The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, observed annually on August 9th carries the theme “Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Self-Determination: A Pathway for Food Security and Sovereignty.” While this day draws global attention to the fundamental rights of Indigenous communities—to govern their own lands, to practice their ancestral traditions, and to preserve their cultural and ecological knowledge—this recognition must extend beyond symbolic annual gestures. Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples demands sustained, material commitment every day of the year.

The ongoing exploitation of Indigenous communities is not a chapter closed in history books; it is a brutal, present-day reality. These communities are on the frontlines of intersecting crises: environmental degradation, land dispossession, militarized violence, and cultural genocide. These systems prioritize profit over people, land, and water – enforcing the commodification of natural resources and the dehumanization of those who have lived in relation to the land since time immemorial.

From the illegal extraction projects in the Amazon basin, to oil pipelines like Line 3 and Keystone XL threatening sacred lands in North America, to the ongoing suppression of Aboriginal rights in Australia, to name just a few, Indigenous struggles against imperialist violence are global and prolific. These extractive attacks are not isolated incidents, but manifestations of a system designed to erase Indigenous sovereignty in favor of corporate and state power.

Standing with Indigenous Peoples means moving beyond land acknowledgments and symbolic gestures. It means actively opposing settler colonial structures, supporting LandBack movements, disrupting extractive industries, and amplifying Indigenous leadership in all spheres. It means recognizing that true food sovereignty and climate justice cannot be achieved within a framework that treats the Earth as property and Indigenous bodies as obstacles to profit.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples should be a day of global mobilization—not just commemoration. Let it remind us that decolonization is not a metaphor; it is a material struggle, one that must be fought alongside those who have been resisting empire since its inception.

To learn about some of the incredible work that Indigenous Peoples in Northern California are enacting, check out our recent interview with Dania Rose Colegrove!