Countless, since I was a child. Indigenous rights (land rights, sovereignty, equality, justice against police brutality), BLM, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate justice being the crux of them amongst a scattering of other things. But I see all four of them as very connected, each going back to dismantle the colonial structure and paradigm. Of those, with the exception of gay rights, were participated in over a lifetime. A timeline would see BLM emerging the past few years (and in Australia, we had been approaching BLM from a slightly different angle in the years preceding, because First Nation people come from a line of black skin, and known as 'blakfullas'), LGBTQ+ I started when I was a teenager (and holy fuck was I afraid of being outed there), and climate justice accelerated in a big way (though still thoroughly connected to a lifetime body of work) once I started organizing communities.
I've seen some horrific things happen at some of them, mostly due to police brutality and counter-protesters. It has depleted me until I was broken and could get up no more. I've also witnessed some of the most heart-warming acts of humanity. Overall, it woke me up big time as a child and taught me forms of responsibility, authenticity, and resilience in my community. If it wasn't for the protests of my ancestors and family, I wouldn't be here today, and it is my responsibility to see that we stay well organized, and continue to show leadership, creating platforms for First Nation voices for the sake of our children, because we got a loooooong way to go.
