Some overlooked indigenous allies who stood with us yesterday.

We wanted to acknowledge some of our indigenous allies who stood with us yesterday that were not mentioned in any of the news accounts. Most people know that Colorado AIM, Escuela Tlatelolco, Barrio Warriors, Leroy Lemos and Mecha are instrumental in organizing for this weekend's activities but there were also others on hand who played a major role in providing inspiration, direction and support for yesterday's protest.

Carrie Dann, of the Western Shoshone, has been in town since Thursday night. While here, she has spoken at forums to educate people about the current struggle to protect Newe Segobia as well as linking it all back to the Doctrine of Discovery and the Columbus legacy. Carrie is an elder now but that hasn't kept her from tirelessly advocating on behalf of Indigenous peoples. Yesterday, Carrie went out into the street and stood in the front, facing the police.

Savage Family is a revolutionary/liberation hip hop group based in Lawrence Kansas. They helped set the tone, as we began walking to confront the parade, by performing one of their signature songs. The members of Savage Family aren't just musicians so of course they went out into the streets and were arrested alongside everyone else.

Yesterday's AP article about the protest carried this paragraph.

Most carried signs, including one that read "Not Genocide, Celebrate Pride" and another showing a crossed-out picture of Columbus with the word "savage" over it.

This is the sign the article is referring to.


The members of Savage Family were the ones holding the Savage sign which they took from the capitol, past the police barricades and out into the intersection of 19th and Blake. You can listen to their music by clicking HERE

Owe Aku is an organization based at Pine Ridge. They have been organizing the protests against those who are reinacting the Lewis and Clark invasion of Lakota territory. Vic Camp has been acting as one of the spokespeople of the organization and he and his brothers were at the Capitol on Saturday morning. Vic informed the people assembled about their upcoming protests and educated them as to what is truly being celebrated by the Lewis and Clark re-enactors. Owe Aku helped to keep the drum going for the hour and a half it took for everyone to be arrested. These are strong indian men and you can read more about their efforts at www.stoplewisandclark.org

The Oyate student organization is located on the campus of Boulder Colorado. They've been organizing the students on their campus to attend this weekend's events and had a sizable contingent on hand for both days. The members of Oyate were also inside the barricades and were arrested yesterday afternoon. They kept up the energy and focus as the cops began arresting people. The women were singled out as being the ones inside the cells who kept everyone's spirits up and reminded people of why they were there. Oyate will be sponsoring some educational forums on the campus of Boulder on October 11. We'll post the details shortly.

These are just a few of our allies who came out this weekend to oppose the celebration of genocide. We'll be focusing on other organizations and individuals who were there in the days to come. For now though, we wanted to give an intial thanks to all of those who put themselves out there and took a stand.