Support The Indigenous People's Day Five
District Attorney Lori Frugoli:
We strongly urge you to drop all charges against the Indigenous Peoples Day 5. By doing so you will be acting in integrity with the progressive values you have committed to uphold.
The Greater Bay Area has a long-standing history of activism and civil disobedience that we embody with pride and humility. We believe that the legacy of the Bay Area is exactly this: active civic engagement with the issues that matter most to our communities. We want to believe that this is a place where justice can thrive, not wither under repressive leadership.
The targeting of Indigenous women and Two Spirited people is not only out of alignment with the principles you profess to espouse, it is a continuation of the legacy of anti-Indigenous violence that persists to this day. By continuing to press these charges, you are sending a message that prosecuting Indigenous community members is the best use of the resources of your office. By charging only Indigenous people, you are aligning yourself with the dangerous trend toward repression of BIPOC activists and those speaking up against violent, genocidal figures such as Junipero Serra.
Your office recently hosted a webinar on “Responding to hate crimes, racism and anti-semitism in Marin” and it seems completely incongruous that you would be continuing to prosecute this group of all-Indigenous community members who were singled out during a demonstration against racism and colonialism. This is the moment to take a stance in support of recognizing that the removal of this statue was in and of itself a response to the brutal and racist violence that is central to Junipero Serra’s legacy.
We are writing to urge you to act in accordance with your own stated values, those of standing against racism in Marin, and drop the charges now against the Indigenous Peoples Day 5.
Sincerely,
The Indigenous Peoples Day 5 Solidarity Coalition and the following undersigned supporters
Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)
Justice Teams Network
Mt. Diablo Rising Tide
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
National Lawyers Guild San Francisco-Bay Area
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala
Ohio Women's Alliance
CodePink Women for Peace, East Bay Chapter
Wet'suwet'en Solidarity Front Bay Aree
Indigenous Solidarity Network
Northern New Mexico Showing Up for Racial Justice (NNMSURJ)
Anti Police-Terror Project
Jewish Youth for Community Action
Catalyst Project
End Solitary Santa Cruz County [CA, USA]
Seeding Sovereignty
POORMAGAZINE/PrensaPobre
Peoples Alliance
Indigenous Harm Reduction Team
Poverty Kills 2020
Homes Not Hate
Restore Oakland
Urgent Action Fund
Extinction Rebellion SF Bay Area
Water Protector Legal Collective
Albuquerque SURJ
Cenyeliztli Seeds
350 Seattle
Morning Star Gali, Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice - CURYJ
West Berkeley Shellmound Network
Jewish Voice for Peace - Bay Area
Marin Mutual Aid Brigade
National Brown Berets
North Oakland Restorative Justice Council
Showing Up for Racial Justice San Francisco
Professor Erin Gray, University of California, Davis
First Congregational Church - Ripon, CA
Pesticide Action Network
House the Bay
Showing Up for Racial Justice Marin
Rising Tide North America
People’s Strike Bay Area
Turtle Island Restoration Center
Planting Justice
Transform Alameda
Industrial Workers of the World
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Desert Coast Dance Performing Arts
Kehilla Community Synagogue
Palestinian Youth Movement
San Bernardino Free Them All
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Bay Area Chapter
Defund SFPD Now
Parivar - Our Queer and Trans South Asian Family
SURJ Bay Area
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity