Alma de Mujer Center for Social Change

06/15/2026

NDN Collective announced that all nine tribal nations in South Dakota are joining to push the issue of the treaty and federal land in court.
Read More >>https://www.ktiv.com/2026/06/13/black-hills-all-tribal-nations-join-sue-us-government/

06/10/2026

180 years ago on this day in Indigenous History

On June 10, 1846, Anishinaabe Chief Shinguacouse (Garden River First Nation) submitted a formal petition of protest to the Governor General of Canada to fiercely defend Ojibwe sovereignty and land rights against state-sanctioned corporate encroachment. A veteran who had fought alongside the British in the War of 1812, Shinguacouse used the petition to condemn the colonial government for issuing mining licenses on unceded indigenous territories around Lake Superior without tribal consent or compensation. He argued that the Crown was violating its historic promises to let his people live unmolested, asserting that the Ojibwe had never surrendered their mineral rights or ancestral lands. This strategic legal protest exposed the injustice of colonial resource extraction, united regional indigenous leaders, and directly forced the Crown to the negotiating table, paving the way for the pivotal Robinson Treaties of 1850.

June, or kichi nipën in Unami Lenape, is the nationally recognized month in Canada for Indigenous People’s History. To celebrate the resiliency and our collection on-going history as First Nations, Inuit, and Metis, I will be posting snippets of Indigenous history specific to the day to celebrate the month. Understand that there are a large number of First Nations across Turtle Island and that these are but specific flashpoints in our history. I encourage you to do further research into the events and to learn the true history of the lands you share.

06/02/2026

"If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!" -- Sojourner Truth

"On May 29, 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered her most famous speech, 'Ain't I a Woman?' at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron. Even 175 years later, her words remain a powerful reminder of how Black women have had to navigate both racism and sexism, and have had to consistently assert their place in abolitionist and suffragist movements.

Born Isabella Baumfree to enslaved parents in a Dutch-speaking county of New York, Truth didn't learn English until she was sold to a new family at age 9. She escaped slavery with her daughter in 1826 and later took an enslaver to court to recover her son, becoming one of the first Black people to win a legal case against a White person in the United States.

After securing her family's freedom, she became a preacher and advocate for abolition and women's rights. In 1843, she renamed herself Sojourner Truth and set out to travel and spread her message.

Truth never learned to read or write, so we only have others' accounts of her speeches. The most well-known version of 'Ain't I a Woman?' comes from Frances Dana Barker Gage, one of the convention's organizers, who published her recollection of the speech in 1863, more than a decade later. An earlier account by Marius Robinson, Truth's friend and fellow attendee, was printed in the Anti-Slavery Bugle one month after the convention. Robinson's version does not include the exaggerated accent in Gage's retelling, nor the phrase 'ain't I a woman' itself.

But the message is clear across both accounts. Truth spoke directly to the ways Black women were being excluded from both fights — the suffragist movement and the abolitionist movement — a pattern of erasure that Black women would continue to face long after her passing." -- Gabby Gladny, The 19th News

To introduce kids to Sojourner Truth's powerful story, we recommend: “Sojourner Truth's Long Walk Toward Freedom” for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/so-tall-within) and “Who Was Sojourner Truth?” for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-was-sojourner-truth)

Truth is also one of ten trailblazing black women featured in the book, "Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters," for ages 8 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/let-it-shine

Adults can learn more about her life through her own words in the “Narrative of Sojourner Truth” (https://amzn.to/367yIRI) and the biography “Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol” (http://amzn.to/2eeRKaB)

Sojourner Truth is also featured on the stunning 'Votes for Women 500-Piece Round Puzzle' for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/votes-for-women-round-puzzle

For more books for children and teens about pioneering African-American women, visit our blog post "99 Books about Extraordinary Black Mighty Girls and Women" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14276

05/29/2026

Today marks the 48th anniversary of the Panzós Massacre. On May 29, 1978, at the request of large-landowning elites, members of the Guatemalan army and municipal police opened fire on Q’eqchi’ Maya peasants who were gathered by invitation on market day in the town square, awaiting updates on land and labor rights issues. More than 30 people were killed in the gunfire and subsequent attacks in the square, and even more passed from their injuries in the following days. News of the massacre hit the international news wires within a couple of days and protestors filled the streets of Guatemala City and beyond. The Massacre was not the first, but it was the first in which the collusion among elites and agents of the State in perpetrating such spectacular violence against peasants was too obvious to deny. It would come to mark a turning point into the State’s genocidal violence against the indigenous population.

Mamá Maquín was there with some members of her family and community to hear updates on their efforts to secure ownership rights to the lands on which they had previously been indentured laborers. She was shot first, in the head at short range, when she asked for that update, after the soldier told her she’d get her land in the cemetery.

48 years and the fight for justice and for Q’eqchi’ rights and stewardship of their homelands and waters, continues.

Today we come together to commemorate the struggle and all those it has taken from us, and we center ourselves and our prayers as we move forward with intentions for an equitable and just, peaceful, and secure future in which Q’eqchi’ and all indigenous and poor communities can flourish without threat.

05/28/2026

We are deeply concerned by reports that Redwood National Park flagged Native books and materials for possible removal or review.

These actions raise serious questions about whose histories are being protected, whose voices are being silenced, and how public institutions fulfill their responsibility to educate honestly and inclusively.

These books are not political threats. They are essential records of Indigenous knowledge, culture, history, and lived experience.

Removing or targeting these works undermines decades of progress toward truth-telling, representation, and respect for Tribal Nations whose homelands include the very landscapes national parks were created to preserve.

Efforts to restrict access to Native perspectives erase context, diminish understanding, and perpetuate harmful narratives that have historically excluded Indigenous peoples from telling their own stories.

ATALM is calling for transparency and accountability in this process. Public lands and public institutions must remain places where diverse histories are acknowledged and where Indigenous knowledge is respected, not censored.

We encourage our members and partners to continue supporting Native literature, amplifying Indigenous voices, and defending intellectual freedom in all spaces where cultural memory is preserved and shared.

Here is a list of the books on the chopping block:

1. We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr.

2. California Through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History by William J. Bauer Jr.

3. We Are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies by Cutcha Risling Baldy

4. California Indians and Their Environment by Kent Lightfoot

5. Adopted by Indians by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield :

6. Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

7. Women's Prose and Poetry About Nature by Lorraine Anderson Grave

8. Matters: Excavating the Dreams of the Dead in Nineteenth-Century 9. Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers with Spirit by Adrienne Keene

05/28/2026

05/24/2026

A new developer is planning a 10-year buildout of the Tree Hill site but has pledged to "honor the rich historical and cultural contributions made by the Powhatan Chiefdom" there. It's unclear, though, exactly how the developer intends to recognize that history; the company has not yet responded to the Citizen's request for comment.

https://www.henricocitizen.com/birthplace-of-pocahontas-in-henrico-added-to-list-of-virginias/

05/24/2026

🎉 The Mattaponi Indian Tribe & Reservation would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our current Powwow sponsors, Dominion Energy and Modr's Service Center, for their generous support of our upcoming Powwow!

Your contributions help us continue celebrating and sharing our culture, traditions, and community with all who attend. ❤️🪶

Interested in becoming a sponsor for this year’s Powwow? We’d love to partner with you!
📧 Please email: [email protected]