{"id":16522,"date":"2021-10-04T14:55:28","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T18:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=16522"},"modified":"2021-10-06T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T14:15:00","slug":"no-one-is-illegal-on-stolen-indigenous-land-native-activist-speaks-out-on-viral-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/10\/04\/no-one-is-illegal-on-stolen-indigenous-land-native-activist-speaks-out-on-viral-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No one is illegal on stolen Indigenous land’: Native activist speaks out on viral encounter"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Sophia<\/a>
Sophia Marjanovic is seen outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C, in October 2016 to show support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in its fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
‘No one is illegal on stolen Indigenous land’: Native activist speaks out on viral encounter<\/div>\r\n
Monday, October 4, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nA Native woman is speaking out after a video showing her confronting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema<\/a> (D-Arizona) has drawn millions of views, and sparked outrage, on social media.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSophia Marjanovic<\/a>, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribes<\/a>, confirmed to Indianz.Com that she took part in the controversial encounter on Sunday. She went to the Arizona State University campus in Phoenix<\/a> to ask Sinema to support a $3.5 trillion spending package that is being negotiated in the nation’s capital.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI’m a survivor of human trafficking,\u201d Marjanovic tells the Democratic lawmaker in a video that so far has racked up more than 5 million views on Twitter<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI need you to stand by workers and lots of people like me,\u201d Marjanovic says in the clip, which was posted by Living United for Change in Arizona<\/a>, an activist group that supports the Build Back Better agenda<\/a>, as well as better protections for children of immigrants.\r\n

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\ud83d\udd34BREAKING: Blanca, an AZ immigrant youth confronts @SenatorSinema inside her classroom, where she teaches @ ASU. “in 2010 both my grandparents got deported bc of SB1070…my grandfather passed away 2 wks ago & I wasn’t able to go to Mexico bc there is no pathway to citizenship.”<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nBut while the message Marjanovic and fellow activists presented is backed by Democrats<\/a> across the country, the method in which it was shared is drawing outrage across the political spectrum. The group followed Sinema into a restroom on the college campus, where she teaches about social work, fund raising and public policy<\/a>. The video was recorded as the lawmaker utilized a stall in the restroom.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThis is insane,\u201d Rep. Adam Kinzinger<\/a> (R-Illinois) said on his personal social media account<\/a>. \u201cStop this madness people, doesn\u2019t help your cause even if it makes you feel better.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nMarjanovic, however, is pushing back against criticism of the confrontation. She told Indianz.Com on Monday morning that some of the negative reaction stems from efforts to demonize groups of people, including immigrants, who had no say in the imposition of the United States’ southern border with Mexico.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThey think I am an undocumented immigrant and are claiming undocumented immigrants are committing crimes,\u201d said Marjanovic, who earned her doctorate from George Washington University.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nTo the contrary, Marjanovic pointed out that she is a citizen of a sovereign Native nation whose existence pre-dates the United States government. In addition to being from Fort Peck, she hails from the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel<\/a>, which is part of the larger Kumeyaay Nation<\/a>, whose lands were disrupted by the U.S. border with Mexico.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cNo one is illegal on stolen Indigenous land,\u201d Marjanovic told Indianz.Com. \r\n

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<\/p>\r\nAfter leaving the building where the incident took place, Marjanovic, who is a graduate of Arizona State University as well as a current student, said she was temporarily detained on the campus before being let go. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nLiving United for Change in Arizona<\/a>, also known as LUCHA, is defending the encounter as well. The group said they wouldn’t have had to track down Sinema were she more accountable with the people she serves as an elected member of the U.S. Senate.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cShe’s been completely inaccessible,” the group said of Sinema in a post<\/a> on Sunday afternoon. \u201cWe’re sick of the political games, stop playing with our lives.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cBuild back better, back the bill!” LUCHA said in reference to the Democratic agenda.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSinema has raised doubts about the $3.5 trillion price tag of the Build Back Better package and her stance is seen as crucial to its survival in Washington, D.C. Amid the high-stakes nature of the debate, she described the behavior of Marjanovic and activists as \u201cunacceptable.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cYesterday’s behavior was not legitimate protest,\u201d Sinema said in a statement<\/a> on Monday. \u201cIt is unacceptable for activist organizations to instruct their members to jeopardize themselves by engaging in unlawful activities such as gaining entry to closed university buildings, disrupting learning environments, and filming students in a restroom.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIt is the duty of elected leaders to avoid fostering an environment in which honestly-held policy disagreements serve as the basis for vitriol — raising the temperature in political rhetoric and creating a permission structure for unacceptable behavior,\u201d Sinema added.\r\n

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