Sep 30, 2015 - We Stopped Shell by Nahaan
When I heard that Shell decided to cease drilling in the Arctic I knew that it was not only the decision of a corporation that determined that particular outcome. That it in fact was the conscious efforts, the spiritual doings, and focused intentions of many dedicated people that created a healthier reality than was initiated by the profiteers.
How powerful it is when we can unite beyond all differences to fight, speak, sing, and organize on behalf of our unquestionable commonality, our mother earth!
May we continue to recognize despite the many social disparities, racial and sexual inequalities, that we still must unify to defend our mother earth in the same way we would defend our own birth mothers and grandmothers. We know that we can never have truly have justice on stolen lands.
The time is now for us to become more informed, responsible and active on behalf of the earth and the spiritual environment that our great great grandchildren must live in.
May the colonizers insatiable appetite for profit vanish. May they stop making our Indigenous people believe in monetary gain seen as success or as beneficial, may our people stop accepting money in exchange for a healthy future, money in exchange for our cherished lands, foods, waters and skies.
May we continue the powerful walk of Indigenous resistance by any means necessary.
May we continue to block the path of pipelines, stop the transportation of oil on trains, and lessen the use of petroleum as a means of basic survival.
May we continue to speak out about the devastating nature oil harvesting, oil transportation, oil use, and oil profit.
Nahaan is of Łingít, Iñupiaq, and Paiute tribes. His work reflects his teachings and cultural background. As a tattoo artist of 5 years and running he focuses exclusively on working within the spirit and design style of northern formline. As a carver, painter and designer he emulates the visual storytelling crafts so dear to his people of Southeast Alaska. He is a spoken word poet and helped to found “Woosh Kinaadeiyeí” in Juneau Alaska which has since grown into a thriving creative mainstay in the capitol city. He teaches the Tlingit language and song, and is the spokesperson for Náakw Dancers, a group which he started in Seattle, Washington in order to perpetuate the rich expressions of the Pacific Northwests native population. He focuses on the aspects of community empowerment and self mastery through the methods of decolonization indigenization and activism.