Inkberry hosts local author and activist Danielle SeeWalker

It was sunny and windy Saturday afternoon as a dozen community members met outside Inkberry Books. The event that day was a book reading and question and answer session with local author and activist Danielle SeeWalker.

Originally from North Dakota, SeeWalker is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe but has since moved to Denver. She currently is a Co-Chair for the Denver American Indian Commission and explores Native activism in a variety of ways. For example, she's a mixed media artist and has put together the Red Road Project which documents "what it means to be Native American in the 21st century."

Recently, she has published a book titled Still Here: A Past to Present Insight to Native American People and Culture. Inkberry's event was planned to celebrate its publication.

"I've done a lot of research, I've done a lot of project-based [activism] and I was approached by educators, all the way from elementary to university level about certain topics," said SeeWalker. "So I said, 'I'm just going to write something down from an indigenous perspective on certain topics I'm constantly being asked about.'"

Saturday's event began with a brief reading of her book's introduction, followed by questions from the audience. SeeWalker then read the Lakota creation story and took more questions before moving inside Inkberry for a small reception.

The crowd was hooked–some shared their own stories of discovering their identity and others asked about SeeWalker's own experiences. Two topics of great interest were language and government policies that have essentially attempted erasure of Native populations.

"Here in the U.S. [Native Americans are] like something of the past, people who once existed. So there's this whole layer of invisibility."

One example discussed at the talk was Governor Jared Polis rescinding an 1864 proclamation made by former Governor John Evans. The proclamation eventually led to the Sand Creek Massacre (which, in turn, led to the end of his tenure as governor as he resigned shortly after) and called for Colorado citizens to kill and steal from Native Americans, who he deemed "enemies of the state."

Another example SeeWalker used was that of forced boarding schools, where Native American children were taken away from their families and made to assimilate into white American culture. SeeWalker's own grandmother was enrolled in these schools and lamented her experience there.

SeeWalker explained that because of this forced invisibility, the Native narrative is often inaccurate and full of misconceptions. "With the vast and complicated historical trauma that American Indian people have had to endure for centuries, our intention... is to redirect that conversation."

She expressed hope that with moves like President Biden's appointment of Deb Haaland as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and growing interest in learning indigenous perspectives, that more change might be on the horizon. She also encouraged attendees–and readers of her book–to engage in conversations and seek out events that authentically represent Native communities.