In the past year we have witnessed the erosion of the freedom of speech, profiling of civilians, and the right to peacefully protest. What has happened in Minnesota, including the murder of a protestor and the arrest of four Native Americans, is chilling.
Native people within the United States are not strangers to being persecuted. They have suffered, being forcibly removed from their homes, their children taken and sent to boarding schools where they were often violently forced to assimilate and punished for speaking their languages and engaging in their spiritual and cultural practices.
Since contact with colonizing forces, Native people have continuously had to fight for their legal rights to be heard and for the federal government to uphold their treaties.
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, American Indians and Alaska Natives demanded the sovereign rights and autonomy owed to them as sovereign nations. This included the right to be self-actualized and to maintain their cultures, languages, and traditions, and to maintain their Native nations.
The tribal college movement and founding of the tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) is only one example of how Native nations reclaimed their inherent rights, including those under the first amendment, including the right to speech and peacefully protest and speak one’s language; freedom from the government’s imposition of religion; freedom of association; and more.
Today the civil rights of Native people and others are at risk. The Trump Administration uses illegal immigration and crime as a guise for ICE raids, while some agents are using appearance and language as justifiable criteria for arrest and detention of individuals. We are witnessing not only the persecution of people peacefully exercising their first amendment right to protest but the unlawful arrest and detention of Native people based on the color of their skin.
The detainment of innocent individuals is alarming. Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights era, it seems like history is repeating itself. We are concerned for the safety of our Indigenous relatives and others.
Until we work together to find healing and peace, we must continue our work to ensure that every voice is heard while caring for ourselves and each other.
For the safety of our Native relatives, we urge individuals to contact their tribal government offices to obtain a tribal identification card if they qualify for one. Please carry both state and tribal identification cards (and a passport if one has one). We continue to emphasize that Native people are citizens of both the United States and their Native nations.
In summary, we offer the following guidance for all of our relatives:
- Carry your tribal ID. Tribes are urging the Trump Administration to direct ICE to accept tribal IDs as proof of U.S. citizenship. For some, especially elders who may have been born in remote homes and who struggle to obtain a birth certificate, this is the best option.
- Carry a state ID along with a Certificate of Indian Blood in addition to a tribal ID if you have one.
Know you have the right to remain silent and refuse any search. - You do not have to open the door of your home to ICE agents unless they have a valid warrant signed by a judge.
- Consistently check for updates from your tribal government and organizations like the Native American Rights Fund to get information and tips to stay safe.
- Share this post! Help spread this message so it reaches as many people as possible.
For more information, download these legal information sheets from the Native American Rights Fund (NARF):
- Know Your Rights If You Are Approached by ICE
- Fact Sheet for Native-Serving Non-profits Regarding Police and Immigration
