#DropOutHick
An Open Letter Demanding Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper Drop Out of the U.S. Senate Race. Dated June 28, 2020.
We, the undersigned Indigenous women and allies, demand that John Hickenlooper withdraw his candidacy from the US Senate race.
Recently, pictures have emerged on social media with former Colorado Governor and US Senate candidate, John Hickenlooper, dressed in imitative Native dress at an event called the One Shot Antelope Hunt. Couched as a “conservation” event, this event gathers mostly elite white men to compete to see who can kill the most antelope with one shot. As Colorado’s Governor, Hickenlooper participated in this event a number of times.
The winner of the event is dressed in a costume headdress, while the “loser” of the event is dressed as what event attendees call a “squaw,” a misogynistic ethnic slur for a North American Indian woman. This term is associated with the sexual assault, targeting, dominating, and violation of Native North American Indian women, and the subsequent term “squaw hopping” references the serial rape of targeted women.
Wyoming Chronicle, PBS Season 4, Episode 408
Throughout the history of colonization, these tropes have been weaponized to subject Indigenous women to sexual violence and dehumanization. Today, these colonial legacies continue to play out with the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), with more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaskan Native women having experienced violence, and more than 1 in 2 have experienced sexual violence. We recommend all those to read the growing number of studies linking the marginalization of Indigenous women to the violence they suffer at the hands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men.
Gov. Hickenlooper displayed an unacceptable lack of judgement in choosing to participate in this event, while disrespecting Indigenous women and appropriating traditional dress of Native peoples. And not only has Gov. Hickenlooper repeatedly harmed the Native community, but he has also been exposed for mocking the struggles of Black and Latinx Americans. A video has recently come to light where he is seen bragging about his cooperation with ICE in the detention of undocumented immigrants. Additionally, as a sitting Governor, he compared his schedule as a white politician to being abducted and whipped on an “ancient slave ship.” In a recent racial justice forum for US Senate candidates, Hickenlooper, and his opponent, Andrew Romanoff, were both asked what “Black Lives Matter” meant. Even amid the growing protests for racial justice, Gov. Hickenlooper expressed that, to him, it means “every life matters.”
These actions are not missteps. They are not one-time, isolated incidents. Instead, they are part of a disturbing pattern of ignorant and harmful behavior spanning over a decade. These racial and social justice problems are compounded by Gov. Hickenlooper’s unwavering support for fracking, and the environmental racism his Administration engaged in during his tenure as governor.
Former Gov. Hickenlooper’s actions are inexcusable and set the wrong example for an elected official. We ask that he withdraw from the race and that he does the work to educate himself on the legacy of violence and discrimination towards Indigenous women, so that repair and reconciliation might follow.
We all must move forward together by rejecting this type of behavior, and by supporting Indigenous women during the chronic epidemic of violence they continue to experience, as we work to bring about a new era of respect and understanding.
Sincerely,
Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe) Founder, Giniw Collective and Co-Founder, “Not Your Mascots”
Amanda Blackhorse (Diné) Lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc.
Tokata Ironeyes (Hunkpapa Lakota) Climate Activist and Water Protector
Lyla June Johnston (Diné/Tsétsêhéstâhese) Doctoral Student and Internationally recognized Poet and Speaker
Kandi White (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) Native Energy and climate Coordinator at Indigenous Environmental Network
Ann Abeyta (Enrolled Eastern Shoshone) Doctoral Student in Educational Leadership and Direct Descendant of Chief Washakie, the last Chief of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
Joye Braun (Cheyenne River Sioux) Community Organizer at Indigenous Environmental Network
If your organization wishes to stand in solidarity with indigenous women or you are a Native leader that wishes to become a signatory of this letter, please consider signing onto the open letter. You will be added as a signatory to the letter.
As of 6/28, the following ally organizations and Native leaders have co-signed this letter:
- Our Revolution Boulder
- Food & Water Action
- Resilient Denver
- Blue Future + the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst
- Earth Guardians
- USC SCALE
- Colorado Rising
- 350 Wilmington
- Climate Hawks Vote
- For the Future
- Spirit of the Sun at Four Winds American Indian Council
- Womxn From the Mountain
- 350 Action Central Colorado
- Squatits Advocacy Society
- Summit Sustainability
- Brooklyn Bridge Flow
- SHS ACLU People Power
- Sunrise Movement
- Converge Colorado
- Indigenous Environmental Network
- Center for Sustained Progress
- Dallas Goldtooth (Dakota Nation) Keep It in the Ground Campaigner
- Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (Mexica) Plaintiff in Juliana v. United States, Hip-Hop Artist and Climate Activist
- Simon Moya-Smith (Ogala Lakota and Chicano) Journalist
For media inquiries, please contact: xiuhtezcatl@gmail.com