Today we want to take some time and honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Here at 606 Movers, we acknowledge that we currently inhabit Indigenous land, land that was and continues to be the home of Indigenous peoples. Commonly known as Chicago, this area is the ancestral land of nations such as the Council of the Three Fires, comprised of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations, as well as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois Nations.
While there is a long way to go, language plays an important part on how we move forward. Representation matters. It’s crucial that we acknowledge Indigenous communities here in the U.S. and across the world, especially those that have suffered disproportionally due to COVID-19 and those fighting on behalf of our environment.
By no means exhaustive, we’ve created a short guide to these issues so that we may all learn, grow, and continue to push for a better world, not just tomorrow but everyday.
First things first, land acknowledgement. Start by finding out whose ancestral land you’re living on. Then explore, listen, learn, and advocate for those communities when and wherever you can.
Information Resources
National Congress of American Indians
National Museum of the American Indian – Native Knowledge 360
American Library Association – Indigenous Tribes of Chicago
The Newberry Library – American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Books
Non-Fiction
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United State by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes
Shapes of Native Nonfiction, edited by Elissa Washuta & Theresa Warburton
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance
by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Fiction
There There by Tommy Orange
Sabrina & Corina: Storie by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel by Waubgeshig Rice
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog, Richard Erdoes
Local Resources / Organizations