I will not let anyone forget.

Also a flag I made during these times. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸

there was a swedish guy in like the early 1900s that literally just traveled to Australia, attended a funeral of an indigenous person and then HE CAME BACK A FEW WEEKS LATER TO DIG UP THE BONES TO KEEP IN HIS COLLECTION!!!!

DO YOU HEAR ME??!!!

HE WENT ON A FUNERAL AND THEN CAME BACK TO DIG UP THE BONES!!!!!!!

Thankfully the aboriginal people there had heard he had dug up bones previously and they moved the grave.

AND WHEN HE DISCOVERED THIS HE GOT MAD AND SAID THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE COULDN'T BE TRUSTED

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Hey, can we talk about the violence against queer natives for a second?

Nex Benedict was a 16 year old nonbinary student who was brutally murdered by three of their female classmates. Not only that, they were a Native American living on a Cherokee reservation, though not enrolled in the tribe, and their actual heritage is that of Choctaw.

Their death was not properly reported on until the blog post that genderkoolaid shared was made. Their nonbinary identity had remained unacknowledged, and it took even longer for their native one to be.

They were a victim of the rising anti-trans rhetoric spreading throughout places like the US. They were beaten in a bathroom after Oklahoma had banned trans people from restrooms, designating them to only use that of their assigned sex. Nex was attacked in the girls bathroom.

A native, two-sprit, nonbinary teenager. Whose identity and the actual circumstances behind the incident, a hate crime, wasn't even published beforehand. They died tragically, a death that could've been easily prevented.

Do you know how scary that is? I'm just like them. A native, two-spirit, nonbinary teenager. I have to keep on hearing stories of people my age, who live in the same country, who share my identity, getting murdered. Not even just murdered, but erased.

I know for an absolute fact that if I died tragically, who I am will not be remembered. My deadname will be on everything. I would not be counted in trans statistics, nonetheless statistics on transmascs. My identity would not be respected. My native heritage wouldn't matter. I didn't get to be enrolled. And Nex had supportive family and friends, people who stood up for them. Not all trans kids get to have that.

I've had to think about this before many times. From the other trans youth deaths I've seen. From nearly becoming one of them. When is it enough? Why do the people in power do nothing to stop kids like me from being killed? Why do they only want to make our lives worse?

I'm very lucky to live in a state that has not wavered on it's protections on LGBTQ+ residents. Though I am reminded often that that can easily change, if things keep going like this.

I could've easily been them. I can still easily be them. There are many other kids who can be them. Everyone should be doing more to protect trans youth, and protect queer natives. We're so often forgotten about. I'm part of small tribes, and tribes who barely even exist anymore. My elders desperately trying to keep it alive. Please do not erase us. I'm queer, I'm native. Nex Benedict should have been protected, youth like me should be protected. I wish the best for their family and I hope their memory is never forgotten.

On 13th October in Perth (Boorloo), Western Australia, a fifteen year old Aboriginal boy, Cassius Turvey was walking home from school, wearing his school uniform, with friends when a car full of white adults pulled up and brutally beat him with a metal pole and a machete. Cassius later suffered seizures and strokes and was put in an induced coma. He died 8 days later. The 21-year-old white male Jack Brearley wrongly blamed the children for smashing his car windows. The WA police commissioner callously stated that Cassius was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and dismissed it as a “case of mistaken identity”, as though that justifies it. This would not have happened to a white child. It is a hate crime. Vigils are being held across the country and the Blak community are hurting.

Cassius was much loved in his community. He had a pay-what-you-can lawn mowing business. He liked to dance and was strong in his Noongar Yamatji culture.

You can donate to his mother’s Gofundme here. They’re raising funds for the fight for #JusticeForCassius . Please boost this post.

This is Nex Bennedict, the kid who most likely died due to being assaulted at school. Honestly what a beautiful child that probably could've been saved if the school took bullying seriously and didn't look the other way after months of abuse. My heart breaks knowing people are going to use this kid as a political pawn, no matter their reasons, and thinking of the harassment their family has probably already received. The kids at school tormented Nex, picking on everything from their gender presentation to their indigenous ancestry. I'm not nonbinary or trans but I was a gender nonconforming kid in high school and I know how vicious other kids can be. I can't help but think this could have been me or any other LGBT or gnc kid that was bullied in high school. Just a tragedy, Nex you were killed before you even had a chance to fully bloom and shine, I'll never forget you and I won't let others forget you.

im scared. i dont want to die this way.

An Alberta man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without parole eligibility for 13 years in the second-degree murder of Métis hunter Maurice Cardinal.

Anthony Bilodeau was also sentenced to eight years for the manslaughter death of Jacob Sansom. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted the 34-year-old 33 months credit for time already served.

While noting that Anthony's prospect of rehabilitation is high, Macklin said the sentence needed to reflect the tragic consequences of the crime.

"Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal were also pillars of their communities," the judge said. "They were hunters and teachers for their families as well as their communities" [...]

The victims' supporters held each other and wept when the sentence was read out. Though the family has been outspoken throughout the court case, they said they need time to process before commenting on the sentence.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada, @abpoli

One of my favourite Canada facts is that our War Museum (insane thing to exist, btw) portrays Canada as a willing participant in the war on terror dating back to the 1800s. Of course, it doesn’t go into detail about which terrorists it was fighting back then and what they wanted. Which is hilarious because the ‘terrorists’ in question were the Fenians, who were supported Irish liberation in the wake of *checks notes* oh right, the genocidal starvation that the British Crown enabled in Ireland. I’m not sure what’s worse: Canada’s long history of violently opposing justifiable anti-colonial violence in the wake of genocide OR that this history is used to justify contemporary violence at home AND abroad in the name of ending the nebulous threat of ‘terrorism.’ Stupid country. Stupid stupid country.

It's fucking February and so far this year the US has already had 67 shootings.

It's FEBRUARY

America is attacking trans people, but they are also attacking indigenous people. They don’t want people to know that we are still alive, and we still carry our culture. Say Nex Benedict’s name, and say it loud. But not just because they were trans. But because they were Two Spirited aswell. Native Americans are perhaps some of the most widely ignored, forgotten, and hated POC community in America, and it’s unfair because this was our land until you forced us out of our homes and into small camps. Please, support local POC communities. Buy from Indigenous owned businesses. And don’t let anyone forget about Nex Benedict.

y'all ever get tired of some self-shippers taking cultural shit that isn't theirs and feeling like it's their right to have information from people of that culture, and insist that they just don't want to be ignorant whilst pressuring you to give permission to give them rights to use something from your culture in their works, and you feel so uncomfortable and just don't want the conflict so you say yes because nobody who isn't boiled chicken can't have any peace? yeah. been there. istg some people are just so...entitled. Like my culture as a Native American isn't yours to once again devour and colonize for your own tacky use. Stop making it some fantastical mythical thing for you to fetishize with your white savior complex. Respect people, *actually*. Culture isn't a frilly fuckin' game you can dip your grubby little hands in and just take what you want like a fuckin' free for all, it matters. There's history, there's meaning, there's purpose. Some cultures are more okay with others partaking, some absolutely rebuke it. So, just respect it? racist assholes bro.

i hate having a bad memory because there was some guy in public walking in front of my sibling and me, and he had a bunch of nordic tattoos and a vest on that had a bunch of patches and elder futhark runes all along the bottom. and i could not for the life of me clearly remember what symbols were the nazi (folkish odinist) ones so i was just fucking shaking terrified until i could pull my sibling through an opening in the crowd to get away from the guy

anyways. i got home and looked it up and yeah that was a nazi lmfao. i fucking hate this bc I don't think I'm able to do anything about that since i am malnourished and tiny compared to most other people, and this guy was lowkey huge (tall and beefy). i wish i could do literally Anything about this kind of thing, i hate that these people feel safe to walk around with literal hate symbols proudly on display

Canadians: everyone loves Andrian Makhnachov, a lovely Ukrainian refugee who's interested in Canadian culture!

[five minutes later]

Canadians: we regret to inform you the Ukrainian refugee supports Indigenous peoples

Where is the outrage for this?

Lrb: ummmm mordern day lynchings are difficult to comprehend but I must say reading the article and seeing that the body was found near “Indian grave gap road” also threw me?? because what??? Why?!?

Say their name.

CW AND TW: CHILD DEATH

Say.

Their.

Name.

Nex Benedict was a indigenous trans nonbinary teenager. Their head was beaten against the floor in a bathroom stall. Less than 24 hours later, they died, most likely from undiagnosed head trauma. Conservatives say they want to, "protect the children", where was the protection for Nex? That's the thing. There wasn't any. Nex died. And many more trans, queer, and nonbinary minors will if we don't step up and do something. What happened to Nex has and will happen to queer folk around the globe. Say their name.

Edit: I didn't expect this to get much attention, but thank you everyone. What alot of people, "forget" to mention was that Nex was two spirited, which means they were indigenous. The fact that I wouldn't have heard about this if I didn't have Tumblr is absolutely revolting. News needs to be covering this. But what are Republicans doing? Sucking their thumbs and crying about how, "trans people shouldn't be able to piss". What are Democrats doing? Twiddling their thumbs and groveling to an old geezer that somehow falls up the stairs and supports I$r3@l. It's disgusting and America needs to do better.

Edit 2: Any and all hate/saying that Nex Benedict wasn't murdered (they were) will immediately get deleted, just because you don't like trans people doesn't mean you can be an whiny little bitch. A child was murdered. This has nothing to do with politics, a child was murdered.