PEORIA, Ill.—“As we say in Lakota: ‘Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ.’ We are all related. There is no other. All living things are related.” Those were the words of Jo Lakota as she reflected on both the trauma endured by her people and what she’s seen inflicted on the indigenous people of Palestine.
Lakota was one of the key speakers at Existence is Resistance, an event celebrating indigenous peoples’ history and their ties to their land, in the Illinois town of Peoria this past weekend.
It was organized by the activist group Peoria for Palestine.
The grassroots coalition, comprised of a diverse group of Peoria locals, has been working together for nearly two years to raise awareness and fight for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Its Existence is Resistance event showcased the parallels of struggles faced by indigenous peoples in various parts of the world.
Lakota, an indigenous elder in the community, spoke about her people’s experience with genocide and displacement, including her own relationship to the land. She also reflected further on the harm she sees arising from Israel’s assault on Gaza.
“If you cut down the thousand-year-old tree that is feeding you? If you poison the soils that are making you healthy?” she asked. “Anything that happens to another, happens to you—it happens to the one.”
That view led her to conclude that solidarity with others should be an automatic outcome of one’s own experience with oppression. “I would say, realize that we are not safe as long as someone else is not safe”—a variation of the well-known slogan “An injury to one is an injury to all.”
The lineup at Existence is Resistance included speakers, like Lakota, a letter-writing station, a chalk art contest, and a ceremonial bridge lighting. Peoria’s McCluggage Bridge has been lit up all week in red and green lights, signifying the Palestinian flag, which itself is banned from being flown in Israel and has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance and strength around the world.
Attendees were encouraged to utilize the letter-writing station to address the role of the Caterpillar company in supporting the genocide due to their partnership and contracts with Israel. The construction and mining equipment manufacturer has been a major player in the Peoria economy for years and maintains its museum and corporate visitor center there.
In January 2025, 139 Caterpillar D9 bulldozers were exported to the Israeli government. The Trump administration approved an additional $260 million sale of armored D9 bulldozers. This specific model of bulldozer is exclusively used in Israel to destroy Palestinian homes, uproot agricultural trees, and to kill and maim innocent civilians, including the murder of U.S. citizen Rachel Corrie in 2003.
Letter-writers were given the tools and information to send handwritten messages to Caterpillar’s CEO and encourage the company to divest from its partnership with Israel.
The Existence is Resistance event closed out with the bridge-lighting and traditional Palestinian music. The members of Peoria for Palestine signaled they intend to continue their work of raising awareness about Israeli apartheid and the struggle of the Palestinian people and linking the latter to other resistance and freedom movements.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
