Summary Of Lighting The 7th Fire
Historically, the Anishinaabe were given certain rights to hunt and fish in northern parts of Wisconsin. Native people used the supply of fish as a way to nourish themselves and their families (p.280). The Anishinaabe people were known for harvesting and making use of everything on their land for food, clothing, and shelter (p. 232). In 1854, the Treaty of LaPointe was created, keeping Indigenous people from using their land to hunt and fish freely. As a result of this, the Anishinaabe people were left amongst the poorest people in North America (p.233). After a long struggle, the Anishinaabe people found hope when Wisconsin brought the case to the Supreme Court in 1983 and formed the Voight Inter-Tribal Task Force. The purpose of the group
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First, my personal reaction to the protests was that I was amazed how ignorant people can be about Native Peoples’ rights. In the very beginning of the video, we see the cruelty of words being used. People were calling Indigenous people “Timber Niggers” because they were thought to be a nuisance to society. They are criticized for being on welfare (although most lower-class of society today is in fact, on welfare). One person even shared the belief that they would spear a pregnant Indigenous woman in order to save their fish. I was surprised that people in Wisconsin were accusing the Native people of overfishing the walleye and other fish. To find out people passed around song lyrics to sing about the disappearance of the walleye was ridiculous. When I think about overfishing, I usually think that Indigenous people wanted to create boundaries and treaties for the amount of hunting they did, to only use what they found necessary.
Then, when hearing that Indigenous people were arrested regardless of their treaty rights, I was shocked. I didn’t realize that it would be common for people to disregard the rules within the treaties and violate Indigenous peoples’ rights. It was horrifying to hear about the people being attacked by protestors and having no protection from any government officials. When learning about the protection given to Indigenous people, it is shocking to learn how poorly they are
First, my personal reaction to the protests was that I was amazed how ignorant people can be about Native Peoples’ rights. In the very beginning of the video, we see the cruelty of words being used. People were calling Indigenous people “Timber Niggers” because they were thought to be a nuisance to society. They are criticized for being on welfare (although most lower-class of society today is in fact, on welfare). One person even shared the belief that they would spear a pregnant Indigenous woman in order to save their fish. I was surprised that people in Wisconsin were accusing the Native people of overfishing the walleye and other fish. To find out people passed around song lyrics to sing about the disappearance of the walleye was ridiculous. When I think about overfishing, I usually think that Indigenous people wanted to create boundaries and treaties for the amount of hunting they did, to only use what they found necessary.
Then, when hearing that Indigenous people were arrested regardless of their treaty rights, I was shocked. I didn’t realize that it would be common for people to disregard the rules within the treaties and violate Indigenous peoples’ rights. It was horrifying to hear about the people being attacked by protestors and having no protection from any government officials. When learning about the protection given to Indigenous people, it is shocking to learn how poorly they are