Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council Passes Sweeping Measure in Solidarity with the Palestinian People of Gaza
On December 14, 2023, on the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ territory of Hé Sapa “South Dakota,” the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux Nation) Treaty Council unanimously passed a sweeping measure in support of the Palestinian people of Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire and emergency aid for over two million residents of the Gaza Strip, half of whom are children.
In the Resolution, the Treaty Council cites their peoples’ own historical genocidal experience at the hands of occupying U.S. forces, and recognizes the Israeli government as engaging in genocide and ethnic cleansing in a similar fashion, in real time. The Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council represents all of the approximately 49 Tribes within the Oceti Sakowin territory. Prior to colonization, the Oceti Sakowin occupied a vast land area that covered 24 American states and parts of 4 Canadian Provinces. The people of the Oceti Sakowin have lived in this region since time immemorial.
Resolution of Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council Affirming Support for the Palestinian People of Gaza - in Lakota
Resolution of Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council Affirming
Support for the Palestinian People of Gaza - in Arabic
Resolution of Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council Affirming Support for the Palestinian People of Gaza - in English
The resolution passed unanimously with two amendments:
Updated death toll in Gaza.
Recommendation to the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council to take this resolution to the Tribes of the Oceti Sakowin.
Clauses of the resolution include:
WHEREAS, In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act as a means of claiming and expanding U.S. territory by violently removing Native Peoples from our homelands to territories not our own;
WHEREAS, This act was designed to cut relationships Native Peoples had with the land by removing us, destroying our homes, our medicines, our crops, our livestock, and killing any who resisted;
WHEREAS, On the other side of the world, our Palestinian Relatives in Gaza are resisting similar violence and conditions, albeit under a different timeline of settler colonization;
WHEREAS, Israel is now engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign by explicitly requiring two million Palestinians to leave Gaza immediately or risk being bombed in their homes by the Israeli army;
WHEREAS, as of the written date of this resolution more than 18,787 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last two months with 7,729 of those being children. 50,897 Palestinians are injured and 7,780 are missing in the Gaza Strip.
In related news this week, the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) and Red Warrior Camp shared a two-page statement of solidarity with Palestine, which includes these words, shared by IIYC youth member Mato White Plume:
Palestine. Our action is our prayer. From the banks of the Wounded Knee Creek, the lands of the Oyupe, in the spirit of liberation, we declare our solidarity with Palestine.
Video credit: Cheryl Angel, Sicangu (Rosebud) Tribal Elder
“It is a proud day to be Lakota. The Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council not only unanimously passed a resolution unequivocally supporting our Palestinian Relatives, but added amendments that asked the Treaty Council to take the resolution to the Tribes of the Oceti Sakowin,” noted Krystal Two Bulls, Executive Director of Honor the Earth. “As Peoples who are known for resisting and fighting back against settler colonialism, it is fitting that we made this stance without question. When Palestine is liberated, we will be that much closer to our sovereignty. This is who we are.”
“As a Palestinian living in exile, I will continue to fight for Landback for all my Native relatives. We have a responsibility to the Indigenous people of this land,” shared Nadya Tannous, Deputy Director of Honor the Earth. “This resolution is a reminder that our Indigenous solidarity goes both ways. The Oceti Sakowin stand with the Palestinian people and will advocate for justice and Landback for all peoples under colonialism. This resolution is a continuation of a rich but little known history between the Palestinian and the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Peoples. We hope this will inspire other Native Nations to take a public stance on the genocide of the Palestinian people and also our liberation, on the heels of the Yurok Nation, the Winnemem Wintu Nation, and now the Oceti Sakowin.”
Chase Iron Horse, Krystal Two Bulls, Nadya Tannous, Aisha Mansour, Ana Alvarez, Sabrina Pourier (shown L to R)
The Oceti Sakowin, also known as Sioux, are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples from the Great Plains of North America, still living today in so-called Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana in the United States, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada. Collectively, they are the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, or Seven Council Fires.
