Indigenous Delegation

Indigenous People and Their Land Are Owed Autonomy, Stewardship, and Actual, Permanent, Distinct Political Power!

The colonization of indigenous peoples and their land across the planet is a practice so old it is hard to determine when it began. Nearly every nation today contains groups of people indigenous to their land but denied autonomy and denied stewardship over their land through the act of colonization. Decolonization and national liberation are a global necessity, and are also the primary contradiction to be reckoned with in many societies across the world.

On Turtle Island, colonization began nearly 530 years ago, marked by kidnapping, enslavement, natural devastation, mass land theft, genocide, residential schools, cultural erasure and cultural appropriation, and concentration camps called “reservations” that still today deprive indigenous communities of real autonomy, of stewardship, and of basic life necessities like clean water and road access. Socially, indigenous people, especially women, are still at heightened risk of murder, kidnapping, trafficking, and rape, with a much lower chance of the perpetrators being held accountable.

We should be clear, “America” only exists because Turtle Island is colonized. In the same way, “Israel” only exists because Palestine is colonized. The liberation of all indigenous peoples and their land is a pre-condition of any other liberation movement.

Land acknowledgements and ceremonies, speeches, and formal tribal recognition are NOT substitutes for autonomy, permanent and distinct political power, dignity, an end to genocide, or returning stewardship of their land to them and guaranteeing full and equitable access to all necessities.

Before the colonizers came to this land, Turtle Island, and for a time after they arrived before the mass genocide permanently disrupted their affairs, indigenous Turtle Island clans were organized in a network of councils that would send Sachems as delegates to inter-tribal council meetings. Within the clan, all members could share their thoughts and concerns, and decisions were made communally. The general economy relied on social debt, and all people in a clan were treat each other as one family.

The traditional societies cultivated by indigenous Turtle Islanders were forcibly taken and that way of life was negated. While the specifics of life 500 years ago will never return, the future we build can still resemble it, by restoring indigenous stewardship over all of their lands, by ensuring that they have permanent political power, and by modeling the communal council system in a modern form.

Land Back and The Negation of the Negation

The Indigenous Delegation of the Worker-Tenant Council is a co-equal delegation, meaning that no matter how few members it contains, the delegation always gets a full delegatory vote in Council proceedings.

All members of the Indigenous Delegation are voting members, while the leadership does not vote, as with other delegations. Delegations elect their own leaders to facilitate and guide discussion.

Members of this delegation are all local working class indigenous people, both those with a deep connection to their clan and those who have been alienated from their roots. Clans may also or alternatively send Sachems as clan liaisons at their discretion. This is not a blood quantum delegation, however the members of it can collectively decide to disallow certain people from claiming membership in this delegation should they feel it necessary, especially given the history of identity appropriation in our society.

The indigenous delegation will open, lead, and close all Council discussions on issues related to land use, sustainability, permaculture, cultural appropriation, anti-indigenous racism, traditional education, and any other issues primarily impacting indigenous people as a class. Members of this delegation will also chair any Council committees on these topics. These topics also come with veto power for the delegation.