2011: A Year of Connections and Resistance for #NDNZ in Cyber-Space

Don’t Pay to Pray

If you look at the top 20 tweeted stories from 2011, a dark picture is painted for NDN country. Most news stories were dominated by reports of the result of 519 years of Colonization: hate crimes, police brutality, racist stereotypes, the horrors of the residential schools, reservation poverty, domestic abuse, struggles to save sacred sites, sexual oppression, struggles to save sacred sites, culturally insensitive and paternalistic media and the homicidal results of New Age frauds. But there’s another way of looking at it. 2011 was a year of resistance for NDN Country – a year of standing up to fight for the preservation of a way of life, world view and sacred spaced threated by greed and ignorance.

2011 was also a year of making connections in cyber space. Twitter was instrumental in getting the word out about what’s happening in Turtle Island and several new indigenous bloggers came on the scene to offer insight and analysis from their unique perspectives. Some of the most insightful bloggers this year were:

Censored News
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory and Practice http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com

American Indian Alaskan Native: Attack the System
http://aianattackthesystem.wordpress.com

American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL)
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/

Native Appropriations by Adrienne K. (Cherokee)
http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com

My Culture is Not a Trend
http://mycultureisnotatrend.tumblr.com/

Top 20 Tweeted News Stories in NDN Country in 2011

1.) Geronimo EKIA controversy http://is.gd/CoOrSr

2.) James Arthur Ray convicted of negligent homicide in Arizona http://is.gd/QJ1J7w and http://is.gd/5nFlfC

3.) Klee Benally chains himself to heavy machinery to Save the San Francisco Peaks http://is.gd/e2ieTe

4.) Protest to preserve Glen Cove / Segora Te http://protectglencove.org

5.) The Cobell Settlement http://is.gd/S0PAb9

6.) MTV the Dudesons and racism on the Findians show http://is.gd/DcnMSm

7.) Racist bake sale http://is.gd/p9WiPK

8.) Canadian residential schools inquiries and apologies http://is.gd/eYgYGJ

9.) The Dateline report on poverty on the Pine Ridge reservation http://is.gd/bS1kG1

10.)Longest Walk III to fight diabetes among Native Americans http://is.gd/fROs9Q

11.)Leonard Peltier, political prisoner ignored by president Obama http://is.gd/qCqOVL

12.)Movement to rescind the Wounded Knee medals of dishonor http://is.gd/ppQCkL

13.)Native American protest of the XL pipeline in Washington DC http://is.gd/9m9sMU

14.)John T. Williams, deaf American Indian wood carver murdered by a police officer http://is.gd/vCN9YK

15.) Kiesha Crowther exposed as a fraud, AIM West protest in Palm Springs, CA http://is.gd/N7Bz5m http://is.gd/lSpvE6

16.)Hate crimes against Native Americans in the Southwest http://is.gd/OvxfVu

17.)(Un)Occupy / Decolonize Wall street movement http://is.gd/Wh4dub

18.)Aboriginal poverty on Canadian reserves – Donations sought for Attawapiskat http://is.gd/WOFrb4 and http://is.gd/88woEr

19.)Missing and murdered women in Canada, Aboriginal feminism, fighting domestic abuse and abolishing prostitution http://www.missingjustice.ca

20.)Protest against racist Halloween costumes http://is.gd/Y6bzOf and http://is.gd/Bh3sVq

Indigenous Tweeters on Twitter:

AboriginalPress AboriginalNewsGroup http://www.twitter.com/AboriginalPress

beadb8bybead Carrie http://www.twitter.com/beadb8bybead

BJTuininga http://www.twitter.com BJTuininga
burnssweetgrass Maria Myers http://www.twitter.com/burnssweetgrass

Cuckfuster Jim B http://www.twitter.com Cuckfuster
CreativeCrip TheCreativeCrip http://www.twitter.com CreativeCrip

debreese Debbie Reese http://www.twitter.com/debreese

DecolonizeWS Mary L Adams http://www.twitter.com/DecolonizeWS

gr8tefulred Doug Self http://www.twitter.com/gr8tefulred

Elohi_Unitsi Earth Mother http://www.twitter.com/Elohi_Unitsi

fancyshawl48917 Lucy Alvarez http://www.twitter.com/fancyshawl48917

Greenthoughtbox Theresa Marinez http://www.twitter.com/Greenthoughtbox

greyhoundgerry Gervasio Morales http://www.twitter.com/greyhoundgerry