It is the right of all people on earth to control their own destiny no matter what nation they belong to. Since the dawn of imperialism in the west, the indigenous people have been fighting for what is culturally and historically theirs, the Western Hemisphere. Capitalists have been trying to spread the myth that the indigenous Americans were savages before the coming of the Europeans who civilized them. Also, the corrupt capitalists would have us believe that today the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere have surrendered all claims to their birthrights. THESE ARE VICIOUS LIES.
Before the Europeans entered the Western Hemisphere, 120 million Native Americans occupied the lands. They lived under a communalistic system, in that the land belonged to everyone. They also built highly civilized states and empires. For example, the TENOCHTITLAN EMPIRE was erected in the center of LAKE TEXCOCO, the EMPIRE of COPAN in WESTERN HONDURAS, and the EMPIRE of CUZCO which was located in the southeast part of LIMA. These great civilizations were built by the AZTECS, MAYAS, and the INCAS. Europeans eager to claim the land exterminated many of the Indians through acts of war, mass murders, and the spreading of diseases such as smallpox and malaria. By the time the last frontier was "settled", the indigenous Americans were reduced to remnants. In the Caribbean, they became extinct. The remainder were herded onto reservations on their own land much like Africans in Namibia and South Africa on what are ironically called "Homelands". The indigenous people have fought hard, but because the masses of them were disorganized, they were defeated.
The war of imperialism on the indigenous people has not ceased. In Central and South America, the people are being bombed, dynamited, and attacked with machine guns. In North America, they are being murdered and sterilized with the help of the FBI. Capitalists want to destroy the Native Americans simply because of their desire to control the land and its resources (gold, silver, oil) for their own use. This is the reason why Indians, like Africans, are suffering the world over from nation and class exploitation.
The indigenous Americans have never stopped struggling for their rights. The American Indian Movement (AIM) formed by students in Minnesota on July 29, 1968 is an example of this continuous struggle. This organization and others are dedicated to the spiritual and physical rebirth of the Indian Nation. One example of their determination happened several years ago when on November 20, 1969, a group of 78 Indians from various tribes were able to seize Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay and establish sovereignty for eight months. The will of the people remained strong even though the FBI severed all life supports to the Island (food, water, and electricity). Native American resistance again came into the public eye when the Ogala nation occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota. In 1978, the "Longest Walk" was organized where Indians from all over the country marched across the United States to Washington, D.C. in the span of seven months.
Understanding that political education of the masses is a necessity, Native American organizations continue to address the issue of genocide of the indigenous people by the capitalists, further proving that the spirit of their proud nation is unbroken. Akwesane Notes, a progressive newspaper published by and for Native Americans is yet another means of protest as it strives to raise the level of consciousness of the masses of the people. The indigenous people of the western hemisphere are determined to regain their land. In the words of Akwesane Notes, "The people are standing up." The All-African People's Revolutionary Party fully supports the efforts of any and all progressive elements who promote self-determination of the indigenous Americans.
THE CAPITALIST CAMPAIGN
The movement for Indian self-determination and rights has been consistently opposed by capitalist forces. The public image of the resistance movement today results from the media's shallow fascination with sensational news, and from a persistent effort by the U.S. government to discredit the movement. Native American activists have been depicted as adventuresome militants, acting violently and indiscriminately without objective basis. In fact, the government-promoted caricature of Indian resistance omits the guns that were pointed by the FBI at Wounded Knee and the 61 Indians who died violently at Pine Ridge in the three years following Wounded Knee. It leaves out the guns pointed at Anna Mae Aquash, brutally murdered in February of 1976, and Leonard Peltier who barely escaped an FBI shootout 4 months later, but then was sentenced to two life terms for the death of the two FBI men who instigated the shootout. Appeal of his rigged trial continues today and he is correctly recognized internationally as a political prisoner of the U.S.
The overall goal of the government has been to "criminalize" the movement, treating political work as criminal activity. The aim has been to confuse and intimidate the growing support by Indians and non-Indians for the movement-supported struggles. Nonetheless, Indian people remain committed and dedicated to achieving justice, by fighting capitalist campaigns of misinformation and by organizing and politically educating Indian people and their supporters.
WHAT WE MUST DO
Capitalism is a very powerful system which can be destroyed only through mass organization. Mass organization comes when the people are politically educated and aware enough to recognize the need for organization. This will happen when students, African students in particular, respond to their true role in society and organize and take a leading position in working to disseminate the truth among their people. The All-African People's Revolutionary Party recognizes students in their proper context as the "spark" of the revolution.
WHAT IS THE AAPRP?
The All African People's Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) is a mass socialist party that believes in self-determination for all people victimized by imperialism, from the Native American, to the Palestinians and the Irish. We realize that land is the universal object of all human labor. It is from land that true wealth is derived in the form of minerals, food, and raw materials, not from printed paper money as we are often led to believe. The objective of the AAPRP is Pan-Africanism - the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism, a system where technology is used to benefit, not exploit the masses of people, and the wealth produced is equally distributed. The ideology of the AAPRP is Nkrumahism, based on the correct interpretation of African history by Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana and Co-President of Guinea.
We know that imperialism is capitalism in another form and that the only way to destroy it is through mass organization. All black people are Africans and once we become organized and free Africa, we will suffer no longer from nation and class exploitation and oppression. We are calling on all Africans to join us in the fight for our people's freedom and the freedom of all oppressed Peoples.
African Liberation Day
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