Crushing Colonialism
Crushing Colonialism is proud to announce that our Founding Executive Director, Jen Deerinwater, will deliver a keynote talk at the National Conference on LGBTQ Equality: Creating Change 2026, taking place January 21–25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.
Crushing Colonialism proudly celebrated the second anniversary of its flagship publication, The Magazine, on December 4 at Baltimore Center Stage, bringing together Indigenous artists, students, community members, and allies from across the region. The event—hosted through the theater’s Shared Space Initiative, which uplifts accessible and inclusive gatherings for underrepresented communities—was a testament to the power of Indigenous storytelling and collective joy.
Lavau Kwalam Nalu, co-founder of Archive Ples, reflects on the power of remembering on our own terms, reclaiming Papua New Guinea’s history from colonial archives and returning them home.
As part of The Magazine’s Changemakers issue, Diné, Omaha, and Oglala Lakota rapper and activist Nataanii Means shares how hip hop has become a force for transformation—challenging colonial legacies, rebuilding community, and inspiring a new generation to rise with purpose.
The illustrations on the following pages portray care as a vital force, a practice that connects the land, memory, and the hands of women who have made, and continue to make, the construction of a country that recognizes the value of care possible. In so-called “Colombia”, care has historically been a central practice for the sustainability of life, though its social and political dimensions have rarely been acknowledged.
Beverly Little Thunder was a fierce advocate, mentor, and source of unwavering support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Throughout her life, she championed the rights, visibility, and dignity of Indigenous queer and Two-Spirit individuals, creating spaces where their voices could be heard and celebrated.
In the heart of southern Benin’s Bohouezoun Sacred Forest, Vodún priest Gilbert Kakpo stands beside a huge sacred tree, one of many believed to be the home of spirits. The forest, with its thick canopy and cool shade, is revered by local communities as a sanctuary of healing and protection.
Liberation is not a solitary event, but a living ecosystem—a deep, cultural, and political terrain from which an unyielding will to be free takes root. We write as a Palestinian and Indigenous couple, navigating this shared ground. Our aim is not to equate our distinct struggles, but to trace the parallel roots of our resistance and to sow the seeds of a collective vision for liberation.
The year was 2005. I was in high school, working nearly full-time at a roller skating rink. Reeling from the backlash of being open and exploring my identity publicly, I was forced back into the closet. I found my essential escape, a constant refuge, in stories—in books, comics, shows, and especially in games.
When I learned that Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye was honored with the AMIAF Artconomy Award at the AMIAF March 2025 event—an annual celebration that recognizes artists, innovators, and cultural leaders shaping Nigeria’s creative economy—I couldn’t help but recall Shakespeare’s words: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Yet, her greatness is not a birthright; it is a product of her resilience, ingenuity, and compassion.
In Samarkand, a major city in southern Uzbekistan, a winding pathway leads up a quiet hill to a peculiar site: the Mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel. Revered by Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, the 18-meter shrine has become a symbol of interfaith reverence, and more recently, a stage for state-sponsored pilgrimage.