Indigenous Women Occupy Washington State Capitol Lawn
Sitting in a tarpee erected outside the Capitol Building in the US state of Washington, seven Indigenous women and their supporters have vowed to stay put. They will stay until they are either arrested or politicians take action on climate change and native treaty rights. "We will be here as long as they let us be here," said Eva, a member of Santee Sioux Tribe. "Today, this is all we have left," she told Al Jazeera by phone. "We've been taken from and taken from." Eva, along with others from the indigenous community and their supporters, "occupied" the front lawn of the state capital in the city of Olympia on Monday, the first day of a new 60-day legislative session. "While they're inside doing their talks for the next 60 days, [we hope] they come to understand that the native nations people are watching them," Eva said.