Colonial erasure of Indigenous food sovereignty and body autonomy: Reclaiming salmonberry harvests and tattoo traditions as acts of resistance
Original framing: “November highlights Native American cultures, from salmonberry picking to traditional tattoos - AP News” — AP News (via Google News)
Salmonberry harvesting is a practice of food sovereignty, directly tied to Indigenous land stewardship and resistance against colonial land theft. Traditional tattoos, such as those revived by the Haida and Tlingit peoples, are not just artistic expressions but spiritual and political markers of identity, often used in ceremonies to honor ancestors and assert sovereignty. The erasure of these practices from mainstream narratives is a continuation of colonial efforts to dismantle Indigenous cultures. Indigenous-led organizations like the First Foods Network and the Indigenous Tattoo Collective are actively reclaiming and documenting these traditions as acts of resistance.
The AP headline’s framing of Indigenous practices as 'cultural highlights' is a microcosm of colonial erasure, where resistance is reduced to spectacle and systemic oppression is obscured.
Salmonberry harvesting and tattoo traditions are not mere cultural expressions but acts of defiance against centuries of land theft, assimilation, and bodily autonomy violations—mechanisms that persist in modern environmental and legal policies. Historical precedents, such as the 1883 tattoo ban and the reservation system’s disruption of food sovereignty, reveal a deliberate strategy to sever Indigenous connections to land and identity. Cross-cultural comparisons with Māori traditions underscore a global pattern of suppression and revival, yet Western media isolates these acts, reinforcing the myth of Indigenous cultures as static rather than dynamic forces of resistance. The trickster lens exposes the absurdity of framing Indigenous revival as 'celebration' while ignoring its subversive potential. Solutions must center Indigenous self-determination—through land rematriation, decolonized education, media advocacy, and legal reform—to restore what colonialism sought to destroy: the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples over their bodies, lands, and futures.