Note: This story was written before Nov. 6, Election Day, that determined how we do our policy work moving forward. However, our policy work will continue because we will always work to return our lands back into Indigenous hands and advocate for the rights of our communities. Please read the NDN Statement on Election Results: ‘Remember We Are Warriors!’, to learn more of our stance and goals moving forward.
Members of NDN Collective were on the ground in Piscataway Territory (so-called Washington, D.C.) in September to meet with lawmakers and follow up on our organization’s critical policy priorities. Our team brought Indigenous voices to the tables of dozens of policymakers and federal agencies.
This was NDN Collective’s third year convening in DC for Impact Days to raise awareness of Indigenous issues, build relationships, and remind politicians to whom they are accountable. Policy and advocacy is one of our strategies to ensure the momentum of our grassroots organizing leads to change in all avenues.
Our work on the frontlines, while the most direct way to make our voices heard, is just one way to work on behalf of our people. Many of our priorities have a critical tie to Federal policy. As Indigenous people in the so-called United States, because of our treaty-protected rights and government-to-government relationships, we are inextricably tied directly to decisions made at the Federal level. Despite this, our voices are often excluded from the decisions that affect our people.
“We were not included when they created the vision of American democracy,” said Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President & CEO. “We’re here because we want to bring a different voice. We’re here because our people have been erased from this place but we don’t need permission to be here.”
To discuss this advocacy and the bridge between the frontline and the halls of Congress, we visited with Nick and Korina Barry, Managing Director of NDN Action:
Why is it important that NDN Collective, a radical Indigenous movement organization, shows up in D.C.?
NICK: NDN Collective will go anywhere in which decision makers are making decisions about the lives and lands of Indigenous People and Washington, D.C. is one of those places. Part of our mission to build the collective power of Indigenous People includes reclaiming decision making power back into the hands of our people. As a movement, it’s important for us to close the gap between the work we are doing in our communities, fighting on the frontlines everyday, and the influence that we are setting not just for Indian Country, but for the whole country. The other part of NDN Collective’s mission is to build a more just and equitable world for all people and Mother Earth. So when we stand in our power, we have much to bring to this place that makes decisions for our people. This work also battles erasure. It’s hard to erase us when we’re sitting across the table from you and working on these issues in our community. There’s nothing that battles erasure more than the real thing.
KORINA: It’s a reminder to us that our voices are powerful, that our lived experiences are valid, that our truths can be shared and they can impact change. There is this disconnect we feel where decisions and policies are being made that too often create more harm than they do good for our communities. I think it’s both a privilege and a responsibility that we have to bring people that represent a number of different tribal nations and territories with varied lived experience to address these common issues. There’s this endless list of topics and issue areas that elected officials cover and it’s important for us to share more about our experiences personally. It also goes along with sharing more about what we are doing organizationally to build Indigenous power through investing in and stewarding resources to Indigenous tribes, organizations, and individuals. To show up and be like, here’s how we’re building capacity within Indian Country, there’s a number of areas we prioritize and lift up for our people. It’s important for the folks in DC to know that, to understand that and see where more investments can be made or what policies can be changed. Indigenous people have always been here, we belong here. We deserve to be heard, to be seen, to be respected. We are sharing how we are navigating and accessing this space and how we are advocating for our people with the hope that this encourages others to do the same because these actions matter, they are impactful and our voices are powerful.
What do you feel are the biggest challenges Indigenous people face in places like DC?
NICK: History has attempted to erase Indigenous people especially in places like DC. People don’t see Indigenous people every day. Since they don’t see us, they don’t know our issues. So we’re walking into the places where they don’t even have a basic knowledge of our ways or our struggles, much less be able to make policy that benefits us. There’s also a lot of pride around American democracy in these spaces but that pride does not reckon with its past. We come into these spaces [knowing] our people have not ever really accepted the United States government as a colonial government to be on our homelands, we find ourselves having to advocate here [in DC] and build relationships. We come from everyday struggle on the rez, in the hood, the city, and in the country; it’s hard to come from those places and to walk in these halls with folks that are making decisions that put us there and that imposed those struggles on us. I think that’s been one of the biggest challenges I’ve seen.
KORINA: Speaking to challenges Indigenous People face in Washington, D.C., there is just so much racism and misconception about us in the US that when we go to DC we’re coming into contact with some people who have no understanding whatsoever of present day Indigenous People. Whether it’s the Indigenous People of whatever state they’re representing or Indigenous People in general, there can be a lack of knowledge and education. I think about that a lot because here we are this all Indigenous-led, Indigenous staffed organization and we’re coming in deep to these Hill meetings strong, prayerful, and rooted in who we are and where we come from. We bring that into these meeting spaces confidently [to be met] with people who have no idea, who have not taken the time, who have not engaged with Indigenous people before but are still making decisions, recommendations, or introducing policy around things that impact us directly. We meet this challenge head on, but showing them how powerful we are.. We are making impactful change in our communities. We hold great knowledge and we are actively doing this work. To be able to show up and say this is how we are lifting up Indigenous-led solutions, creativity and problem solving in our own communities. Additionally, at NDN Collective it’s a value of ours to fight for the liberation of all people and that’s something we all carry with us when we go to DC. We’re speaking on behalf of our people, our families, our home, our territories, our nations – we’re also in those meetings speaking up for other oppressed people whose voices deserve to [be heard] and should be in that room.
This is NDN Collective’s third year bringing a delegation to D.C. for Impact Days. What do you feel our overall impact is here in the “belly of the beast”?
NICK: This year, people know NDN’s here. The overall impact is that it increases our visibility as Indigenous People as being highly capable, highly effective advocates of our community who are experts from our community. We’re here fully representing our people and representing the causes. I think this place is hungry for people that are close to the issues because here they’re so high up in the clouds in policy. It helps them see the impact of their policymaking on Indigenous Peoples. One of the largest impacts we have is being able to bring the front line to Washington, D.C. For them to be able to see us, interact with us, engage in political dialog, even if we don’t agree on everything, it humanizes us. That is a continued part of the impact of this work. I hope the politicians and those who work and represent them will continue to reach out to us because they need us as much as we need them.
KORINA: Reflecting on this third year of having an NDN Collective delegation go to D.C. and do advocacy on the Hill, I’m looking at our growth and evolution as an organization. Being organizers and connected community members with our own individual politics, beliefs and teachings, we come together as one group and align our priorities, our values and our goals. We have that intention. In the past three years we’ve grown and learned through this process. In that first year, some of our team felt nervous, never having been to the Hill, and knowing that policy and lawmakers have always felt inaccessible to them. When we go into a meeting, there’s an opportunity with that specific office to speak to a certain issue or priority and we’re able to give space to our individual team members to make a connection, to share their perspective and why it’s important to them. I remember as I watched each of our team members speak, feeling so proud and honored to work with them, to be alongside them and attend these meetings where they are so powerfully sharing their stories, their experiences. Thinking of how far we’ve come in three years, how we’re even better now and more confident. We have many of the same team members and some new team members joining us [every year]. One of the most beautiful parts of this is, we’re not people in some organization disconnected from community, we are the people, we are deeply embedded and connected in our home communities, our home territories. We walk with that intention and we remind those staffers, those elected [officials] of that connection and support for our communities back home.
What would you say is a major highlight for you this time while being here in Washington?
NICK: I had two highlights on this trip. Going into Secretary Haaland’s office with the whole NDN crew, all of us mobbing in and having Auntie Deb greet us with open arms. It was a powerful moment. This movement, the LANDBACK movement, came from the frontlines and from people who were trying to fight corporations that were destroying the water, destroying the land. For us to walk in there and be greeted by the US Secretary of Interior and to give her a LANDBACK flag was a proud moment for us. It’s a reminder that this movement is on all levels. This movement is tangible, it’s an opportunity for this country to look at itself.
The other moment for me was when we went into Corey Bush’s office. At first it was really sad sitting outside of her office knowing she’s not going to be reelected. But then to go into her office and look at all the pictures of the people she decided to highlight on her walls. Up there she had leaders from the Civil Rights Movement. She had leaders from the Black Lives Matter movement. She had people from the Free Palestine Ceasefire movement. And then she had a photo of our crew from last year on the wall. It was an honor to see that she values what we bring. Enough to put us on the wall of her office. She sees what we stand for out there in the world and she stands for it, too. Then to look on the rest of the walls and see the movement, see the comrades, see the people that we’re trying to build collective liberation for. That was a powerful movement moment for me.
KORINA: A highlight for me is always to sit back and listen to my colleagues, my relatives, talk about their stories, their journeys, their lived experience. They’re smart, creative, powerful humans. To share that space, I found myself in every meeting that we had, observing each person that spoke and listening to how they connected personally and emotionally to the priorities or the issues they were raising. Another highlight for me was the time we were able to spend with our auntie and Madam Secretary Deb Haaland. It was my first time meeting her more personally, being able to hug her, to shake her hand, to sit in conversation with her, to visit her office, and to see all intentionally curated Indigenous art. It was beautiful, almost emotional, to think about all that our people have experienced and endured but to know she’s there in this important role. One of the most beautiful parts of that visit with Secretary Haaland was when we were out on her office balcony, looking over at the old BIA building. We reflected on movement history, the history of our people and the takeover of that building by the American Indian Movement. Those fights have continued but now take different many forms. To have our organization there continuing this advocacy and continuing to fight for our people is a reminder of that. At the end of our conversation with Secretary Haaland, Nick Tilson and Hermus Bettelyoun and some of our other team members wanted to acknowledge that she endures a lot. Being in that role and advocating for our people she holds a lot, she sacrifices a lot, for our lands, for our waters. We wanted to offer her prayer and protection, so they sang a prayer song for her. It was a beautiful moment, that kind of culminated everything for me, for us and our purpose.
What advice would you give to the movement and other Indigenous people who come to DC to advocate for their people?
NICK: Always pay respect to the people from your movements and the ancestors who came before you to advocate for your communities. It’s always been grounding for me to call upon the ancestors in these spaces. This government needs to be accountable to the people, so walk into those spaces with your authenticity, in your power and know that you belong in those spaces, that your presence makes those spaces better. Don’t underestimate the power of your presence in these spaces because I think being in these spaces for Indigenous People continuously reminds this country and the policymakers that we cannot be erased, that we can’t be ignored. We won’t be forgotten because we’re here and and we’re accountable to our families, we’re accountable to our communities who are accountable to our people. Come with critiques, but also come with solutions. There are comrades here that want to do what they can. Some are in positions where they can’t help us but others are in positions where they can help us. Giving them an opportunity to meet us halfway and an opportunity to advocate on our behalf creates a pathway to win.
KORINA: First off I want to mention that there are so many people and organizations from the movement and beyond that have shown up in D.C. for decades. I want to honor that work and those sacrifices and honor the pain, the harm, the challenges that all those people have endured to do that advocacy for all of us. As I reflect on NDN Collective as a movement organization and how we roll as people into these spaces, I appreciate how we are so unapologetically Indian. I think white supremacy, capitalism, all the colonization tactics inflicted upon our people, and how that might have us believing we are not enough, that we need to shift into something we aren’t when we arrive in these spaces and advocate for our people. What we really need is to show up and share our truths, the words that are important to us, and in ways that make sense to us. To always bring our medicines and our prayers to protect and ground us.
Another offering I might make is for others to think about how they can do storytelling around what they are doing,how they’re doing it, and why they’re there. We have seen that our community back home appreciates seeing, knowing, understanding what we’re doing there, the things we’re speaking about and how we’re bringing our people into those spaces. It’s helpful for our people to know what’s happening and to feel like they have access to that space as well.
View more photos from Impact Days
All Photos by Steph Viera, NDN Collective Associate Producer
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