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Note: Colorado AIM created these principles in 1983. In
1987, a more detailed version was put forth by the Chapter. This is a copy of
the 1987 version.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT OF COLORADO
Colorado AIM has rooted its political, social, cultural and economic program
in four basic and essential principles:
1. Spirituality 2. Sovereignty 3. Support 4. Sobriety
Any American Indian person who embraces and actively supports these
principles is welcome to join with Colorado AIM in the liberation and
advancement of our peoples and nations.
SPIRITUALITY
First, and foremost, the American Indian Movement of Colorado is a
spiritually guided movement. This is not to be confused with a fundamentalist
religious movement. As indigenous people, we come from ancient traditions that
remind us that we are related to all life. Through that understanding, we are
compelled to respect all life. We must revere the Earth and the Sky, as well as
our other relations on the planet, not simply other human beings. The decisions
of Colorado AIM must be taken with the conscious appreciation that our actions
affect not only ourselves but our other relatives, and succeeding generations.
Our decisions, policies and actions must be taken with an understanding and
respect for the interconnectedness of all life.
Colorado AIM is committed to the protection of all traditional Indian
spiritual beliefs and ceremonies. We will actively resist any attempts by
foreign or settler societies to disrupt, proscribe, or otherwise disrupt the
traditional practices of our people and nations. To that end, we recognize our
responsibilities to instruct our children in our spiritual traditions, and we
strive to practice and incorporate our spirituality into our daily lives. Our
responsibility to the ancient teachings of our ancestors demands our active
defense of the rights of Indian peoples everywhere to practice and maintain
their ceremonies in their traditional manner and in their traditional sites,
regardless of the location.
Our spiritual tradition requires that we respect all spiritual beliefs, and,
in return we expect respect from other systems, whether secular or spiritual. We
condemn, and actively oppose, the destruction of and denial of access to our
spiritual sites by various governmental authorities. We will continue to resist
the rulings of judicial, legislative and executive departments and agencies that
deny respect to our beliefs and attempt to destroy our spiritual traditions and
practices.
We also actively oppose the efforts of non-Indian religious denominations and
missionaries to demean, disrespect, infiltrate, or otherwise attempt to
undermine or destroy our spiritual traditions. We do not have missionaries; we
do not try to persuade or convert others to our way of thought or belief, and we
demand the same respect in return. Further, we understand that our spiritual
ceremonies, beliefs and traditions have been passed to us from generation to
generation, and that these spiritual ways belong to us collectively. Some
individuals and groups have attempted to steal or possess these ways for
personal gain and profit. We are committed to the defense of our traditions, and
will confront spiritual commercializers, whether Indian or non-indian, in the
strongest terms. In our political work, we must be guided by our spirituality.
Before every decision, at every gathering, before every action upon which we
embark, we must remember our relatives who have come before us, who sacrificed
so that we might be here today to continue our resistance. We must invoke our
traditions, whether it be the pipe, the peyote way, the drum, or some other
tradition, to guide our deliberations and decisions. We must remember that our
spirituality is an indispensable part of who we are as individuals, as a
movement, and as Indian nations.
SOVEREIGNTY
Central to our freedom and liberty as the original, indigenous nations and
people of the Western Hemisphere, is the inherent right of our Indian nations to
exercise their own control of their territories and societies. Matters of
political, economic, cultural and social affairs were rightfully
decided by Indian people themselves. Political sovereignty includes the right of
a people or nation to explore and entertain every political option, including
absolute independence from any other people, nation, or state. We believe that
no political settler state in the world has a right to existence that is
superior to the rights of the indigenous peoples that it suppresses.
We also recognize that political sovereignty and self-determination is a
hollow promise without economic self-determination. Consequently, Colorado AIM
also recognizes and defends the absolute right of Indian nations to formulate
and pursue whatever economic relationships they deem to be in their interest,
without interference by any other nation-state or foreign political or economic
entity. In this vein, we assume that Indian nations will make economic, social
and political decisions based on traditional Indian principles of environmental
protection and economic justice and sustainability. If they choose to abandon
our Indian traditions, we reserve the right to oppose them and their decisions.
SUPPORT
Support within Colorado AIM begins with the individual, extends to support of
the Indian family, expands to embrace our extended families, our community, our
Indian nation, other Indian nations, and, finally, all of creation.
Support requires a combination of respect, strength, compassion and justice. It
also requires that each member of Colorado AIM accept responsibility for her/his
own life, and for the well-being of every other AIM member. Alone, we are weak,
vulnerable and isolated. Together, we are strong, we are a family, we can depend
and rely on each other, and we must fear no person or power. Our voice will be
strong and unified, our determination will be principled, and in remembering our
traditions and spirituality there is nothing that is capable of denying us our
freedom and liberation.
Support for our members, family and community must be rooted in the following
basic principles:
Respect for Elders - Because the elders of our movement carry the experience
and wisdom necessary for the guidance of our struggle, we agree to respect them
in the following ways:
- Our elders must be accorded respect and deference by the entire membership
of Colorado AIM.
- Disrespect of our elders through verbal, physical, or emotional abuse must be
viewed as an attack on all members of Colorado AIM and will be answered with the
strongest possible response.
- All decisions within Colorado AIM must be taken with the advice and assistance
of our elders.
- The example for future generations flows from the actions of our elders.
Consequently, elders will be expected to guide with principle, compassion,
temperance, wisdom and discipline. They should be guided by the long-term
interests of our people, and must not allow factionalism or partiality to divide
us.
- The Elders Council is central in determining the leadership of Colorado AIM. In
the event that the leadership is locked into inaction due to differences of
opinion, or consistent failure to achieve consensus, the elders are vested with
the authority to resolve any impasse in such manner as they deem appropriate.
Their final decision is to be respected by the entire membership.
Respect for Children - As our elders represent the pool of wisdom connecting
us with our traditions, our children represent our common potential for the
future.
- Each Colorado AIM member should view the children of our movement as their
own. Children should be raised with strong principles, morals and ideals, as
reflected in the example of the adults around her/him.
- Every Indian child has a right to the necessities of life, and, as a movement,
we have an obligation to insure that those necessities are met.
- Every Indian child has the right to expect a life of love, dignity, and
respect, to be secure from emotional danger, and to fulfill his/her human
potential.
- The physical or emotional abuse of Indian children must not be tolerated, and
incidences of abuse should be addressed from two directions: first, to insure
the safety and welfare of the child, and, second, to provide the community
support necessary to remedy the cause of the abuse.
- Indian men and women have a traditional responsibility to provide for the
physical well being of their children. To shirk or ignore such responsibilities
is to heap contempt upon-our most revered traditions. For a man or woman to
refuse his/her responsibilities to their children, or to deny their children
altogether, is to succumb to the excuses and cowardice of an inhumane and
suicidal non-Indian philosophy.
Indian children must not be abandoned to non-Indian social service agencies
which have consistently indicated their disdain for our people and our children,
have no respect for our traditions or aspirations, and have been complicit in
our genocide.
Respect for Women and Men-We often forget the lessons that have been given to
us through our traditions, ceremonies and stories about how we should live our
lives and treat one another. We forget that in each woman and each man lies the
sacredness of the Great Mystery. In our personal lives we must remember to
acknowledge and respect that sacredness,in each other. Our future as Indian people, and as a liberation movement,
requires that men and women treat each other with patience, honesty, respect,
and justice.
- The example of the Sacred Woman teaches us that women must be prepared to
defend the people in a variety of circumstances and conditions. Because women
are guided by the cycles of the Earth and Moon, they are to be respected for
their important responsibilities in our societies. Especially important is their
responsibility to remind the people to maintain our balance in the world, and
that balance is the key to our survival as Indian people and nations.
- Because of their spiritual power, women also are responsible for monitoring the
political processes within our movement, to insure that the political
leaderships reflects the best interests of the people.
- The example of the Sacred Man teaches us that men must also be prepared to
defend the people, no matter the risk or the cost. Men must address their
responsibilities to the people with strength and passion. They should be
prepared to defend our principles with honor and repel those who would destroy
us with determination, under the guidance of the elders.
- Men must never use their physical strength against their own people, unless in
the administration of justice as determined by the elders; men must not stoop to
the cowardice of striking Indian children, women or elders. Such actions should
receive the most serious response from the movement membership.
- The protection and survival of Indian people requires that men and women
develop and maintain their mental and physical strength. We must respect our
bodies and spirits, and we must present the best possible examples to our
children and to the world. Our example must
reflect respect and kindness to one another, and we must reject the
destructiveness of alcohol and drugs.
Respect for Our Community -In this urban setting, Indian people are often
estranged from one another. We must rebuild our faith in one another, and rely
on each other for support and mutual defense.
- We must be honest with each other. We must not spread gossip or suspicion
about our members. We should discuss questions or criticisms openly and
honestly with each other, without anger, in the expectation that honest
dialogue will make us a stronger movement.
- We must be responsible individuals, striving for self-sufficiency from a
system that has transformed us into dependent people. We must work hard for
our people's liberation and we must give our best effort toward that end. We
must be willing to sacrifice our personal comfort and well-being for the
benefit of the people. We must be willing to share ourselves and our
possessions when the people are in need. As warriors, we should be prepared
to be the first to sacrifice and the last to be rewarded. We must remember
our traditions of the warrior societies, that as long as the people are
hungry, we should not eat, as long as the people are cold, we deserve no
blanket, as long as the people are threatened, we must not rest.
- Our sense of community is built on the belief and trust that we place in
one another. Therefore, we must keep our word with each other and never
steal from one another. Theft and lying erode the bonds of trust between us,
and theft from the people, either in material goods or in the exploitation
of others, is to be condemned and punished.
- We must respect marriage/relationships and the family. For our children
and their future, we must develop and nurture strong relationships with one
another. We must keep our vows and commitments to each other, and discourage
infidelity, abuse, and neglect within our relationships.
- We must support each other and provide moral encouragement to pursue
justice. An attack on one of us should be viewed as an attack on all of us.
We must end the self-destructive cycle of Indian on Indian violence. We must
recognize that our true enemy is a system that refuses to respect us as
sovereign people, and seeks to destroy us by trying to convince us to
abandon our Indian identity. We must avoid physical or verbal attacks on
Indians in public, recognizing that such actions only advance the amusement
and purposes of the colonial/settler system, but we must also be prepared to
bring to justice those who collaborate with our enemies.
Sobriety
The effects of drugs and alcohol have killed more Indian people than the U.S.
cavalry could ever have hoped to. Every one of our lives has been touched by the
destructiveness of drugs and alcohol. It has destroyed our friends, our
families, our relationships, and threatens our very future as Indian people. We
must turn our back on these scourges, and exclude them from our movement.
Colorado AIM members should strive toward complete sobriety, and we should
assist and support each other toward that end. Public intoxication through drug
or alcohol use not only brings disrepute to the individual who engages in it,
but also to those with whom he/she is associated. Because drug and alcohol abuse
reflect poorly on the character of our movement, public intoxication is grounds
for expulsion from Colorado AIM. Public intoxication or appearance in bars or
taverns (other than on official AIM actions) while wearing clothing or emblems
recognizable as Colorado AIM will result in the strongest response from Colorado
AIM Security.
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