San Jose, CA – On August 4, around 70 people gathered to celebrate the removal of the Thomas Fallon statue that had stood at the corner of West Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue in San Jose for over 20 years. Fallon was a captain of the U.S. military during the Mexican-American War and captured San Jose in 1846. In the 1850s, he returned to the area and began a political career, culminating in a one-year term as mayor of San Jose in 1859. His time in public office took place during a period of genocide against the indigenous peoples of California, as well as the oppression and disenfranchisement of Mexican people in California.
Oeida, WI – On November 9, over 50 people gathered on the Oneida Indian Reservation in northeast Wisconsin to show solidarity with the Oneida people and all indigenous people as a Supreme Court decision regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) looms. The crowd included members of the Oneida Tribal Nation, concerned community members and several organizations that helped facilitate the event. The gathered community members, both tribal and not, were met with hospitality from the Oneida hosts, with homemade corn soup and community-building conversation being shared before the speakers began.
Canon Ball, ND – Resistance to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline continues to grow. The Standing Rock Sioux, members of hundreds of tribes from around the country, as well as non-Natives have gathered to stop the pipeline.
