(L to R) Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective Founder & CEO; Leonard Peltier; and Holly Cook Macarro, Government Affairs for NDN Collective. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

It’s always a good day to be Indigenous, and yet some days call for a special kind of celebration. After nearly 50 years of unjust incarceration, our movement elder Leonard Peltier has been released from prison walls! 

On February 18, Leonard made his way home to Belcourt, North Dakota– home to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians– where he was welcomed home by hundreds of friends and relatives, ultimately setting foot in his own home. We are overjoyed at NDN Collective that Leonard is back among his people, and we are incredibly honored to have played our part in bringing him home, continuing the multigenerational fight for his freedom.

In this month’s newsletter, we highlight Leonard’s historic return home, and much more, including our continued work to build Indigenous power across Turtle Island and beyond. 

Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective Founder and CEO, and Leonard Peltier pictured together following his release. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

“Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit!” said Leonard Peltier. “Thank you to all my supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom. I am finally going home. I look forward to seeing my friends, my family, and my community. It’s a good day today.”

Investing in Community March at the 2024 Indigenous People Day Event in Rapid City, South Dakota. 2024 Photo by Angel White Eyes

We are announcing the For The People Campaign – a call to action for individuals and institutional philanthropy to support Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous-led movement infrastructure, and community-based organizations. The For The People Campaign is designed to provide critical resources through our current grantmaking programs and organizing work to strengthen our movement, enhance the resiliency of frontline actions, and catalyze transformative change under this authoritarian regime.

Graphic Art by NDN Collective.

For the past five years, this grant has supported direct action and frontline organizing across Turtle Island, related Island Nations, and the US Virgin Islands. The Community Action Fund (CAF) furthers Indigenous Peoples’ mobilization strategies as it relates to the defense, development, and decolonization of people and Mother Earth. This $250,000 fund is available to support such efforts in 2025, with grants up to $20,000.

Graphic Art by NDN Collective.

NDN Collective is honored to uplift the work of Blue Ocean Law, a 2024-26 Community Self-Determination Grant recipient. Blue Ocean Law is an Indigenous law firm that works at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, focusing on self-determination and decolonization in Guam as well as resisting the U.S. militarization of the island. Blue Ocean law leverages colonial systems and tools to hold colonial powers accountable for their conduct, guided by Indigenous Chamorro values, practices, and philosophies, co-designing cases with grassroots people to support communities and movements.

“I’ve been inspired by the youth mobilization happening all over the world, especially on the climate justice front. These young people know what time it is. And of course the law is just one lever of social change,” said Julian Aguon, human rights lawyer and founder of Blue Ocean Law.

NDN Fund is completing a market survey with the NDN Collective ecosystems, partners, and community members across Turtle Island. The purpose of this survey is to gather insights on Climate Lending Products and Services you need now or envision needing in the near future to accomplish your climate resilience goals.

The survey will remain open until March 28, 2025, and we truly appreciate your time and participation. As a token of our gratitude, participants will have the chance to enter an incentive drawing for a limited edition NDN Collective Landback Blanket developed in partnership with Eighth Generation.

(L to R) Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective Founder & CEO; Gaby Strong, NDN Collective Vice President; and Wizipan Little Elk Garriott, NDN Collective President. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

On this kickoff episode of Season 3 of LANDBACK For the People, host Nick Tilsen welcomes new leadership to NDN Collective, President Wizipan Little Elk, and for the first time, brings Vice President Gaby Strong to the show. In this conversation, Nick— with a new title of NDN Collective Founder & CEO— talks Indigenous leadership with Wizipan and Gaby, what it means, and how they each came into the work of helping their communities, and moreover, their roles at the organization.

Graphic Art by NDN Collective.

When you support Indigenous-led organizations, you’re not just donating— you’re investing in Mother Earth’s survival and justice for all. Your contributions are the foundation of our work, driving initiatives that empower Indigenous communities to lead, thrive, and define our futures on our own terms.