Many Fronts, One Struggle: Visual Histories of Indigenous Radicalism

The place of political posters in representing and advancing Indigenous struggles forms the subject of this chapter. The goal is not to provide a comprehensive view of graphic activism. Rather, the aim is threefold. First, to place Indigenous struggles in a global frame and, in pointing out their presence on every continent, to argue for a productive exchange between the struggles of the Third and Fourth worlds. Second, to highlight the role of the visual in Indigenous radicalism, and in doing so place Indigenous activism within the larger tradition of political posters. Finally, posters highlight questions that acquired particular salience for Native peoples, including land, ecology, and treaty rights, as well as those elements, like cultural revitalization, police violence, state repression, and the struggle against patriarchy, that were common to all racialized populations inside the United States.