NDN Collective Stories

We remain persistent in reminding the Biden Administration and those in power that our Indigenous communities and lands continue to face harm through extractive measures that directly contribute to the climate crisis.

“We’re asking Biden for Executive Clemency. We will keep coming back to the White House and we’ll be pressuring all parts of the government until we see justice for Leonard Peltier and see him come back with his family, community and people.”

"Year after year, I have encouraged you to live as spirit warriors. Even while in here, I can envision what is real and far beyond these walls.  I've seen a reawakening of an ancient Native pride that does my heart good. I may leave this place in a box. That is a cold truth. But I have put my heart and soul into making our world a better place and there is a lot of work left to do - I would like to get out and do it with you."

“Our connection to the water sustained our cultural ways, and we deeply revered and respected the life of the water for what it gave us, even viewing it as its own community with which we had a reciprocal relationship. They are part of us and we are part of them. This understanding continues to this day.”

“This is what we’re about. We’re about community. We’re about bringing unity, bringing love, compassion and meeting the needs of our people. We are taking up the responsibility to roll up our sleeves and create a better way for our communities and for our people, to show what is possible. I think that’s what you’re seeing here today. This is the movement showing up for the community.”

Given that the regulatory framework for oil and gas leasing has not been updated since 1988, we have in this proposed rule a rare opportunity to steer Federal policy toward respecting Indigenous sovereignty and preserving treaty lands.

Among the many amendments proposed in BIA’s draft is a significant change in the way “Indian product” is defined, one that would bring regulation of agricultural products under the umbrella of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act for the first time in the Act’s 88-year history.

"One thing that I like to say about my process is that when I am in the clearest alignment with myself, then my writing is more a record of what I'm listening to. I'm listening for the voices of my ancestors. I'm listening for the sounds."

"To be able to access that clay, those materials, and use them in a way that helps us survive, that lets us have that vision to go to the next step where our people are going, wherever that direction is. We have the ancestors behind us and we're holding on to our relatives as we move forward."

"We know that every young person, every little kid, every child that is growing up, they are receiving the energy that they get through their blood, through their genes. It's a millinery-like charge that's really rooted and connected to our worldview that's existed for a thousand years."