific ways each system is maintained, we will continue to act in ways that undermine our individual quest for freedom and collective liberation struggle.”
Photo courtesy of Ayden Clytus
Joint Society
Mary Jane, Devils Lettuce, Dope, Herb, Marijuana, Weed, whatever you might call it, is on the minds of many. This past year political candidates were not the only thing on the ballot. Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Illinois, and New Jersey had marijuana legislation on the ballots. In Arizona prop 207 allowed recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older, and New Jersey’s legislation will decriminalize marijuana use for those 21 and older. Not only is marijuana use medicinal, legalizing it will shift the longtime social stigma towards marijuana use.
Marijuana use has been recorded as far back as 2737 B.C where it was used in China to heal gout, malaria, and ironically, memory loss. Even the state of Virginia posed as a drug front in in early colonial days when it grew Indian hemp for England. So how did it become illegal in the United States? The answer lies in the core of American beliefs - racial superiority. Beginning in the early 1900’s immigration to the United States was on the rise and so was xenophobia. Along with the influx of immigration from Mexico, came the practice of inhaling marijuana. Racist and xenophobic campaigns started against Mexican immigrants and associated cannabis with cheap Mexican labor and crime prompting lawmakers to make cannabis use illegal.
Then came Richard Nixon and his war on drugs campaign. The Nixon administration had two problems: the “hippies” and the “Blacks”. Both groups caused him trouble from the protests against Vietnam and the Black Power Movement. Since both groups were using their first Amendment right to peacefully protest, the federal government had nothing on them until the war on drugs campaign. In 1971, Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act, outlawing cannabis and labeling it a schedule 1 drug alongside meth and cocaine. Once this was passed, communities of color were targeted for drug use, making this Act the perfect tool to arrest protestors and African Americans and exponentially increasing the prison population and the tax money spent on prisons and law enforcement.
Normally it is communities of color who are under a police officer's magnifying glass for marijuana use. Marijuana use and distribution has long been used as a reason to charge and arrest individuals, especially in the black community. Today 64% of adults think marijuana use should be legalized and with a push from marijuana advocates, 16 states, including Washington D.C, have voted to legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana and 33 states total have decriminalized its use. More recently, Senator Cory Booker has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana on the federal level. Legalizing marijuana could have significant outcomes in terms of the number of people in prison.
Another benefit to marijuana is its healing properties. Although further research is still underway, so far marijuana proves to be a good medicine for a number of ailments. According to multiple resources, including a report by Harvard University, marijuana can be used for:
Chronic Pain Relief,
Ease Multiple Sclerosis and nerve pain in general,
Helping to Fight Cancer,
Tremors linked with Parkinson’s disease,
Manage Nausea,
Glaucoma treatment,
Help ADHD and ADD,
Regulate Seizures,
Alleviate Anxiety, and
Help with PTSD in veterans returning from combat zones.
Additionally, the tax revenue from marijuana purchase in states where it is legal helps fund numerous public services from education to transportation. For instance, Colorado who has a 10% tax on marijuana, uses most of that tax revenue to provide funds for schools in the state. According to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, Massachusetts has a 20% tax on marijuana which has generated $200 million in revenue since its distribution in 2018. In 2019, California made it big with their 15% tax generating $629.3 million that year alone. Overall, the sale of recreational marijuana in these states have generated billions since they have established legislation for legal marijuana.
Overall, marijuana has a number of benefits outside of just “getting high”. There is high advocacy for its legalization at the state and federal level and legalizing marijuana can help hundreds of people in jail for marihuana possession ultimately reducing prison populations and can redistribute existing funds away from law enforcement. On top of all that, the tremendous revenue from marijuana will help fund community projects, education, public safety, health, social services, and more!
(A “defund the police” banner at a Miami, Florida, Black Lives Matter protest. Source: Mike Shaheen, “Miami Protest, June 7, 2020,” Creative Commons, June 7, 2020
C.R.E.A.M
January 6, 2021 is a day we can not forget. That day showed the true Amerikkka. The term “anger” can not even begin to describe what I felt watching Trump supporters attack the capitol. Watching the guards practically allow this crowd to enter the capitol was the perfect example to sum up policing in the United States. Fight for the water and the land? Get shot with rubber bullets, pushed down, sprayed with fire hoses in freezing temperatures, and arrested by police. Fight for equality? Get beaten, pushed, shot, tear gassed, thrown in jail, and hunted down by police. Fight for Trump? Get the door held open for you and a stern warning from police. These people did not care about “blue lives matter” they cared about a system that protected their whiteness. A system that reaffirmed the security that comes when you are white in America.
The police system is inherently racist. It stems from colonizers who hunted down runaway slaves and killed Indigenous people to “protect their land” that was not theirs to begin with. These systems started from men who raped, killed, and dismembered bodies. Men who used women as objects and believed their race was supreme. This mindset is so deeply ingrained that we can still see it today. Unfortunately, we can not abolish this system but we can take away some of their power - money.
One of the common slogans during the Black Lives Matter movement was “Defund the Police”. According to recent data, police funding has nearly tripled since the 1970’s. In Los Angeles, for example, nearly half ($1.8 billion) of the city's budget is spent on policing. When “Defund the Police” first became a slogan, many did not look at it from a broader perspective and instead it brought misleading debate. What defunding the police would really mean is taking money away from police and prisons and redirecting the funds towards things to better communities. Diminishing a system that aims to put people of color behind bars. Providing funds for healthcare, education, employment, housing or mental health programs. Defunding the police will show the benefit of funding community based programs and ultimately tear down the prison industrial complex.
Already projects aimed towards defunding the police show promise. One example tested in Denver, CO is the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) program which has been running for 6 months as of February 2021. This program sent health workers to respond to mental health and substance abuse calls instead of the police. Those in the program responded to 748 calls that included welfare checks, narcotic incidents, and mental health episodes. Those calls required zero police interference, zero arrests, zero deaths. A perfect example of what can happen when we defund the police and invest in the community.
Photo courtesy of Ayden Clytus
The Giant has Spoken
Native American history is often told as a sad story. We are presented as if we are a people in a past life, one who has been conquered and suppressed. They speak only of colonization, oppression, genocide but I would like to call bullsh*t. Yes, the struggle was real, battles were fought but despite every effort, every attempt to eradicate us or make our voices irrelevant has utterly failed. Last year threw its challenges at us but it was a moment that showed how powerful our nations truly are. The 2020 Presidential election was far too close for comfort but it was ultimately the Native vote that really made the difference.
Voting is highly important. Voting decides who will be in charge of our water, our lands, our education, our healthcare, EVERYTHING! Who you vote changes the direction of the country, it affects where communities are built, where toxic waste is dumped. In many cases, when less people vote, it allows Congressmen to continue to back big money corporations who have no interest in the well being of the communities they affect, only how much money will line their pockets. Voting is so important, that it is one of the most contended ideals and has been changed several times throughout history. Why was it changed so much? Because this country was founded by men with a white supremist, patriarchal mindset and it is because of organization and rebellion that we are even close to where we are today but much more work has to be done.
During the Civil Rights movement major progress was made with legislation passed such as the Voting Rights act of 1965. This act outlawed discriminatory practices in voting used primarily in southern states such as poll taxes and literacy tests. In 2013, the Supreme Court voted to remove section 5 of this act in the Shelby County v. Holder case. By removing this section, states have been able to reduce the number of ballots in their states and reinforce voter restriction laws such as Voter ID laws. This case has since affected how poor people, people of color, and Tribal Nations have been able to vote practically subsiding the efforts of the Voting Rights Act. More specifically, states with a high Native presence have enforced laws that make it harder for the Native population to vote. Despite long drives to the few polling places available in their states, tribal ID laws, mail-in ballot restrictions, and the threat of COVID-19, we were able to make our voices heard in a historical election.
Now Deb Halaand has been confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior, sparking major change for NDN country. Along with her appointment a number of tribal members hold federal government positions because of our presence in this last election. Because of our activism, construction on the Keystone pipeline has been discontinued. Because of our voice, Native representatives head key positions that regulate the land, the water, wildlife reserves, Indian education, and many others. Because of our ancestors, we are still here making a difference, slowly allowing the giant to mend our lands.
Some Tribal Members in Federal Offices:
Debra Halaand, Laguna Pueblo, Secretary of Interior
Natalie Landreth, Chickasaw, Deputy Solicitor for Land
Bryan Newland, Ojibwe, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs
Wahleah Johns, Navajo, head of US Office of Indian Energy Programs and Policy
Daniel Cordalis, Navajo, Deputy Solicitor, Water
ORGANIZATIONS TO RECOGNIZE
Lakota Law Project
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
North Dakota Native Vote
Sacred Pipe Resource Center
Native Organizers Alliance
Inter-Tribal Council
Diné C.A.R.E
Rural Utah Project
VoteAmerica
Four Directions
All Voting is Local
NativeVote
AND ALL PEOPLE WHO WENT OUT TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE - AHÉHEE’ (THANK YOU)
Photo courtesy of Ayden Clytus
Reflection & Revitalization
Loved ones have been lost, graduations missed, a fight for equality that still persists. From wherever you might be, I am sure in some way you were impacted by the shadowy overcast that is 2020. Being a Black Native American woman in the year 2020 brought on a wave of challenges for me too. I can not count the number of times I cried hearing about another person of color harmed or killed by police, and then seeing the Diné Nation, my home, was a hotspot for the virus. It seemed like every other week my mom was getting bad news. I could not help but think about all our elders too. All their knowledge simply gone in a moment. One day I felt immense anxiety because my family, my language, my culture, the state of the world, my future, all of those thoughts came like a tsunami flooding my heart with sorrow. All I could think to do was pray.
That evening, I went to my mom and asked for her to show me how to pray. Not your typical ̨prayer at church or for a family dinner but the way she was taught to pray. She took out her corn husk and mountain tobacco and she showed me how to roll the tobacco smoke with the corn husk. She explained how it is used, the specific way to hold it, and how you pray with it. For me, it was powerful. With every inhale came positive thoughts, prayers for my family and the state of the world. With each exhale came out my negative thoughts and my feelings of anxiety. She explained that the tools I needed were here in my house. Our traditional teachings, the things we use to pray with yellow corn pollen, cedar, mountain tobacco, all gifts from Mother Earth. They make me feel closer to home and in a way it is my protection.
Since that prayer I have looked for ways to heal myself and part of my healing included meditation and ways to help heal the Earth. Like you, I miss the simple things, little things too. Every other weekend my family and I used to rack up Harkins Theater points or go out to eat just for something to do. For almost a year now we have been packed in our house like sardines with snacks lining our pantry shelves, and a laundry basket full of pajama pants and blouses or dress shirts. It has been over a year since I have been home and seen most of my family too. Facetime, phone calls, or social media helps but it is nothing compared to a family gathering where we wake up at the crack of dawn to butcher a sheep only to hear someone yell “Yáadilá! Háíshį́į́ ’átsą́ą́’ yidiłííd!” (Someone is burning the mutton ribs!) around noon. Being isolated at home has been a major transition for many of us and it has taken a mental toll on many of us but goddesses need a break too.
My journey for self healing included meditation, yoga, exercise, gardening, and learning my language. In my effort to be more sustainable at home, I began composting and gardening.
While I watered my plants I would introduce myself to them and repeat this prayer to myself with them.
Dííjį́ shitah yá’áhoot’ééh dooleeł.
I will feel good today.
Nizhónígo íísísts’ą́ą’ dooleeł.
I will listen in a goodway.
Shinaashnish bíneeshdlį́į dooleeł.
I will enjoy my work.
Diné bizaad bí’hoosh’aah dooleeł.
I will learn the Navajo language.
T’aa shí shizaad bee yáshti’ dooleeł.
I will speak my own heritage language.
Shik’éí k’é bidishíi dooleeł.
I will great my relatives.
Dííjį́ k’ad nidah dooleeł.
It will be today.
Growing up my mother taught me that words are powerful. When you want something, you speak it into existence. T’áá hó ’ájít’éego t’éiyá. Success is up to you. So I continue to say this prayer because I pray that each day is good, full or opportunity, I pray that I learn the language of my ancestors, and I pray that the work I choose to do brings me joy, as it should with everyone. For part of your green new year, I encourage you to find what you want from yourself. What is important to you? What make you feel happy and whole? Surround yourself with those who encourage you and support you. Treat yourself with the little things in life. Acknowledge your accomplishments. Be thankful for things around you. Recognize the beauty, knowledge, and strength you bring to this world. Never allow the world around you suppress your ferocity, your joy, or your voice. You are Beautiful. You are Brilliant. Your presence is Giant, let them hear your roar.
