Native american activism arts

50 years ago, the hippie movement borrowed many of their ecological ideas from Native Americans, who also participated in the Earth Day celebrations. But Indigenous peoples have struggled to protect their environment long before 1970.

The history of U.S. colonization and the privatization of Native American lands, issues of sovereignty and treaty rights, the economic dynamics of capitalism, and tangible and intangible cultural heritage claims all create a complex movement that links social justice with environmental justice.

Today, Indigenous peoples face environmental racism—policies and practices that intentionally or unintentionally disadvantages individuals or communities based on their ethnicity or race. Environmental racism is exemplified by numerous mining and pipeline projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline that cut through sacred tribal lands in violation of their sovereignty and at great cost of local Native American communities’ cultural, economic, and physical health.