On Inauguration Day, standing against hate

Indigenous rights activist Theresa Harlan accepts a talking feather from Inverness resident Carlos Porrata during a demonstration of unity in Point Reyes Station on Monday, when the presidential inauguration coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (George Alfaro / Point Reyes Light)

On the morning of January 20th, presidential inauguration coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, hundreds congregated in Point Reyes Station, Tomales, the San Geronimo Valley and Bolinas to call for unity and action amid fears of mass deportation and anti-immigrant sentiment. 

Theresa Harlan, the Executive Director of Alliance of Felix Cove and Native American and Alaska Native Women LeadStrong fellow, a descendant of the last Indigenous family to live along the west shore of Tomales Bay participated. Ms. Harlan reminded the crowd that dispossession in this country is an old story, one her family knows all too well.

“Our families—including my mother, my grandmother, my aunts and uncles—were laborers on the ranches,” she said. “They were indispensable, but they were moved out. I’m standing here because I feel a connection to that last-minute…consideration of the workers.” Her remarks were translated into Spanish. 

Learn more about the Alliance of Felix Cove.