Seattle, WA, June 3, 2020 — On behalf of the organizations that make up Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits, we express our resolute support for the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID), and the communities you serve, in the pursuit of justice for George Floyd, and all people of color, who have been victims of the Minneapolis Police Department. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We denounce anti-blackness and settler colonialism. We recognize the power of Black and Indigenous solidarity to honor intersectional identities in our collective liberation.
Although we are more than 1,500 miles away, the grave injustice of the brutal police killing of George Floyd is deeply emblematic of the thousands of people that continue to be subjected to police brutality in our communities since colonization. We bear witness to this trauma experienced by your community in the past few days, and long before now.
We know your roots in the urban landscape are similar to ours in Seattle. Our cities share a history of genocide, relocation, economic oppression, cultural violence, and health disparities that result from racist policies and systems. We continue to resist these systemic attempts of erasure through many generations of organizing and activism.
We have family members, friends, and professional allies who call your city home. We will continue to ensure this tragic moment is not forgotten. Whether we light sage or cedar, we pray for those impacted by police violence.
Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits deeply grieves for the recent losses in your community and offer our support for MUID, MIGIZI, the broader Black, Brown, and Native communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. We believe with full hearts that our communities hold solutions and strategies that can create the equitable change we all seek. In the teachings of our Coast Salish relatives, we lift up our hands in gratitude for your work, and we stand ready to support you.
In the spirit of Our Ancestors,
Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits
Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits envisions a healthy, safe, and thriving Native community in the Pacific Northwest. Our organizations include:
- Chief Seattle Club
- Duwamish Tribal Services
- Indigenous Showcase (Longhouse Media)
- Na’ah Illahee Fund
- National Urban Indian Family Coalition
- Native Action Network
- Native American Women’s Dialogue on Infant Mortality
- Northwest Justice Project – Native American Unit
- Potlatch Fund
- Red Eagle Soaring
- Seattle Indian Health Board
- United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Urban Native Education Alliance
Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits (SUNN) collaborative convenes and strengthens Native-led organizations throughout King County to build collective power through dialog, education, action, and advocacy. To increase the well-being of our urban Native family, we call upon Indigenous strength, resilience, and wisdom to address systemic inequities and galvanize community-centered solutions.
Inquiries: sunn.outreach@gmail.com
Website: SeattleUrbanNatives.org
Facebook: @SeattleUrbanNativeNonprofits
Twitter: @SeaUrbanNatives