We Need to Imagine Better Futures

It has been nearly impossible to write on this blog for about a year now. I kept wondering: what is there left to say? Certain conversations seem trivial in light of the actions of the Trump administration; indeed, discussions on inclusive architecture seem a tough ask when people are being kidnapped off the streets, asked for papers, being randomly searched, and while major media personalities are being censored or taken off the air. What good is writing under authoritarianism?

I’m writing anyway as a small resistance. I recently completed a course, Pathways to Equity, with some colleagues who were interested in Afrofuturism. In hearing them talk about it, I concluded that even daring to imagine a better future is a way to fight back.

So, here’s a fun question: what would it look like for Indigenous nations to use the deregulation of the Trump era to push even further forward? Relatedly: what unique opportunities are opening up now?

I can’t lie, things are definitely bleak. The Miccosukee nation had to sue the federal government and the state government of Florida because “Alligator Alcatraz” (a concentration camp) is on their land. The federal funding cuts have ravaged Indian Country, affecting grant programs that would provide funds for infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and education. The potential losses would measure in billions of dollars. Federal funds are crucial for nations because they are unable to levy their own taxes, and their sovereign legal status means that states do not fund tribal infrastructure; in essence, the federal government, by cutting off funds, is starving tribes of money they need for basic amenities, not luxuries. This comes at a time when many tribes face a housing crisis, a healthcare crisis, an education crisis, and even a clean water crisis.

However, this doesn’t need to be the end of the story.

As of 2020, eastern Oklahoma is Indian land, which grants authority back to tribes. In Wyoming and Montana, the Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne are in the process of completing Climate Action Plans, which will help them to establish tribal authorities focused on environmental protection and stewardship. As Indian Country finds other ways to reclaim land, establish microgrids, and fund infrastructure projects, I think there is plenty of room to fight back in the courtroom.

In prior posts, I have mentioned how even the partisan Supreme Court is capable of making decisions favorable to Indigenous groups. As an example, 2020 Supreme Court ruling on Oklahoma’s eastern territory might present interesting ground for civil suits, especially environmental ones. I wonder–can tribes sue to restrict pollution and disruption upstream? Will the Clean Air Act, for example, hold up to support these suits in court?

Depending on how the Miccosukee suit ultimately concludes, there may be another victory. With the administration’s tendency to favor extreme deregulation and with the current Supreme Court’s preference for originalism we are entering fertile territory for both new challenges and old ones based on treaties from centuries ago.

All of this is, of course, dependent on how the next months go. Whether funding returns or even increases after an economic crisis will be interesting; whether tribes will be primary beneficiaries is even more so. It is certainly hard to imagine exciting new developments and pushes toward sovereignty when such basic needs are hardly being met on reservations in the United States.

Yet I would be remiss to ignore the opportunities that might come about should we continue our course into uncharted waters. Tribes’ historical status has often put us into a uniquely bad position, but simultaneously it can afford certain advantages… I just don’t want us to be cowed into submission. Land sovereignty, food sovereignty, and energy sovereignty are all on the table. If funding is restored, or if land is reclaimed, or if a string of favorable decisions come our way we need to press on with energy projects, housing development, and favorable collaborations with each other. I trust advocates like NARF to continue fighting, and I’m certain that nations won’t capitulate.

And, frankly, it’s necessary to imagine our pathways forward: we need a game plan for how we will rebuild after this administration (and the MAGA movement) have run its course.

I hope to continue writing about some of these what-ifs based on current events.