“STILL HERE”: a few of quotes on settler-colonial failure and Indigenous persistence.

collage by nicholas b jacobsen

“We took from them almost all their land. We tried to take from them their water rights, hunting and fishing rights, and the timber on their land. We tried to take from them their culture, their religion, their identity, and perhaps most importantly, we tried to take from them their freedom. And what is so amazing about this whole story is that we failed. We failed after hundreds of years of trying to take everything from (the Indigenous peoples of this land). We failed to do that. They're still here.” - Dr. Daniel McCool

“We're a small tribe, but we're still here... I'm proud of our tribe. I'm proud of what we've accomplished, how we've survived, the things that we do, the skills that we have, and so, I want everybody to know who we are.” - Shannan Martineau, See Veets'Eng member (Shivwits Paiute)

“May we go forward in repentance, one that does not require individual culpability... and shows how a community owns and understands the reverberations of its actions and its realities… May we seek repentance... (which) means 'to walk in a different direction.' It's much more than 'I'm sorry.’” - Reverend Serene Jones and Krista Tippet