WE ARE PRESENTING THIS LETTER TO THE CITY OF MUSCATINE AT THEIR CITY COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT BUT WILL CONTINUE TO COLLECT SIGNATURES OF SUPPORT FOR A WHILE. IF YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE TO SIGN ON TO THIS LETTER, PLEASE EMAIL THE FOLLOWING IN THIS FORMAT TO CONTACT@GREATPLAINSACTION.ORG.
NAME
TRIBAL AFFILIATION (IF RELEVANT)
ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATION (IF RELEVANT)
CITY & STATE
++++++++++
Great Plains Action Society
Working Across Iowa and Nebraska
contact@greatplainsaction.org
Mayor Brad Bark & The Muscatine City Council
City Hall Council Chambers 215 Sycamore Street Muscatine, IA 52761
bbark@muscatineiowa.gov
To Mayor Brad Bark & The Muscatine City Council,
Great Plains Action Society is highly concerned and incensed by the racist act of colonial violence that was initially condoned by the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry. This act also reflects badly on the City of Muscatine as we are not satisfied with the Chamber of Commerce’s lackluster apology as well as the lack of action behind it.
The racist stunt consisted of a white woman riding a horse holding a rope that was bound around the hands of another white woman walking behind who was wearing a horrible Pocahontas Halloween costume. This imagery brought specific harm to Indigenous Peoples by way of playing Indian, pretendianism, whitewashing & erasing real history and current social issues, and the depiction of harmful & disturbing stereotypes.
Playing Indian is when white people pretend to be Indigenous for entertainment and profit value. Pretendianism is when white people steal our identities because they have romanticized our existence, giving them authority to act like us and the entitlement to speak on our behalf. Whitewashing is erasing and toning down the genocide that was inflicted upon Indigenous peoples during the theft of our land and colonization. The depiction of harmful stereotypes, in this case, was made evident by featuring a bound white woman “playing Indian” wearing a cheap, sexually provocative Halloween costume in a subservient position. This long lived negative stereotype of Indigenous women is one that depicts us as sexual objects to use for rape and colonial violence as we are considered less than human. As many Indigenous cultures were matriarchal, attacking and sexualizing Indigenous women further wrought colonial violence and the destruction of our nations. This deliberately mocks the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis where we experience the highest rates of murder, sexual assault, and disappearances than any other ethnicity in the US, Canada, and South America. We also have exceedingly high rates of being sold into the sex-trafficking industry. Red our last blog post with more information
Regardless of whether this aspect of the parade was your intent, you allowed it. It should have been shut down immediately. Harm has been done and so now we must move forward with a plan of action for healing and justice in Muscatine.
We deserve and expect a more heartfelt apology rather than a few sentence post on Facebook, which seemed more like an excuse than taking true accountability. We suggest a meeting with Iowa Indigenous Peoples so folks may testify to the harm that was done.
A meeting with local Indigenous folks to hear what they have to say about their experiences in Muscatine. Great Plains Action Society is happy to help facilitate.
Turn back on the commenting feature for your Facebook apology to allow folks to testify. Turning off the comment feature is a form of silencing victims and gaslighting hurt and angry folks.
An investigation into who allowed these women into the parade and why they were not stopped at any point by any city or chamber of commerce official.
A forever ban for the racist organization who did this.
Education for all city and chamber of commerce staff and officials on Indigenous history and current social issues that is tied into an anti-racism and decolonization platform. Great Plains Action Society is willing to help point you in the right direction
Create a city resolution in which denounces any entity, corporation, group, or organization that culturally appropriates Native populations.
Consult with well-known, accredited Native individuals or organizations for any future planning that may involve Natives.
Provide more resources for the City’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.
Reparations for this egregious act. Perhaps the city should donate funds to local Indigenous organizations to do more in Muscatine or invest in a grant for Indigenous small businesses or host an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration led by legitimate Indigenous Peoples.
Make a proclamation, every year, for Indigenous Peoples Day (2nd Monday of October)
Make a proclamation, every year, for the Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and Girls (May 5th)
Learn more about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis by meeting with local groups and experts. Great Plains Action Society welcomes you to attend our 2nd Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Powwow in Sioux City being held next week from July 14-16.
Provide a plan of action and a timeline for these requests.
In summary, this was an absolute act of blatant racism and colonial violence and the action steps that we have provided will help the City of Muscatine, the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and all involved to heal and do better in the fight to end entrenched racism and white supremacy in this country.
Great Plains Action Society is not alone in this. There are many other Indigenous Peoples and allies in the state and across this country who stand with us and they have also signed on this letter below, with more to come. We look forward to hearing back from both the City of Muscatine and the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry about the progress made on these requests and to creating real and lasting partnerships with Indigenous Peoples in the area.
In Truth & Power,
Sikowis Nobiss
Nehiyaw/Saulteaux, George Gordon First Nation
Executive Director, Great Plains Action Society
Iowa City, IA
Jessica Engelking
Anishinaabe, Descendant of White Earth Band of Ojibwe
Representation Director, Great Plains Action Society
Ekader, IA
Trisha Rivers
Ho-Chunk/Meskwaki/Pima/Ojibwe
Siouxland Project Director, Great Plains Action Society
Native Representative, Sioux City Inclusive Committee
Sioux City, IA
Mahmud Fitil
Qırımlı, Crimean Tatar Nation
Land Defense Director, Great Plains Action Society
Omaha, NE
Marie Krebs
Apache
Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner
Iowa City, IA
Regina Tsosie
Dine'/Navajo
President, Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities
Co-founder, Sage Sisters of Solidarity
Board, Great Plains Action Society
Quad Cities IA/IL
Daniel Velasquez
Yaqui
Chef/owner, Southside street foods
Iowa City, IA
Alicia Velasquez
Apache/Yaqui
Business owner/Artist, The House of DOTŁ’IZHI
Iowa City, IA
Angel Ramirez
Executive Director, Our Future Iowa
Cedar Rapids, IA
Alonso Avila
Oberlin, OH
Kim Webster
Cherokee Nation
Iowa City, IA
Sheri Deal-Tyne
Iowa City, IA
Caitlin Golle
Nora Springs, IA
Jim Dietz-Kilen
Des Moines, IA
Pam Estes
Choctaw tribal member
Personal
Fayetteville, AR
Chris La Tray
Anishinaabe
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Missoula, MT
Ayla Boylen
President, Our Future Iowa
Cedar Rapids, IA
Henry Sansone
Minneapolis, MN
Chelsea Herman
Artist/Business Owner at Flight Path Press
Council Bluffs, IA
Athena Strong
Indianapolis, IN.
Alina Beltrami
Des Moines, IA
Elizabeth Marilla-Kapp
Iowa City, IA
Amber Braithwaite
~Wawokiya Win~
Dakota Descendant/mother/
Business owner, Concierge Interpreting LLC/American Sign Language interpreter
Sioux Falls, SD
EunJung Kim
Social studies education, College of Education
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA