Marchers in Washington Call for Indigenous Rights

 

Hundreds of people gathered in Washington Friday for the first ever Indigenous¹ People’s March.

Marchers came from big cities and small towns across the United States and as far away as Australia. Many of them are indigenous activists³. They work in support of native groups around the world.

Among other things, the protesters called attention to four main issues: environmental injustices⁴; voter suppression; police abuse; and an end to trafficking of indigenous women.

Up to 2.5 billion people depend on indigenous and community lands, which make up more than half of the world’s land. But indigenous people own just 10 percent.

Campaigners said native people are fighting for land rights against governments, loggers and mining and agricultural companies.

“We’re in support of the aims of indigenous peoples from across the world – that is for our safety, health, the protection of our families and our water, for the protection of our lives,” Rufus Kelly said. He is a member of the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia.

The event had several speakers, including elected officials. Attendees also led prayers, sang and performed traditional dances.

One speaker was Deb Haaland, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. As she stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Haaland shouted, “It’s a great day to be indigenous, isn’t it!?” She thanked the crowd for coming and said, “This is Indian land.”

Haaland is from New Mexico and a member of the Laguna pueblo⁵ tribe. She was one of the first of two Native American women elected to U.S. Congress.

At the march, Haaland noted⁶ that Native Americans had waited 240 years for a seat in Congress “and now we have two,” she said. “So that means we are going to make some issues front and center.”

Ruth Buffalo⁷ was another speaker at the march. She was recently elected as the first Native American Democrat⁸ in the North Dakota state legislature. Buffalo credited her win to local activists who helped register indigenous North Dakotans to vote.

Latoya, an indigenous activist² from Australia, also spoke⁹. She talked about police abuse against the country’s native population.

The Indigenous People’s March opened Friday with a prayer in front of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees¹⁰ the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

A prayer leader asked attendees to honor the ground beneath them, which was once indigenous land.

“And feel through your feet through this hard surface and reach down underneath¹¹ – there’s soft earth,” she said.

She asked native forefathers¹² to bless the day’s activities.

“We’re standing¹³ here this morning in the footsteps of so many ancestors,” she said.

The Indigenous People’s March was the idea of the Indigenous People’s Movement. The movement seeks to unify¹⁴ native people from North, South and Central America, the Pacific, Canada, and the Caribbean.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

indigenous – adj. a word referring to the native people of a place

trafficking – n. the act of illegally transporting people from one area to another, usually for forced labor¹⁵ or sexual exploitation

logger – n. a person or company whose job is to cut down trees for wood

bureau – n. a government department or part of a government department in the U.S.

bless – v. to make something or someone holy by saying a special prayer

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

5 pueblo   

n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄

参考例句：

• For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2，000多年的时间里，印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
• The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

11 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

12 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。