Fall 2021
Since time immemorial, what we now call the United States has been the territory of hundreds of Indigenous nations. There were wars between nations, there were treaties, there was trade — there was a flourishing and cosmopolitan community of sovereign civilizations before white settlers arrived. This system was only disrupted as recently as a century ago by the settlers of the United States. In the time since this disruption, the Indigenous people of this land have lived in a state of resistance to colonization and assimilation. This resistance has taken a myriad of forms, from outright military resistance to subtler forms that look more like what we call “change from within.” Here are four examples of different forms of Indigenous resistance to colonization.
Military resistance
Perhaps the most intuitive form of resistance to colonization is the use of retaliatory military force as a means of defense. This has been a common tool implemented by a wide range of Indigenous nations throughout the history of colonization, but perhaps the most visible local example was the US Dakota War of 1862. This war began in response to increasingly restrictive, assimilationist, and violent actions taken by the US government against the Dakota nation, including acts of war and the breaching of previously upheld treaties.
Included in the treaties was the promise that the Dakota nation would retain access to food, even after signing over ownership of their land. However, the US did not hold up their end of the bargain. As a result, the Dakota found themselves without land and without food. On August 17, 1862, a group of four Dakota citizens, acting out of desperation, killed five settlers. Upon returning to their community and telling of what they had done, the community decided to go to war. Taoyateduta (Little Crow) led the Mdewakanton and other Dakota bands in a fierce six week war against the US to fight the injustices being waged against them. Throughout and after the war, the US went to extreme measures to punish the Dakota for daring to resist. These punishments included the mass killings of Dakota civilians, a mass execution authorized by President Lincoln, and the expulsion of all Dakota people from Minnesota. But instead of destroying the Dakota nation as was intended with these acts of genocide, the people survived. Today, over 150 years later, the nation remains strong.
(Re)occupations
Another form of Indigenous resistance is occupation. This is where a group takes control of a piece of land and claims it as their own. In this case, Indigenous groups have reclaimed their land in various ways over the course of US colonization. An example of this form of resistance is the Occupation of Wounded Knee. On February 27, 1973, the Oglala people led an occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Fed up with an oppressive Tribal government and limited resources, the community allied with the American Indian Movement (AIM) to create solidarity with other nations and form a coalition to take control of the town. Thus proceeded a 71 day siege with the US ending in the US agreeing to the coalition’s demands to take action in addressing Indigenous poverty and dependence on the US government. However, the US did not follow through with the accord. The US arrested many of the Wounded Knee leaders in the proceeding days and many others mysteriously disappeared. Leonard Peltier is still incarcerated to this day as a prisoner of war from the occupation. AIM continues to organize protests to this day.
(For more examples see: Line 3, Alcatraz)
Refusal
This form of resistance is less flashy and grandiose than military resistance or occupation, but just as important. Refusal as a form of resistance has been categorized and analyzed by Mohawk anthropologist Audra Simpson. The root of refusal lies in tenacity. It is the grit that has allowed the Indigenous nations to reject assimilation and survive centuries of oppression and attempted genocide. Another term for this is survivance — a combination of survival and resistance.
Revitalization
A recent example of this is the Ojibwe language revival program taking place lead by Anton Treuer, an Ojibwe scholar. He is currently in the process of creating a “Rosetta Stone” of the Ojibwe language. There are very few Ojibwe speakers left in the world, and fewer still due to COVID-19. This effort to interview and document the last first speakers will prove a monumental feat for the education of future Ojibwe citizens and the revitalization of the Ojibwe nation.
Change from Within
As we’ve discussed, one of the primary tools of colonization used by the settlers has been the attempt to assimilate Indigenous people into settler lifestyles. Whereas simple refusal constitutes one form of resistance to assimilation, “change from within” subverts the assimilationist agenda by using assimilation as a tool to one’s own advantage. This can look like partially assimilating and then leveraging the social and political power that assimilation brings in order to advocate for one’s self and one’s community.
An example of this is the story of Ohiyesa, otherwise known as Charles Eastman. Ohiyesa was a Dakota man who received a medical doctorate in 1887. In the eyes of many, he had betrayed the Dakota people and assimilated to the settler ways. However, with the power he gained in the settler world by following a western career path and practicing Christianity, he was able to advocate for change and work from within to fight the settler world. For example, Ohiyesa served with W.E.B. Du Bois as a delegate to the First Universal Races Congress in London in 1911. This story is reflected by myriad other Indigenous people through the ages, such as Marie Louise Baldwin, and shows the nuance of what resistance can look like.
References
Cahill, Cathleen D. “Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin: Indigenizing the Federal Indian Service.” The American Indian Quarterly 37, no. 3 (2013): 63–86. https://doi.org/10.1353/aiq.2013.0025.
Grumdahl, Dara Moskowitz. “Anton Treuer’s Quest to Revive the Ojibwe Language.” Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, November 29, 2020. https://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/anton-treuers-quest-to-revive-the-ojibwe-language/.
Hoxie, Frederick E., ed. Talking Back to Civilization: Indian Voices from the Progressive Era. The Bedford Series in History and Culture. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001.
Landry, Alysa. “Native History: AIM Occupation of Wounded Knee Begins.” Indian Country Today, February 27, 2017. Accessed November 16, 2021. https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/native-history-aim-occupation-of-wounded-knee-begins.
Simpson, Audra. “On Ethnographic Refusal: Indigeneity, ‘Voice’ and Colonial Citizenship.” Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue, no. 9 (2007): 67–80.
Tuck, Eve. “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities.” Harvard Educational Review 79, no. 3 (2009): 409–27.
“The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.” Minnesota Historical Society. Accessed November 16, 2021. https://www.usdakotawar.org/.
Vicens, A. J. “He Killed Two FBI Agents. Or He Was Framed. After 40 Years, Will Obama Free Leonard Peltier?” Mother Jones, May 31, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/05/leonard-peltier-clemency-obama-aim-wounded-knee/.
