Hundreds of New Mexicans rallied and marched up the steps towards the Roundhouse Tuesday on the opening day of the legislative session as part of a mass mobilization by Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA).
The rally included 25 organizations and Indigenous groups.
John Swift Bird, an Oglala Sioux Nation member, led the march with other Native drummers.
“The energy always, always gets to the people,” he said. “People have always resonated to the singing and to the energy of it. Even busking out here at the Santa Fe Plaza, people were just drawn to it.”
He’s been advocating back and forth between New Mexico and South Dakota ever since the 2016 protests in Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Longtime activist Elder Kathy Sanchez from San IldefonsoPueblo gave a blessing and told attendees to not give up.
“Every thing that is brought forth in a good way will survive, because all of us are not giving up on each other. We are the beads. We are all that it takes to move the hearts of those that do not think like us,” she said.
Siihasin Hope from the Mescalero Apache and Diné Nations is an advocate for the Southwest Solidarity Network and Revolutionary 2 Spirit Collective. She said she’s concerned about Indigenous people being arrested by ICE, despite showing their tribal ID’s.
“We know that 15 Indigenous people across the U.S. have been either detained or harassed by ICE, and I think that it's really important that Native people understand and get involved in community organizing to protect themselves and their relatives,” she said.
Hope is advocating for land and water protections and said it’s important for Indigenous people to understand and exercise their rights.
“The only reason we have them is because people before us, our ancestors before us, have fought for us to be here. Have fought for us to have the right to, you know, live,” she said.
She wants lawmakers and the governor to continue upholding tribal consultation on Native issues and said she and other advocates will continue to fight for tribal rights.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
