Feed8 Top Social Media Conversations, Starting With #RockYourMocs
November brings #RockYourMocs. We take a look at this Native American Heritage month movement and other social media trends that are changing the conversation for Indian Country.
Courtesy of IAIA
The digital age has brought with it a resurgence of attention on Native-specific issues from outsiders, thanks in large part to social media.
Concerns, celebrations and images are liked, shared, retweeted, and discussed by the millions on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Here, we present a look at hashtags (i.e. digital conversation starters) that represent some of the most recent—and/or continuous—discussion trends happening across Native America.
#RockYourMocs – What started in 2011 as a small way for Natives to show off their tradish kicks has exploded into one of the most visibly appealing (and comfortable) movements around. Created by 22-year-old Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye (Laguna Pueblo), this movement now encourages folks to celebrate Native cultures and National American Indian Heritage Month (or National Native American Heritage Month referenced in casual use) by donning moccasins of every Indigenous nation on November 15 and snapping foot-tastic photos to post on social media accounts. The fun in this campaign comes in large part because, hey, you’re wearing moccasins outside the powwow grounds, but also because it’s great to see people around the world pairing their moccasins with traditional regalia, urban street wear, business casual, and full-on power suits. For more information on how to participate, check out .
#MMIW – It stands for ‘missing and murdered Indigenous women,’ and the hashtag is used by many different groups and individuals primarily to discuss the hundreds unsolved disappearances and/or homicides of Canada’s First Nations women, although conversations cover indigenous women across Turtle Island. Organized First Nations movements such as Walking With Our Sisters (See Native Peoples’ September/October issue) and the annual Women’s Memorial March () use this hashtag to raise awareness and advocate for justice for families and communities of missing and murdered Indigenous women. In the U.S., organizations like the Save Wįyąbi Project () host solidarity events with First Nations movements, but have also localized advocacy efforts with nationwide teach-ins at colleges and universities using the #MMIW hashtag. In addition, the Save Wįyąbi Project created an interactive map () to track unsolved missing and solved/unsolved murder cases of indigenous women. See also: #AmINext, #WWOS.
#VAWA – Back in 2012, when a renewal of the Violence Against Women’s Act was hotly debated in Congress, tribes and their allies pushed hard to include new provisions that would give more authority to tribes addressing domestic violence; specifically, proponents fought to extend tribal jurisdiction over non-Natives who committed acts of domestic or sexual violence against their Native partner. The law eventually passed, but violence against women–especially Native women, one in three of whom will be raped in her lifetime – remains an important discussion topic on social media for Natives and non-Natives alike, especially as high-profile cases continue to permeate the news. For more information about VAWA in Indian Country, visit .
See also: #DecolonizeSAAM #IVAWA #YesAllWomen #IDidNotReport #WhyIStayed
#NativerThanYou – This hashtag is all for humor, and it takes a break from Indian Country’s super-serious social media discussions. It was first used in the early days of 2012, and is the digital equivalent of the kind of joking, teasing and slams that define Native American humor. See also: #HumblerThanYou
#NotYourMascot – The brainchild of the group Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry, with the help of social media activist Suey Park, this hashtag has dominated the online social spectrum—especially on Twitter. The hashtag was unleashed during Super Bowl XLVIII, when it trended nationally with about 18,000 tweets in a few hours. Created primarily to draw attention to efforts protesting the use of Native imagery and racial slurs in college and professional sports, #NotYourMascot is often accompanied by purposeful images and words from Indigenous people declaring themselves humans worthy of respect. For more information, visit .
See also: #ChangeTheName #ChangeTheMascot #RedskinsPride #SackTheRWord #DeChief #Not4Sale #NotHonored.
#ProudToBe – Similar to #NotYourMascot, this hashtag was to combat inaccurate representations of Native Americans, particularly sports mascots. The hashtag went viral after the National Congress of American Indians released a powerful video just in time for Super Bowl XLVIII, and while it could be lumped in with #NotYourMascot, #ProudToBe belongs on its own because it became a beacon to those not just against misappropriation, but those who would declare their Indigenous pride and heritage outside of the stereotypes and slurs. Check the video out at .
#ShowtimeShoni – We’ve been glued to her basketball career since the “Off the Rez” documentary featuring Shoni Schimmel premiered in 2011, and she and her sister Jude became Indian Country celebrities playing for the University of Louisville. After Shoni was drafted into the WNBA by the Atlanta Dream, it was soon clear #23 could continue her on-court flare with the pros; she even took home the MVP award at the All-Star game. Throughout her rookie season, crowds of Native fans filled the stands and made Shoni’s the top selling jersey in the league. Native people love their basketball, but we also love those who do good work for the people; Shoni and Jude have been ever-present figures on reservations and at powwows throughout the U.S., leading youth basketball clinics and giving inspiring speeches about the importance of hard work and perseverance.
#IdleNoMore – This is the hashtag of all Indigenous hashtags and is used or can be used in pretty much every Native activist conversation from environmentalism to mascots to violence to education to language. What began in 2012 with First Nations women protesting measures by the Canadian government to open treaty lands and territory, and remove protections for the environment, would later become a rallying cry for round dance flash mobs, protests and marches led by Indigenous people across the continent standing up against those who insult or threaten Native identities, values and sovereignty. For more information, visit .
See also: #J11 #NationsRising #Decolonize #Elsipogtog #Miqmakblockade #cdnpoli.
Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota) is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She is a freelance journalist who lives in Colorado Springs. She can be reached at .
