Corine Fairbanks

Corine Fairbanks is an Oglala Lakota writer, educator and activist. Fairbanks is currently the Director of the American Indian Movement of Southern California and a spokesperson for Native American rights.

Early life and education

Fairbanks was born and raised in Santa Barbara, and graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara. Fairbanks became involved in organizing in 1992 while learning under Fern Rosebud Eastman-Mathias, a great niece of Charles Eastman, of the American Indian Movement.

Activism

On October 15, 2012, Fairbanks led a successful petition to halt the sales of t-shirts labeled Manifest Destiny by the GAP brand.^[1]

In 2014, Fairbanks was involved in a coalition of Californian Native Nations against fracking that stimulated the Los Angeles City Council to ban fracking on February 28th, 2014 ^[2]

In April of 2015, Fairbanks protested the canonisation of Junípero Serra who founded California Missions in the 18th and 19th century dramatically affecting the lives of California Indians. Public events against the canonization included a court of trial by descendants of California Mission Indians on September 21st ^[3] and a day of mourning was observed on September 25, 2015.^[4] Fairbanks stated “How can anyone celebrate when the bones of Native Americans are buried within the walls of the mission.”^[5][6]

Literary works

Foreword for Lorin Morgan-Richards’ Me’ma and the Great Mountain

References