Dear Friend,

I’m writing to you from my home in Baltimore City, on stolen Piscataway land.

This Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, we’d like to take a moment to honor the legacy — past, present, and future — of the Indigenous peoples of this land. It is our responsibility as settlers to acknowledge the ongoing effects of settler colonialism, and to recognize that we benefit from the displacement, genocide, and past and present violence against Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands present-day United States, including the state of Maryland, stands.

When we say we are working toward a more just and equitable future for Marylanders, that includes our Indigenous communities. There is so much work to be done — passing federal and state legislation for reparations; formally acknowledging Indigenous history and land rights; and, of course, ensuring that Native residents have affordable healthcare and housing, access to quality education, clean air and drinking water, and the many other basic human rights that everyone deserves. Progressive Maryland is committed to this work.

This Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, we acknowledge the Accohannock Indian Tribe, Assateague Peoples Tribe, Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, Piscataway Conoy Tribe, Piscataway Indian Nation, Pocomoke Indian Nation and Youghiogheny River Band of Shawnee Indians as the original stewards of Maryland's lands. We honor their history of resilience and resistance. We are grateful to the Native people who contribute to our lives everyday in essential and meaningful ways.

It’s important to recognize Native people are all around us — they are our healthcare workers, teachers, lawyers, grocery store employees — and to understand that Indigenous communities have created (and continue to create) many of the medicines, textiles, and traditions we rely on and love. It is crucial that we put in the work of finding ways to respect, support and uplift our Native friends and neighbors all year long.

In honor of my Cherokee ancestors and Shinnecock family, I encourage you not only to learn more about Indigenous history and cultures, but to do more in the fight for justice for Indigenous peoples. We promise we will do the same.

Sincerely,

Christianne Marguerite (she/her)

Communications Manager for Progressive Maryland