Mar 25, 2014 - “Get over it! Quit complaining about the past! I am trying to steal the rest of your lands guilt free!” And other observations of the colonial settler state by Matt Remle

We’ve all heard the comments before, “Get over it!”, “That happened so long ago!”, “I didn’t steal your land!”, “Go focus on more important issues!”, “You’re too angry!”, whenever we vocalize, or actualize, our opposition to any number of issues impacting our communities.

Whether addressing violence against Native women, opposing the tar sands or pipelines, calling out racist mascots or cultural appropriators, asserting tribal sovereignty, protecting our children from harmful state agencies, or protecting sacred sites, we as Native peoples, are continuously subjected to the attempts to down play our very current and real struggles by the colonial settler, and often, their Uncle/Auntie Tomahawk cheerleaders.

For proof positive, just read the comments section of any of our posts on our Last Real Indians page. Regardless of what we post a gluttony of opposition tends to follow, which in many respects, shows that we are pushing the buttons of the colonial settler and their assimilated cheerleaders, and that’s a good thing.

We shouldn’t be surprised at the reaction of the settler whenever we, as indigenous peoples, stand up and vocalize our opposition, especially when that opposition comes in direct confrontation with the beliefs of the colonizer. 500 years of an ingrained belief of a manifest destiny chartered by their religious doctrine has led peoples of European descent, in particular, to believe they truly have a “God given” right over all the worlds lands, resources, and peoples. This perverted imperial belief has stretched well beyond the shores of Europe and touched nearly all corners of the world from Africa, to Asia to Turtle Island. And, despite the oft repeated “that was a long time ago” European Christian imperialism simply morphed into U.S. imperialism, which continues its colonial trajectory to this day on all corners of the globe.

To the settlers of the U.S. colonial state, we get it, our existence makes you uncomfortable.  Unlike other groups of peoples, we reject the idea of assimilation for we understand that having “equality” in an imperialist colonial settler state does not equal freedom or liberation. Furthering the goals of colonization is not what our ancestors fought for and it will not be the goal of our generation or those to come.

We understand that all life across Maka Ina is under assault from the continued legacy of colonialism and we will continue to rise in opposition to it. The tools of the colonizer to silence us through its attempts to subjugate our minds and spirits will be, and are, resisted. We will not “get over it” because we still in the midst of battling colonialism both at home and in solidarity with our indigenous relatives around the globe.

Mitakuye oyasin Wakinyan Waanatan (Matt Remle)