As a member of the Wabanaki Confederacy, I am deeply moved by the struggle and resilience of the Palestinian people. Their resistance against colonization resonates with our own experiences as indigenous people. The ongoing US-Israeli genocide against Palestinians is a stark reminder of the horrors that colonization brings wherever it takes hold.

The Wabanaki Confederacy, as an alliance of indigenous nations, has a responsibility to stand up against such atrocities. We urge our political leaders to publicly denounce this genocide and declare their support for a Free Palestine as a sovereign nation.

According to Amnesty International, since 1967, approximately 5.6 million Palestinians have been displaced due to Israeli policies (Amnesty International Report). This is not just about numbers; these are lives being torn apart by systemic oppression and violence.

We believe that standing in solidarity with Palestine is an important step towards acknowledging and challenging colonialism worldwide. It sends out a powerful message that we will not stand by while atrocities are committed against indigenous peoples anywhere in the world.

We call upon our leaders within the Wabanaki Confederacy to take this step towards tribal sovereignty for all indigenous people - by standing up for Palestine today. Please sign this petition if you agree that it's time for us to take action together.

Fortunately for us, tribal leadership value their image in the eyes of the non-native community. This means that EVERY signature especially Wabanaki signatures matter! Neutrality in the face of genocide is complicity. We cannot stay silent!

Since Oct 7th, 2023 the largest massacre of children in recent history is taking place in Gaza, Palestine. The ethnic cleansing of a people under siege since 1946 is now in the final stages of genocide. I’m not here to educate on this matter, only to say that you can open your social media app, and with a little critical thinking and analysis, figure out that indigenous people, over half of them children, are being killed at the rate of 125 children per day. War crimes are being paid for by our tax dollars under the current US administration.

 Wabanaki tribal leaders have been silent on this matter since Oct 7th, despite the historic global attention to witness and stand against this genocide. This is unconscionable. Today, we can scroll on a screen and see the most horrific scenes of death and destruction, and decide it’s irrelevant to us and move on. This way of thinking is colonial at its core. The individualism that has been beaten into us for generations tells us that Gaza has nothing to do with us. It’s the exact opposite. Indigenous thinking tells us that everyone and everything is interconnected. Just as our tribe’s leadership speak at rallies and the state house making it their careers to call attention to the continued genocide happening to our people, they must also use their position to say FREE PALESTINE.

It’s a critical moment in history for indigenous people across the globe. Palestine is teaching us that liberation from the settler state is possible and needed more than ever! There are indigenous stories that talk about a universal language or “web” that will allow us to “see” again. Imagine if we had social media back when the American Indian Movement was around. Hell, AIM was named a terrorist group and snuffed out by the US! We cannot allow the colonizer to inform our political identity as indigenous people, not here, not anywhere. This petition is a step towards amassing the biggest universal indigenous resistance in global history. And it could start out with a click and a signature.