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So if you wouldn't mind, just introducing yourself ... Just my name? Simin Royanian. And do I have your permission to record this interview? Yes.

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So what brought you to this event? Well I'm here because I'm generally involved in the progressive movement, in this city, in DC, and ah metropolitan area. So I am very close to the organizers of today's rally. So I knew from the, the beginning when it was being set up. So then I was asked by them to be one of the people to give a solidarity message also. So, what, are you going to give the solidarity message today? What's it gonna be? Yes - and - I'm going to give a message today, yes, and it, yeah there another question?

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Yeah, oh, how long have you been involved with the movement? With what movement? *laughs* The progressive movement that you - or just in D.C. Well basically I have been involved, you know, since I was very young in Iran. With the, you know, movement against the government there. So when I came here, when I was twenty-one to go to graduate school, automatically, I was already politically active, so I got involved right away with the movement of the time which the most prominent of it, at that time, in 1968, '66 in fact when I came, was the, the peace movement against Vietnam War. So that's how I got introduced to the American movement. So ever since then it has continued in all areas of women's rights and civil rights and all the others.

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Yeah, wow. So what have been the most important moments in that movement- in all of those movements for you? Well, you see, I'm 75 and I have been going for like 60 years so there are many times, remember,but one that is a, you know, related to today which is the Indig-Indigenous Peoples' Day is in 1978 when the Native Americans came on a long march and they came 2,000 miles or something but they ended up in Washington D.C. So I remembered that and also there were such a huge number of them and it happened that a group of them had their tents in a park- in a federal park -in College Park. At the time I was still working on my PhD with the University of Maryland in College Park, so I happen to be living in an apartment right next to the park. So I was also involved in an everyday basis where they were parked y'know and we talked and all of that, yes, so I do remember specifically that long march, yeah. And here, they gathered, in fact, in Malcolm X. Park, yes. So what changes have you seen in the movement since you've been involved for so long like has anything changed? Or like from 1978 to now? You mean in the Indigenous peoples only? You're specifically talking about Indigenous peoples? Okay so because you know I'm not Native American, but, you know, at that time we had a very a strong revolutionary movement of the Indigenous people here, AIMS, the American Indian Movement - it was called at the time - and of course, you know, we remembered Wounded Knee and then you know this they, the remembering of that when the FBI agents yet again at that time attacked the Native Americans and killed several and then of course of Peltier who is still in jail, unfortunately, as an on old man, and has been moved, I believe if I'm not wrong, to a prison in Florida. So he was one of the people who was uh imprisoned. So there was a very revolutionary and united movement of the Native Americans at that time but from my point of view unfortunately with the attack, the counter attack, of the ruling class here on the, all the movements the Native Americans, African Americans, and Black Panthers and they, you know, they the women's movement and the anti-war movement - all of that has been successful in suppressing and oppressing the people in the movement to a great extent and unfortunately at this time we do not have a strong organizations or movements in many areas including the Native American. So the hope is that, you know people get united again on the struggle, you know, more unified and revolutionary.

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So last year D.C. government replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day why do you think that change happened - why do you think that the government did that then? I believe that the governments take actions, especially progressive actions, not the regressive laws, not the like when they reduce the rich people's taxes, they do it on their own accord, but whenever something happens that is beneficial to the people, it happens because of the movement of the people and the pressure that they put on their elected officials to eventually respond to some of the demands. So because there has been a strong and a long-term opposition to the day - whatever that day, I don't know how it was decided that was the date - the date to be celebrated a celebration of a-a criminal in history of humanity being called Columbus day, which of course D.C.'s named after that so people have been opposed to that and I think recently for a while, for decades, but more there had been a pressure eh the same one that now we see being represented in the movement and the pressure to bring out the various statues um, you know, of oppressors like Andrew Jackson and so that eventually was successful in um making the D..C government respond and last week the government of Virginia did the same thing and pronounced the day the Indigenous Peoples' Day. I I don't, in fact, have the information about how many other jurisdictions in the U. S. have done that. What do you think that some people have resisted the name change. Like why do some people not want it to change? Well it depends on-who are the people who resisted like, for example, you also have the people wanting to change the name of the football team in the D.C., which I think it has been successful because now they do not refer to it as "redskin". So this, them, the people I think - I haven't interviewed them or done a scientific study - but I think that people who oppose it, usually are not from the oppressed people is definitely like changing uh the name of Columbus day or taking down the Confederate flag or the statue of Andrew Jackson is not opposed usually by Native Americans, or African Americans, or many of the people of other colors. I would think the majority of the opposition comes from the, uh, you know, those in power - who are majority the white people in this country - and the opposition of course is because... the people who oppose - even this symbolic change - is because they are still supporting the oppression of people who are represented as oppressed by the promotion of those who were the hero of colonialism. So that I think is the reason. I don't think that there is an innocent or, you know, not political reason, I think is-is just drawn across, you know, the oppressed and the oppressive.

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Is there anything else that you'd like to talk about? Or share with us about the movement or anything at all? I'm glad that you are here - the young people because of course it goes without saying that it world belongs to you and we-my generation. We tried very hard to bring about a better world, but for the most part we failed. I mean there have been some achievements and, you know, some rights have been won, even though most of them are under attack today, but we were not successful in removing the greatest aspects of class oppression and now, unfortunately, we are facing with the most dangerous aspect of the capitalist propaganda on consumption and production, which is the destruction of the earth. So I think we are at a point where the whole existence of this earth and humanity's under question - so I think the young people have a very heavy load. And, but, time is short and I think that the need for really unifying all the people around this issue of saving the earth because otherwise nothing survives. And it's really, I think, important to realize that this unbridled and expansive capitalist production globally, which is based on extreme exploitation of land, and air, and water is not sustainable. It is not possible to develop any kind of the so called "clean energy" that allows us to continue our cruel exploitation of land, and the animals, and the water, and the air. There is a limit to it and the sooner that we realize that we have to limit our way of life and change it in order to save the earth, I think that's the most important issue today. Well thank you so much for speaking with us and sharing Thank you for giving me the chance to speak with you - thank you.