The Abenaki: Why is it important that we learn?
This post is the fifth in a series originally posted on our Facebook page in October 2021.
Why is it important that we learn and care about the Abenaki, their history and culture?
Why is it important that we learn and care about the Abenaki, their history and culture?
Mali Obomsawin, member of the Abenaki First Nation at Odanak, explains in this important piece:
Erasure is the art of collective forgetting, and one of the most effective tools of racism. Crucially, it absolves the United States from addressing injustices festering at its foundation — and the fact that Native people are still here resisting. Erasure nurtures ignorance through systemic miseducation, stereotyped iconography, and popular culture. Because, like the patriot at the rally, it’s much easier to say the flag represents all Americans if “all” selectively excludes the oppressed.
Remember: The Abenaki are very much still here, and we are living on land our ancestors stole from them.
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