Native American Heritage Month: Madonna Thunder Hawk

In an article chronicling her history and achievements, Madonna Thunder Hawk was dubbed the “Original Gangster,” as a steadfast, powerful, unafraid warrior woman. This is fitting, given she had a hand in forming all of the core South Dakota-based organizations that push for Indian self-determination, establish alternative schooling for Native children, protect reproductive health, and…

Native American Heritage Month: Sharice Davids

Sharice Davids’ name might sound familiar, and for good reason – during last week’s midterm elections, Davids was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress in U.S. history. When she officially takes office, Davids will also be the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Kansas, and the first Democrat to…

Native American Heritage Month

November was declared Native American Heritage Month in 1990. However, the fight for the celebration and national recognition of Native Americans’ and Alaskan Natives’ history, culture, and traditions began decades beforehand. Dr. Arthur C. Parker, historian and member of the Seneca Nation, was one of the early proponents of “American Indian Day.” During the early…

Native American Heritage Month: Minnie Kellogg

Laura “Minnie” Cornelius Kellogg was an activist, author, orator, and leader of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. To this day, Kellogg remains one of the most prominent – and controversial – figures in American Indian history, acting as a driving force behind political issues and land rights in the U.S. and Canada, founding the Society…

Native American Heritage Month: Charon Asetoyer

“Native women will not stand by and allow the US Government to define our reproductive rights, nor will we stand by an allow them to decide the size or gender characteristics of our families.  Reproductive rights are rights of individuals and are up to individuals to define for themselves. We must never turn over the…

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: Luz Alvarez Martinez

Luz Alvarez Martinez’s name is synonymous with Latina women’s reproductive health activism. Yet even this understates her influence as a leader in fostering and prioritizing the health and well-being of minority women across the United States. Born in California in 1943 to a family of farmworkers, Martinez began her life of activism as an early…

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: Gloria Malone

Gloria Malone is not one to live within the confines of others’ expectations. At age 15, Malone became pregnant and her life kicked into high gear – and she has not slowed down since. Today Malone works to reduce the stigma around teen pregnancy, particularly as it negatively impacts teens’ access to quality healthcare, education,…

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: Rosa Alicia Clemente

“We must fight for our reproductive rights and our human rights now more than ever before. Too many women in history fought for us to have the ability to have control of what we do with our own bodies. This is not just a fight for women we need men to also stand with us and…

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: Jessica González-Rojas

“The fight for reproductive justice is inextricably linked to the fight for racial justice and black liberation, quality and affordable health care, equal access to education, LGBTQ liberation, and immigrant rights. Now more than ever before, we need a movement that recognizes and addresses all our lived experiences and intersecting identities, centers the voices of…

Happy Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month!

On September 15, 1821, five Central American nations – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua – declared independence from Spanish colonial rule. Fast forward to 1988, when the date was chosen as the starting point of Hispanic Heritage Month to commemorate those anniversaries. The Latinx community is the fastest-growing community in the United…