How to Decolonize and Indigenize with Sikowis Nobiss

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Oct 9, 2023

In this episode, Sikowis Nobiss, a Plains Cree/Saulteaux activist, discusses the connections between capitalism, colonialism, consumerism, and Christianity. Topics explored include the impact of wealth inequality, Christianity's role in oppression, the importance of decolonization, and indigenizing land acknowledgments and repatriation efforts.

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INSIGHT

Root Causes of Disconnection

Sikowis Nobiss connects disconnection and the need to rebuild culture to the Christian dogma of man's dominion over Earth.
She argues this mentality fostered colonial capitalism and radical independence, hindering empathy and collective action.

INSIGHT

Misogyny in Christianity

Sikowis Nobiss links misogyny in Christianity to the objectification of women and control over their bodies, citing historical examples of fathers and husbands dictating reproductive choices.
She connects this to the control of women's reproductive freedom and the historical sterilization of Indigenous women.

ANECDOTE

Megachurches and the Four Cs

Sikowis Nobiss uses the HBO show "The Righteous Gemstones" to illustrate the intersection of Christianity, colonialism, capitalism, and consumerism.
She argues that megachurches epitomize these "four Cs," exploiting people through religious grifting and conspicuous consumption.

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What is the connection between capitalism, colonialism, consumerism, and Christianity? How do these systems and ideologies uphold and support one another? How do we work to dismantle them and cultivate in their place a decolonized culture and politics that supports Indigenous sovereignty, human health and wellbeing, and flourishing ecosystems? These are some of the questions that we’ll explore today on this special Indigenous People’s Day conversation with Sikowis Nobiss.

Sikowis is Plains Cree/Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada At 19 she began her life's work of uplifting Indigenous rights and voices when she got her first job at the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council in Fredericton, Canada, during the Burnt Church Rebellion. Between 2010 and 2015, Sikowis attempted to work with various Indigenous folks in Iowa City to build a climate and environment organization but was unsuccessful. However, her goal to found such an organization became a reality in 2016 when she joined the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. This led her to co-found Little Creek Camp in February 2017, which has since transformed into Great Plains Action Society, a fully Indigenous-led organization where Sikowis works at a grassroots level to dismantle corrupt colonial-capitalist systems and rebuild them with a decolonized worldview.

Thank you to Soni López-Chávez (of Chichimeca heritage) for this episode’s cover art and to Black Belt Eagle Scout for the intermission music. Upstream theme music was composed by Robert Raymond/Lanterns.

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