Post

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
Click again on or Share Via icon
Click on Copy Link to Tweet
Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
More info at Twitter Help

Kaitlin B Curtice

Sep 4, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X

Sept 4, 1838, the beginning of the Trail of Death, the forced removal of Potawatomi peoples from Indiana on a 2-month long trek to Kansas. Day one is chronicled here, as well as the days that followed:

potawatomi.org/chronicling-th…

In light of everything happening in the world, in America, do I really want to focus on this? No.
But, it is a part of me. It is a part of our history. It is why I won't give up telling the truth about the legacy of white supremacy in the United States.

“Everything seems to justify the belief that these unhappy ppl will yet learn to appreciate the interest which govt. has ever manifested in this affair...a willing compliance will but secure the comfort and enjoyment which for years they have failed to experience in Indiana.”

General Tipton wrote to the Gov. of Indiana to justify removing these people at gunpoint from their homes, that they'd be better off in a place they'd never known or seen than the place they called home. I write about this in #NativeBook

indiebound.org/book/978158743…

"I feel deep within my bones what it means to be one who is removed, one who is assimilated, one whose people remain invisible. And yet, our stories will always carry us, because that is exactly what they are meant to do."

#NativeBook

We can be forgotten by history books, called savages and heathens by the church, taunted by statues of Christopher Columbus and other colonizers, and yet, cities and states are named in our languages, rivers still run that have been tended to by our ancestors.

We are this land.

So, a few things you can do today:

1. visit native-land.ca
2. Buy books by Indigenous authors and read them kaitlincurtice.com/2020/04/09/10-…
3. Prepare for Indigenous Peoples Day in October by denouncing Columbus Day in your cities and states

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @KaitlinCurtice

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Nov 13

RESISTANCE COMMITMENT:
How do we resist?
We resist by breathing,
by gardening,
by telling the truth,
by reading banned books,
by singing love songs,
by grieving,
by trying again,
by not giving up on ourselves,
by challenging what we think we know...

...by knowing that love is always there,
by trusting future generations,
by drawing pictures,
by fighting ableism,
by petting dogs,
by telling your body they matter,
by sending flowers to a tired friend,
by reaching out when you might need flowers...

...by dreaming of an anti-racist world,
by meditating when things get hard,
by being patient with yourself,
by setting healthy boundaries,
by believing in solidarity,
by refusing to "other" your kin,
by writing in that journal,
by saying hello to Mother Earth every day...

Read 5 tweets

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Feb 20, 2022

“We tried to talk to them about the Religious Freedom Act,” Bear-Schneider said. “We tried to talk to them about our sovereignty. They didn’t want to hear anything.”

An officer can be heard in the video saying, “Sovereign stuff is not valid."

freep.com/story/news/loc…

So, here's where we're at. A group of Anishinaabe/Potawatomi leaders gathering a group of people to teach them traditional ways of tapping trees, and police show up because they shouldn't "be in the park after dark," and threaten arrest if they don't leave.

In 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed by President Jimmy Carter so that Indigenous peoples would have protections for religious ceremonies in the US--where are we today? It's clear that Indigenous peoples are a threat to what is "normal" in this nation.

Read 7 tweets

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Oct 31, 2021

It's that time again, when I get questions from parents about how to approach teachers/schools about problematic teaching regarding Indigenous peoples.

Here's a 5-step plan:
1. Name the problem
2. Share Indigenous resources
3. State your ask
4. Infuse with books
5. Stay invovled

So, step number 1: NAME THE PROBLEM

Tell teachers/administrators what's going on and why you're worried about it. Make it clear and name exactly why you're concerned. Don't shy away from the truth about America's history toward Indigenous people. Do research ahead of time.

Step 2: SHARE INDIGENOUS RESOURCES

What books have you read that shaped this discussion? Who are you learning from? Come with a list of names and organizations that the teachers/admin can use in the future.

Read 7 tweets

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Jan 4, 2021

So, the title of this article is super problematic, because it once again insinuates that we are nothing but those "merciless Indian savages" unless we learn how to cooperate with or embed ourselves into the settler-colonial government of America.

nytimes.com/2021/01/01/opi…

Will Haaland have some serious power in this position? Absolutely. But let's not perpetuate the stereotype that we are nothing without this government. It's been my personal struggle with voting and participation in democracy--how do we truly exist in this nation?

But the ending to this article also rings true: we want to be seen as people who exist today, and not characters in a western or people who somehow died-off like the dinosaurs.

We are very much here, and we need visibility and representation.

Read 4 tweets

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Sep 17, 2020

This morning I woke up just pissed at white American Christianity, at all the trauma and hate and death it's caused & the toxic individualism that continues to wreak havoc on our most vulnerable and our society's well-being.

That's it.
Today, I'm just angry, and I get to be.

All the shit we do in the name of God, in the name of Jesus, that is simply a tool to steal one another's humanity and sacredness. So much suffering, throughout history, at the hands of people who are sure they're doing God's bidding.

It's a damn shame.

I dreamt last night I went to a worship service-- singing the songs, kids dancing on stage with adults, a baptism following. I left the church, said, "This isn't for me anymore."

When I woke up, all these memories of trauma/horrific indoctrination just rushed in.

Read 5 tweets

Kaitlin B Curtice

@KaitlinCurtice

Sep 10, 2020

Using Schitts Creek GIFs, here are the things I *wanted* to say when asked or told inappropriate things by Christians- a thread.

At my wedding shower, told that for the rest of my married life, lingerie is always for my husband to feel happy.