^{Photo Courtesy of Joshua Lombard}

As we prepare for the season ahead and process the results of the recent presidential election, we are leaning into our power at NDN Collective. This is who we are. This is not the first time we have faced grave challenges from a settler colonial government. We descend from Ancestors who endured, strategized, and resisted centuries of colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy.

We are honored to continue the legacy of the countless warriors, matriarchs, strategists, and visionaries we descend from. This is our commitment at NDN Collective, regardless of who is in office. From our latest blog following the results of the election, we share this excerpt from the Lakota translation of a song: “I am a warrior. Whatever is difficult, that is mine to do.”

In this month’s newsletter, we lift up the work we continue to do in defense of all that we hold sacred, while investing resources in building a more just and equitable world for all people and Mother Earth. We invite you all to take action, donate, and continue building Indigenous power with us.

“In the coming days, weeks, and months, it’s going to be critical that we take the time to check in with one another. Strengthen and deepen our relationships with each other. There’s no better time than now to stay grounded in community and our cultural values. In moments of stress and trauma, it’s not uncommon to feel alone or to feel isolated. If this is you, you are not alone. Make that phone call, check in with your people.

We must take radically good care of ourselves and each other. 

We must also be in the space of these questions: What does collective care look like for your community? How can we lean into mutual aid, capacity building, and skill-sharing within our shared communities? If there’s a gap, what organizing can take place to create the collective networks of support that are needed? These are the reflections that will keep us moving forward and sustaining our movements and our communities.”

Photo courtesy of NDN Collective.

In the days leading up to the election, NDN Collective was invited to participate and contribute to a video with other organizers and activists, calling upon the movement to “Vote Like a Radical,” inspired by the essay authored by April Rosenblum.

NDN Collective holds a light projection that reads, ‘We are the children of survivors’, the day following Biden’s historic apology to Indigenous Peoples for the boarding school system developed and operated by the federal government for over 150 years. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

Following President Biden’s historic apology for Native American Boarding Schools, NDN Collective held an action in partnership with Remembering the Children in Rapid City, SD. The event was centered around survivors of boarding schools and remembering the children who did not make it home and included prayer, song, and a light projection.

Graphic art by NDN Collective.

On October 25, President Biden made a historic apology to Indigenous Peoples for the federal Indian boarding school system operated by the U.S. for nearly 200 years. NDN Collective provided a statement directly addressing Biden’s apology and the need for more action behind his words.

NDN Collective local organizers host a press conference outside of the Meade County Court House. Photo courtesy of NDN Collective

On Sept. 26, 13-year old Reuben Randle was attacked by Wesley Scott Cale Jr. in South Dakota. Reuben’s family called on NDN Collective for support in calling on the court system in Sturgis, SD to elevate Cale’s charges from simple assault to aggravated assault because Reuben’s injuries included a fractured jaw and concussion. NDN Collective held a press conference at the courthouse on Oct. 17, standing in support of Reuben and his family.

Relatives and allies open up Indigenous Peoples Day with a march leading into Main Street Square in Downtown Rapid City, SD. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

NDN Collective hosted the second annual march, rally, and community event to celebrate Indigneous People’s Day in MniLuzahan (Rapid City, SD). Over a thousand people turned out to support, listen to live music by Indigenous artists, as well as other activities to celebrate all things Indigenous.

Main sitting room at NDN Collective Headquarters in Rapid City, SD. Photo by Angel White Eyes, Photo Editor for NDN Collective.

The second year of NDN Collective’s Collective Abundance Fund supported nearly 200 Indigenous families and individuals through $8 million in awards for 2024. The Collective Abundance Fund provides awards for Indigenous People in the tri-state region of Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota to promote generational wealth-building among Indigenous communities.

NDN Collective closed a loan with Qizhjeh Vena, an Alaska Native Women-led non-profit based in Alaska. The loan will support Qizhjeh Vena in purchasing the Koksetna Wilderness Lodge and surrounding land on Lake Clark. The lodge and land will host events like cultural revitalization workshops, community gathering and education spaces.

Temporary school buildings have been installed onsite at the Waziyata Community Development location in north Rapid City. These buildings will serve students of OSCA until their final school building is constructed in the coming years. So far, the interior classrooms are complete and next steps will be completing the exterior of the buildings and the playground. At this time we are planning to begin classes in the new buildings starting next year. 

“We would like to thank everyone that’s followed this journey and supported us through the many challenges. We are blessed to see this through and provide this educational opportunity to our young ones and future generations.” – Robby Burroughs (Dry Creek Pomo), Managing Director of NDN Holdings

Lorenzo Serna, Director of NDN Tactical Media Team, operates the camera as another episode of NDN Live commences. Photo by Willi White for NDN Collective.

On October 25th, U.S. President Joe Biden is speaking on the Gila River Indian Community offering an apology on behalf of the U.S. Government to all boarding school survivors and their families. We Demand Action Not Just an Apology. Although an apology is the least a US President can do for over 150 years of taking our children away from our lands and communities, we deserve more.

NDN Collective was LIVE outside of the Meade County Courthouse where Wesley Cale was charged with the assault of 13 year-old Reuben Randle, a Black and Cheyenne River Sioux boy, who suffered a sprained jaw and a concussion as a result of this brutal and racially motivated assault.

Two Indigenous relatives watch as march participants gather in the parking lot of the Grand Gateway Hotel Photo by Willi White for NDN Collective. March 26, 2022.

Apologies must include meaningful action to repair the harm done otherwise they are empty words. We demand the following things for Biden to do before leaving office and make his apology real by: 

1) Passing the U.S. Truth & Healing Commission Bill to ensure continued funding and support for the relatives who survived boarding schools; 
2) Granting immediate Executive Clemency for boarding school survivor Leonard Peltier, freeing him from his 50 year incarceration;
3) Immediately investing in Indigenous language and cultural revitalization programs;
4) Rescinding all medals of honor awarded to US soldiers for the massacre at Wounded Knee, in which 300 unarmed Lakota people – mostly women and children – were slaughtered; 
5) Instructing the Bureau of Indian Education to conduct a full-scale investigation into failure by the Tuba City Boarding School system to address egregious misconduct and support the nationwide reforms being demanded by parents and students to keep children safe at BIE run schools.

Add your name to our sign-on letter to support these demands and join the call on President Biden to take these steps in addressing the harms and legacy of federal Indian boarding schools.