Jessica Yee

Jessica is the founder and Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network that works across issues of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice throughout the United States and Canada.

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Telling the truth about Thanksgiving

Does anyone ever wonder when "Columbus Day" will no longer be a nationally "celebrated" holiday? I mean really and truly -- when do y'all think that will happen?

In my opinion, it's not as if the information does not exist out there which explicitly states that no, Columbus was never even near the continental mass of what's now known as "America". The "great" navigator that he was didn't even know where he was going and never washed up here -- ever.

What he did do with the full backing of the voyage was ensue genocide, apartheid, and colonization -- all whose affects are deeply entrenched in existing assimilative federal policies, hierarchical societal structures, and the realities of Indigenous communities here and around the world.

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20th anniversary of Oka and the continuation of unearthing human rights at the G8/G20

Video after video, photo after photo, story after story came pouring in this weekend telling us about another friend or another relative who had been unlawfully arrested, beaten, spit on, psychologically, physically, and emotionally abused and relentlessly harassed by the police in Toronto. All this and more unearthing of human rights happened to the people for demonstrating, protesting, taking action and speaking out against one of the most undemocratic and unethical convening's of the world's largest superpowers -- the G8/G20.

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Indigenous rights Oka G8/G20

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Occupy Wall Street: The game of colonialism and the left

The "Occupy Wall Street" slogan has gone viral and international now. From the protests on the streets of Wall Street in the name of "ending capitalism" -- organizers, protesters, and activists have been encouraged to "occupy" different places that symbolize greed and power. There's just one problem: The United States is already being occupied. This is Indigenous land. And it's been occupied for quite some time now. I also need to mention that New York City is Haudenosaunee territory and home to many other First Nations. Waiting to see if that's been mentioned anywhere.

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First Nations progressive colonialism imperialism indigenous peoples first nations rights anti-colonialism Occupy Wall Street

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A response to the mainstream feminist blogosphere on 'Feminism FOR REAL'

So while I was out in the real world yesterday working up north in Nunavik (which is not Nunavut -- for those of you who think you're bad ass having heard about Nunavut before -- Nunavik is a completely different Inuit region) this happened in the feminist blogosphere regarding the lack of mainstream feminist coverage of Feminism FOR REAL -- Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism.

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feminism feminist blogs Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives feminism for real

Minister apologizes to Inuit for forced arctic relocation

Jessica Yee

| August 25, 2010

This past week newly appointed Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development John Duncan issued an official apology from the government of Canada to Inuit for the forced high arctic relocation:

On behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, we would like to offer a full and sincere apology to Inuit for the relocation of families from Inukjuak and Pond Inlet to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay during the 1950s.

So when does an issue become feminist?

Jessica Yee

| May 5, 2010

We've all heard about the continuous saga of human rights violations in Arizona, from legalizing racial profiling, to eliminating ethnic studies, to preventing anyone with an "accent" from teaching English (read: anyone who doesn't sound like an old white man from the eastern/northern states since I'm pretty sure we ALL have accents) and this extremely racist, oppressive, colonial and cultural genocide list goes on.

Condoms, polar bears and reproduction. Any rights?

Jessica Yee

| April 26, 2010

I'm fresh from visiting "Rubbers: The Life, History, and Struggle of the Condom" at the Museum of Sex in New York City today (which I highly recommend to check out!).

But besides having "safes" (that's what my aunties used to call them) on the brain from that exhibit (and of course the fact that I work in sexual and reproductive health day in and day out), I came across a great article on AlterNet by Kate McKay Bryson entitled "Use a Condom, Save a Polar Bear? Not That Simple" about the many factors besides human overpopulation that contribute to our environmental crises.

Women get shit done -- at the Global Indigenous Women's Caucus that is!

Jessica Yee

| April 20, 2010

I'm in NYC this week for the ninth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

It's an opportunity for Indigenous people around the world to come together, advocate, lobby and generally raise hell together across borders, lands, and laws.

Indigenous feminisms and resources -- without apology and more

Jessica Yee

| April 15, 2010

I'm proud to be an Indigenous feminist and I'm not apologizing for it. In fact this very statement "Native Feminisms Without Apology" was the title of an incredible conference in 2006 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign I so wish I could have been at.

Five Native myths you really oughta know about

Jessica Yee

| April 9, 2010

No one likes to be pigeon-holed into any kind of stereotypical box, but the long history of colonization and oppression of Indigenous people has shoved us so far from mainstream public view (and blogosphere, I might add) that it's no wonder there exist these warped, outrageously wrong ideas about who we are. No, we don't all live on reservations (more than 140,000 urban Natives live in LA alone!) and yes, we are currently one of the fastest growing populations. With over 750 First Nations in (what we now call) the United States and Canada alone, it's unrealistic to think that we're all the same. Well I'm here to make the record clear, and encourage you to fiercely challenge what you think you already know.

Jessica Yee

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