‘Mayday, Mayday’: Protesters and Liz Cheney urge wake-up call for defending democracy

Xtratufs and raincoats were a must on Thursday for about 400 people gathered at the Alaska State Capitol for a May Day protest.

May Day, or International Workers’ Day, honors the organized labor movement. Alaskans joined hundreds of thousands in the U.S. and worldwide to stand in solidarity against the Trump administration’s recent actions against labor protections, diversity initiatives, and federal employees.

Ravens circled overhead as X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, professor of Alaska Native languages at the University of Alaska Southeast, flew up the Capitol steps to give a land acknowledgement for the Áak’w Kwáan peoples, followed by a speech.

“We stand on their land today with pride, knowing the work of their ancestors make it possible for us to stand together with strength, even at times when things seem impossible with those who are in power try to erase the histories of other peoples who try to say they get to say who belongs here and who does not,” he said.

In February, the University of Alaska Board of Regents voted to remove the words “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and similar terms from UA websites and printed materials to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order and amid threats on federal funding.

“My middle names are diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Twitchell said. “And if you think those are words that cause trouble on their own, then I think you need to educate yourself on what has happened on our lands, what has happened to our people, the revisionist histories that we see where the Civil Rights Act is used as a way to prohibit diversity, to prohibit the protections of people who are not whites, who are not straight, who are not male, and that antisemitism is used to masquerade anti-Muslim behavior and actions. It becomes very difficult when we were taught through these stories of Raven, who would say just very tricky things. We say they’re pretending to be Raven, which means they’re lying.”

“Just because someone could say something the loudest and the strongest and you could write your name to a piece of paper saying, ‘This word is illegal now, nobody can use this word, or we’ll take all the money away’ — that’s not how things work in this country,” he said.

The May Day protest also served as a food drive for the Southeast Alaska Food Bank.

Rachel Weston, a food bank board member, said up until April 25, she was “also a very proud employee at the U.S. Forest Service.” She asked those in the audience to raise their hands if they were federal workers or knew federal workers.

“There are over 700 federal workers here in Juneau alone who have either lost their jobs or who are going to work every day wondering if today is going to be their last, wondering how they’re going to feed their families if they lose their jobs or even afford to stay here in Juneau if they lose their jobs,” she said. “So with mass layoffs of federal workers and serious cuts to federal food assistance programs, the Southeast Alaska Food Bank is one of those community safety nets that’s more critical than ever.”

She said food insecurity is rising in Juneau, and the Trump administration is threatening federal assistance and school nutrition programs.

“This community does understand and does care, and that is why I love living here so much,” Weston said.

Xeetli.éesh Lyle James spoke before leading the Woosh.ji.een dance group.

“I love that word, gunalchéesh, because when we say gunalchéesh, we mean without you, this is not possible,” he said. “Without you, our future will not look bright for our children and our grandchildren. We raise our voices for them so that they know that we didn’t stand on the side of the street saying, ‘Oh, we witnessed it.’ But we’re here to say we stood up for the rights for your future.”

Rain beat down on the crowd as James and other dancers beat their drums, inviting the community to join a song honoring the late Tlingit elder David Katzeek.

After the protest, some marched to Marine Park, carrying damp cardboard signs. Others went to the University of Alaska Southeast for a livestreamed event in the Egan Lecture Hall, “Defending Democracy: A Conversation with Liz Cheney.”

At the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Arts and Sciences, the former Republican congresswoman spoke about America’s political divide and her insight into policy. Cheney said she hoped the last few years and the current state of “chaos” serve as a wake-up call for Americans to “defend democracy.”

UAA professor and former NPR political correspondent Elizabeth Arnold asked Cheney what people could do. Cheney said they should keep protesting, continue contacting state and federal representatives, and not be afraid.

“I am determined that we are not going to be the last generation of Americans to have freedom,” Cheney said.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.