MRU prof descends on D.C for Women’s March on Washington

Love not Hate, Make America Great

By Anna Junker, Contributor

Renae Watchman, a professor of Indigenous, English and film studies at Mount Royal University, made sure she absentee voted in the recent American presidential election. As Watchman, originally from the Navajo Nation, watched the results come in, she felt absolutely devastated.

“I was upset to see what the U.S. had done,” says Watchman. “So within a day or two, I think the outrage that I felt, really the numbness that I felt, was sort of a collective feeling.”

What bothered Watchman the most about Trump’s platform and campaign, she says, was the racist and violent rhetoric, the normalization of racism along with violence against women.

Not long after the results were announced Watchman decided to take part in what would eventually be coined the Women’s March on Washington after first learning of the idea via Twitter.

She thought, “I can’t just be sitting up here in my secure job and fairly secure politics, I need to do some things. I want to participate in this march.”

Discovering like-minded individuals, Watchman made plans with another colleague at MRU to attend the Women’s march and the pair arrived in the States the day before the inauguration.

Love not Hate, Make America Great

Looking around at the sheer volume of people Watchmen said that, “I was really proud of people, like humanity, because you know everyone from all walks of life, multi-gender, multi-age [marched,] it was beautiful.”

They made their way towards the National Museum of the American Indian because Watchman wanted to march with an Indigenous women’s group called Indigenous Women Rise. However, due to the sheer amount of people – nearly half a million people attended – they couldn’t reach the Indigenous group.

“We literally could not make it. There was nothing we could have done because suddenly everyone just stopped. All of the whole city was clogged, we couldn’t even march. So we stood there in this one spot for three hours.”

The amount of people concentrated in one area blocked cell phone services. There were no loud speakers set up, so any news they heard was passed down through word of mouth.

Eventually they found out that the original march route couldn’t happen.

“This sort of natural march just developed, somebody just took the lead. So we walked right in front of the Capitol building and all around and found another street,” said Watchman. Eventually the march led to the Trump Hotel, “which got lots of negative press and vibes,” said Watchman.

When the crowd passed the Trump International Hotel, Watchman saw a woman wearing a bandana over her mouth so that only her eyes were showing, who boldly held up a sign that read, “Burn it the f–k down.”

She says attending the march was a learning experience that still allowed her to be angry. She wanted to make her presence known to Trump, even if it was just her and her colleague amongst thousands.

Love not Hate, Make America Great

If the march becomes a yearly event, Watchman says she would go down to Washington again, or find some other way she could be useful as there were criticisms to the Women’s March on Washington.

“One of the complaints that came out afterwards, and I want to research this a bit more, was that this is all white America, erasing Indigenous peoples.”

Watchman says this isn’t true. There was an argument that nobody in the speeches mentioned Indigenous peoples, but according to Watchman two speakers, Angela Davis and another did.

“I’m defending [it]. I don’t want to argue with my own people but I feel like the criticisms are coming too quick,” said Watchman. She was also unsure if these critics had even marched themselves. “Are you even there? Are you even doing anything? Instead of criticizing those of us that take the time and the space to try to fill in those voids?”

Watchman says that even if she is just one Indigenous woman, that’s the point.

“We’re always erased, we’re always the minority of minorities, as far as a number and visibility goes. And so yes it really meant something to me.” In future marches she said she may try to have a more visible presence.

For Watchman, protesting Trump had to do with his racism, sexism and misogyny and how he is not protecting the people that she represents, such as Indigenous and low-income people.

“It wasn’t just D.C., it was worldwide and every continent was represented. I think that really speaks volumes that this is bigger than the woman, it’s essentially not wanting to go backwards,” said Watchman,

Watchman heard many chants in the march but one, she says, stood out: ‘Love not Hate, Make America Great.’

“I think that we need to hear that more and maybe by hearing, we will believe it and by believing it, we will enact it.”