Rebecca Nagle is a queer, indigenous activist, writer and speaker. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Nagle is one of the founders of FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, an organization led by artists and activists who attempt to promote a culture of consent. Nagle was also a coordinator of the event "PINK Loves CONSENT."
Career
In 2012, Rebecca Nagle and Hannah Brancato created a website called "Pink Loves Consent" which coincided with the Victoria Secretfashion show. The website appeared to look like the Victoria Secret website and features underwear with anti-rape slogans like "Consent is Sexy", "No Means No", and "Ask First". Nothing on the website was for sale, instead the website provided information about rape education. On December 4, 2012, lawyers from Victoria Secret forced the website to be taken down. They claimed that the website caused confusion among their customers. As a part of Nagle's project to create a national monument for sexual assault survivors, FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture released a giant floating poem in the Reflecting Pool in front of the Washington National Monument. The floating poem read: "I Can't Forget What Happened But No One Else Remembers." With Force co-founder Hannah Brancato, Nagle created The Monument Quilt to establish “a public healing space by and for survivors of rape and abuse”. Over 1700 sexual assault survivors have contributed segments to this quilt. In 2019, Nagle hosted the podcast This Land produced by Crooked Media. The podcast focused on the case of Carpenter v. Murphy, a pending Supreme Court case to determine the land rights of various indigenous groups in Oklahoma. Nagle has been critical of Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren's claims of Cherokee ancestry, emphasizing that "ribal affiliation and kinship determine Cherokee identity — not race or biology." She has spoken out about the issue in numerous print, television, and online media outlets.
Recognition
In 2012 and 2013, Nagle was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People. Nagle was also named one of the National Center of American Indian Enterprise Development's 2016 Native American 40 Under 40. Nagle was named the 2016 Sondheim Art Prize recipient, and she was listed on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 2015 100 List for innovators and thought leaders.
