Trans, Queer, and Two-Spirit youth know that oppression cannot be overcome with more oppression. We are all deserving of lives of dignity, safety, and freedom. None of us are free until we are all free. As we enter into Native American Heritage Month, we’re called to renew our commitment to decolonization globally.
Decolonization is a word that has become misunderstood and so misappropriated in recent years that its meaning feels lost. The term has become almost synonymous with anything that disrupts what is perceived as normal. But it goes deeper than this; the work of decolonization must center the voices of the colonized. Decolonization, a term that has undergone significant misinterpretation and misuse in recent times, seems to have lost its core meaning. It has been linked with anything that challenges the established norm. But at its heart, decolonization is about giving prominence to the voices of the Indigenous.
The trans youth who wrote our TRUTH Nine-Point Platform six years ago understood this. Point 5 reads, “We Call for Decolonization and Reparations for all Indigenous and Black peoples.” They wrote it as a demand to act in solidarity with communities who have been displaced, decultured, and dehumanized by practices and policies enacted as part of the ongoing colonization and cultural genocide of black and brown peoples.
With heartbreaking timing, we focus on this point for this year’s GSA Day for Gender Justice as we also bear witness to the genocide of the Palestinian people. We must use whatever platform we can avail ourselves of to call for an end to this dehumanization and to be in solidarity with all colonized people.
GSA Network joins the growing chorus of organizations and people of conscience to demand Ceasefire Now, the release of all hostages, and the restoration of vital services and humanitarian aid to Gaza and the Palestinian people.
We strongly denounce the increasing presence of Islamophobia and antisemitism, often masked as a false sense of unity. Our unwavering support remains with all oppressed communities, and we reiterate our call for decolonization as a means of achieving true liberation.
GSA Day 4 Gender Justice is a national day of action that invites GSA clubs to organize around GJ issues relevant to their local campus. Since 2018, GSADay4GJ has highlighted individual points of the National Trans Youth Council’s Nine-Point Platform. This year’s GSA Day for Gender Justice is happening on November 17, 2023. Read more here.
