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Jennifer Fairbanks

NOA responds to Biden announcement on treaty protections

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The Biden administration is set to announce a memorandum of understanding from 18 federal agencies to protect tribal treaty rights. The MOU’s from the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Commerce, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, State, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Personnel Management, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Council on Environmental Quality are ordered to issue reports on their efforts to strengthen treaty protections within the next 180 days.

President Biden’s announcement comes after a journey thousands of miles across Indian Country, and countless prayers offered from Native peoples across the nation, that the federal government do more to protect our most sacred places. Our people have spoken across Indian Country, saying enough is enough. Our sacred sites must be protected and our treaty rights upheld.

More than 85,000 people signed a petition calling on President Biden to direct federal agencies to uphold the treaties and gain the consent of tribes in infrastructure and development projects.

We urge each agency to craft an MOU that not only respects treaty rights but acknowledges the great harm done when tribes and Native peoples are not given the opportunity to consent to projects affecting their lands, waters, and resources. It is not enough to check a box to “consult” with tribes with projects like dams, mines, and oil pipelines. The treaties demand that tribes give their consent to these projects. This failure of agencies to gain the free, prior, and informed consent of tribes is a violation of treaty rights and a flawed process that leads to the desecration of our sacred sites.

For generations, the federal government has failed to follow through on its commitment to tribes. This failure has led to the destruction and desecration of our sacred lands, waters, and resources. Promises were made to our ancestors but never kept. We are hopeful that today’s announcement directing federal agencies to strengthen treaty protections is a critical step towards upholding our tribal treaty rights.

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Jennifer Fairbanks

2021 October Training Reflections

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In October, Native Organizers Alliance (NOA) brought together 23 amazing Native community organizers from 14 different tribes, working in 9 different states and 10 organizations. NOA selected the 23 organizers from over 200 nationwide applicants to attend our National Training held in Dumas Bay, WA.

Over the course of seven days, our training focused on sharpening the grassroots organizing skills of our participants with a curriculum that is rooted in traditional cultures and practices. Using Indigenous history as a guide for action today, we focused on the crucial struggles for sovereignty and environmental justice. We took deep dives into:

  • The practices and history of Native community organizing,
  • Spiritually directed Native power building for social change, and
  • Designing Native community grassroots campaigns.

Through this training, our participants have been given the tools necessary for increasing the power of Native communities to take on the issues that impact them and build a movement for long-term transformational change.

This year we had one of the largest number of applications in the 10 years that we have held this training. Every year we continue to add to our training circle cohorts, made up of grassroots Native activists, tribal leaders, and community organizers from across Indian Country. We have come away from the week together inspired and energized by the passion and drive of our participants. We look forward to continuing our work with them by bringing them into our growing circle of cohorts and future partnerships.

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2021 October Training Reflections

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NativeOrganizersAlliance

Native Organizing Alliance Celebrates Restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments

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WASHINGTON, DC — Friday Oct 8th, 2020 President Biden issued a proclamation confirming the original boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah.

In reaction to the announcement, Judith LeBlanc, citizen of the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma and director of the Native Organizing Alliance, issued the following statement: 

“President Biden promised to restore protections to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments on Day One. Now, more than 200 days into his presidency, we’re glad that he’s taken action to keep that promise, returning protections to the first successful tribally-led National Monument designation.

“Since President Trump slashed protections in 2017, these treasured and sacred places have been at risk. We celebrate this long overdue restoration and most of all we celebrate that these exceptional, sacred places and their cultural significance will no longer be threatened by vandalism and energy development.

“In September, the Native Organizers Alliance, in conjunction with Illuminative and Utah Dine Bikeyah launched an advertising campaign demanding immediate action to “Protect Bears Ears Now!

“But this is only the beginning, we look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to protect sacred places under threat from resource extraction and industrial development and ensure tribal sovereignty is respected and achieved.”

Jennifer Fairbanks

Native Organizing Alliance Celebrates Restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments

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NativeOrganizersAlliance

CNN made the right decision to fire Rick Santorum

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CNN fired Rick Santorum after Indigenous groups along with Native Organizers Alliance called for his removal because of his comments dismissing thousands of years of Native American history and culture and contributions to the United States.

Native Organizers Alliance released the following statement following the news of CNN terminating Rick Santorum’s contract.

“CNN made the right decision to fire Rick Santorum. His racist comments are a deliberate erasure of our Native peoples to prop up white supremacy. If we don’t exist, then you can take our lands, poison our waters, and desecrate our sacred places, without any thought to the people who were here first.

Firing Santorum is a start but CNN must do more as an international media organization and hire Native peoples to tell our own stories. CNN must feature Native commentators and cover the issues of Indian Country.”

Before CNN took action to address this issue, Judith LeBlanc Director of Native Organizers Alliance wrote the following op-ed for Huffpost

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