The Standing Rock resistance and our fight for indigenous rights | Tara Houska
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2018
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
Still invisible and often an afterthought, indigenous peoples are uniting to protect the world's water, lands and history -- while trying to heal from genocide and ongoing inequality. Tribal attorney and Couchiching First Nation citizen Tara Houska chronicles the history of attempts by government and industry to eradicate the legitimacy of indigenous peoples' land and culture, including the months-long standoff at Standing Rock which rallied thousands around the world. "It's incredible what you can do when you stand together," Houska says. "Stand with us -- empathize, learn, grow, change the conversation."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This TED Talk features tribal rights attorney Tara Houska, recorded live at TED Women, 2017. |
| 0:09.4 | Buzhou, Tara Indigenkha, Jaganashimang, Mianaz, Inisinawa, Jhaweyakwai, Nishinawa. |
| 0:14.5 | Makwan Dudaim, Gojujing and Dunjibah. |
| 0:16.8 | My name is Tara Houska. |
| 0:18.8 | My name is Tara Houska. |
| 0:22.6 | I'm Bear Klan from Kuchiching First First Nation. I was born under the maple sapping moon in International Falls, Minnesota. |
| 0:26.6 | I'm happy to be here with all of you. |
| 0:32.6 | Trauma of indigenous peoples has trickled through the generations. |
| 0:39.8 | Centuries of oppression, of isolation, of invisibility |
| 0:44.0 | has led to a muddled understanding of who we are today. |
| 0:47.4 | In 2017, we faced this mixture of Indians and headdresses going across the plains, |
| 0:53.8 | but also the drunk sitting on a porch |
| 0:56.0 | somewhere you never heard of living off government handouts |
| 0:58.4 | and casino money. |
| 1:03.5 | It's really, really hard. |
| 1:05.7 | It's very, very difficult to be in these shoes, |
| 1:08.3 | to stand here as a product of genocide, survival of genocide. |
| 1:15.1 | We face this constant barrage of unteaching the accepted narrative. |
| 1:20.0 | 87% of references in textbooks, children's textbooks to Native Americans are pre-1900s. |
| 1:26.3 | Only half of the U.S. states mentioned more than a single tribe. |
| 1:30.5 | And just four states mentioned the boarding school era, |
| 1:33.5 | the era that was responsible for my grandparents, |
... |
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