Racism is a plague that has been interwoven with the colonization and development of the United States since its inception. Its effects on all people have been significant and enduring.
Racism generally takes three forms. There’s interpersonal racism, as in the prejudice and bias of individuals on a person-to-person level. There’s structural racism, which exists within institutions and the superstructure of society, always to the benefit of white supremacy. And there’s internalized racism, which affects how we define ourselves and our understanding of the world. This type of racism can produce self-criticism in people of color and entitlement in whites.
This week we bring your attention to Tamara Broadhead’s story from our film series Pathfinder: The Untold Story of the “Indian Business”, which is currently in production. Tamara is the daughter of Sherwin Broadhead, a fierce attorney advocate for indigenous self-determination, and a longtime colleague and friend of Rudy Ryser.
Her story illustrates the role each of these forms of racism played in determining how she came to define herself and her choice to commit her life to work that fights these forms of oppression.
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The library is dedicated to the memory of Secwepemc Chief George Manuel (1921-1989), to the nations of the Fourth World and to the elders and generations to come.
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