For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Washington, DC – NDN Collective, an Indigenous power-building organization, spent last week in the nation’s capitol meeting with elected officials and governmental agencies to uplift key issues around climate, police violence, and more. They also held an action outside the White House, calling for President Biden to grant longtime, elderly political prisoner Leonard Peltier executive clemency.
The team had a packed schedule, meeting with nearly two dozen U.S. Senators and Representatives and officials from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture, and the White House.
At these meetings, NDN Collective asked for support around land back and anti-mining efforts in the HeSapa (Black Hills of South Dakota), accountability for the Rapid City police department, and freeing Leonard Peltier from his 50 year imprisonment. The team also shared about their philanthropic work to support the self-determination of Indigenous peoples, and how it is leading to more effective strategies for regenerative economies and climate change solutions.
“The District of Columbia is the epicenter for strategies designed to exploit Indigenous Peoples, our land, and our ways of life – so we walk boldly into these halls of power to hold our lawmakers accountable for this country’s long legacy of violence,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective. “We show up to demonstrate Indigenous people are a force to be reckoned with, and that centering our solutions is a critical piece of the puzzle in countering the most pressing global issues.”
“Indigenous Peoples hold a wealth of knowledge around how to build sustainable systems that allow everyone to be safe and free – and we will continue to uplift that knowledge until those systems are in place,” said Janene Yazzie, director of policy and advocacy at NDN Collective. “We all deserve leaders who understand peace is a policy choice that needs to be driven by effective and courageous actions that respect the sacredness of all life. Meaningful change doesn’t come from the top down – it is a combination of organizing and political advocacy in all levels of governance.”
“Unraveling the complex colonial web that surrounds all of us requires multi pronged resistance efforts. From doing our own internal decolonizing work, to organizing collective power and growing our capacity – we will keep working to break down the machinery of this beast wherever it may be,” said Eva Cardenas, director of organizing at NDN Collective. “We will continue to resist by any means necessary. We not only know a better world is possible – it is already here, and that is why we continue to innovate ways to let it free.”
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.