Thank you Jordan Tangavelou and Rina Miyamoto S for representing PACAlliance on Indigenous Solidarity Day. As an Asian identified member of PACAlliance, I refuse to be complicit in the oppression of Pacific Islanders. --------------------------------------------- Today is Indigenous Solidarity Day, despite what you may have heard. Columbus Day is on the way out. As Asian settlers on Kalapuya land and Turtle Island more broadly, we feel it’s really important for us to engage in indigenous solidarity work for 2 reasons. Before, starting its important to state that those of us who identify as Asian members of PACAlliance are oftentimes complicit in the oppression of Pacific Islanders; it’s our responsibility to stand in solidarity in a real way. The first reason why Asian members of PACAlliance should engage in indigenous solidarity is because we are part of the legacy of settler colonialism on this land. We all have different reasons for why we are here, some of us are here as refugees, adoptees, etc. Some don’t have a choice, while others come here by choice, regardless, we are contributing to settler colonialism on this land, and for that reason we have a responsibility to be in solidarity with the indigenous people. Its important to recognize that oftentimes our own struggles keep us from realizing that we are also complicit in settler colonialism. Its easy to get tunnel vision and focus only on the issues that directly affect us. In doing that, we fall victim to repeating the same mistakes, enacting the same violence that has been enacted upon us, continuing the cycle of colonization. Remember, to be casual about oppression is to oppress. We want to find ourselves on the right side of history. The second reason that compels us to engage in indigenous solidarity work is the grouping together of Asians and Pacific Islanders as a racial category. The grouping itself is arbitrary and probably based on geographical proximity. Historically Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have had very different experiences and have been racialized in different ways. Our populations also have different values and goals. In the last few decades, the Asian American movement has largely tended to focus on eliminating barriers to inclusion. We have striven for and demanded to be allowed to assimilate, to try our hand at the American Dream. Pacfic Islanders and other Indigenous peoples struggle more with indigenous sovereignty from the colonization of their homelands. When talking about the racial struggles of “Asian Pacific Islanders” as one group, what usually happens is that we only actually talk about Asian Americans while ignoring the actual issues affecting Pacific Islander communities. This “one size fits all” approach stretches Asian issues in an attempt to make them relatable to Pacific Islander issues, rendering Pacific Islanders almost completely invisible in scholarship and in organizing work. We feel that as Asian identified members of PACAlliance we should be trying harder to actually work with Pacific Islanders in a meaningful way rather than claiming to be inclusive to Pacific Islanders and neglecting their voices, their stories, their struggles. Finally, as Asian identified members of PACAlliance, we recognize how the Model Minority Myth has been used to validate Asian economic and educational success while simultaneously devaluing the struggles of other people of color. Asians must be the ones to dismantle this tool of oppression. The Model Minority generalization was placed upon our community from the outside as a tool to prove the legitimacy of the American Dream while dividing communities of color. We have a right to define our community from the inside, rather than submit to generalizations placed upon us from the outside. When we realize our autonomy as a community to define ourselves outside of a colonial framework, we will take the power away from this decades long divisive tactic. Success and progress that comes at the expense of other people is not sustainable, and will forever require the subjugation of marginalized people as fuel. Today is Indigenous Solidarity Day. Celebrate and remember in good health. -PACAlliance
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 04:10:28 +0000
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