It’s Time to Be ‘Invisible No More’
In the spirit of Indigenous Peoples Day, First Nations is happy to announce that Invisible No More: Voices from Native America is now available. The result of a multi-year collaboration between First Nations and The Nonprofit Quarterly, the book is a groundbreaking collection of stories by Native American leaders who are advancing cultural grounding and nation-building in the areas of community, environmental justice, and economic justice.
Invisible No More is available for a limited time at a special discount. Preorder yours here and save 25%. Use discount code: VISIBLE
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, co-editor of the Invisible No More and former First Nations Vice President of Communications, Development and Grantmaking Raymond Foxworth, Ph.D., shares more about the history of the day and the call to action of Invisible No More.
In many ways, Invisible No More: Voices from Native America started on Indigenous Peoples Day. In 2019, when I was at First Nations Development Institute, we launched our first article series highlighting the voices of Native community leaders with Steve Dubb and the team at The Nonprofit Quarterly.
In the kickoff article, I noted that Indigenous Peoples Day, formerly called Columbus Day, is the celebration of Indigenous survival in the face of a genocidal invasion that began in 1492 when an Italian sailor, Christopher Columbus, stumbled upon the Caribbean islands. His arrival set in motion the extermination of Indigenous peoples across the Americas, including the Taíno Indians he originally contacted in the Caribbean, and a history of slavery, sexual violence, and more. Although Columbus never stepped foot in North America, his presence in history has created a national narrative that has glorified him, and a brutal process of American development that, at the same time, worked to exterminate and diminish Native people, their sovereignty, land, and culture.
In 2021, the federal government officially proclaimed the second Monday of October to be Indigenous Peoples Day. Beyond this, there has been a call to learn about and acknowledge the horrific atrocities committed against Native Americans by settler Americans and their governments, and more importantly, to take reparative action that advances Native sovereignty, linguistic, cultural, and land rights.
With this context in mind, Invisible No More: Voices from Native America articulates Native action, visions, and aspirations that are taking place in Native communities all aimed at challenging the romanticized and false views of Columbus and his colonial legacy.
This book highlights the voices of Native people who are doing the hard work necessary to advance Native sovereignty, linguistic, cultural and land rights. Invisible No More highlights the resilience of Native people and their fight to maintain their distinct identities, protect land and the environment, and advance their sovereign rights.
We invite you to learn more from Native people and their important work and vision.
Raymond Foxworth, Ph.D.
