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Jennifer Fairbanks

President Biden: Preserve sacred land, designate the Kw’tsán National Monument now

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Advocating for setting aside more than 390,000 acres currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe hopes to create legal protections that, along with responsible federal stewardship practices, will preserve the land and wildlife forever.

As original stewards of these sacred landscapes, the Tribe’s “culture is rooted in the air and the soil,” explains Donald Medart Jr., Quechan Tribal Councilman. He says: “These are the places we will continue to take our children and grandchildren to learn about who we are as a people — these are places that do not recognize boundaries on a map and are connected by history and our stories.”

Climate change has led to extreme drought, and the unsustainable extraction of water from the Colorado River has combined to upend and destabilize the ecosystem. Meanwhile, the land is threatened every day by mining exploration, stolen natural resources, and harmful development.

The water flowing through the Haquita, also known as the Colorado River, is crucial for the health of the region’s complex overlapping ecosystems, which the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe has managed sustainably for generations. Indigenous traditions can rectify the federal government’s past land and water management practices that have harmed these sacred landscapes.

The proposed Kw’tsán National Monument connects Spirit Mountain, Palo Verde Peak, the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument, and Buzzards Peak, incorporating the Indian Pass Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The Bureau of Land Management has already identified these areas as “public land that requires special management to protect important resources or unique landscapes, or to protect people and property from hazards.”

The value of caring for ancestral homelands runs deep in Quechan culture and philosophy. As they explain, “Our ancestors gifted us the role as caretakers of Mother Earth, and the responsibility to protect all living beings of the natural world.”

The mountains in the region include Avikwalal (Pilot Knob), Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain) and Avi Kwa Suen (Cargo Muchachos). Among the area’s sacred artifacts and cultural history are the Singer Geoglyphs, ancient symbols etched directly into the ground.

When the land is properly managed, many endangered species thrive in this region. From roadrunners, tortoises, and quail to jackrabbits, foxes, snakes, and coyotes, Native peoples share this space with many non-human relatives.

The diversity of flowers and plants is another living example of a thriving community that must be treated with respect. From the agave, saguaro, and mesquite to milkweed, sunflower, Devil’s Claw, and Foxtail Cactus, as the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe says, “We are connected to the air, land, plants, insects, and four-leggeds that share our home.”

All public lands are on Indigenous homelands. As the original stewards and guardians of their homelands, the Quechan People have been asking the Biden administration to act to ensure they can continue protecting their rich heritage.

It’s time for President Biden to use the authority granted by the Antiquities Act to designate Kw’tsán National Monument.

Sign and Support
Shea Vassar

A Reflection on the May 2024 National Organizer Training

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Last month I had the honor of joining the Native Organizers Alliance for the National Organizers Training in Federal Way, Washington which is the traditional land of the Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Puyallup. I’ve worked for NOA since 2022 but the timing never aligned for me to join this five day long trip that weaves together principles that are vital for grassroots organizing with traditional values. Everything happens for a reason and I believe I was supposed to be a part of this cohort. 

The organic connection between all of us as individuals was a beautiful thing. There was an understanding that we were all there for the same reason: to learn and grow so that we could return to our own communities with new tools that make our work more meaningful. 

There is a good balance between the various modules that have been uniquely and intentionally curated by the NOA Training Team. Some topics were heavier than others, but each day started with prayer and ended with reflection. Most importantly: every participant is equally valued. We all brought a different perspective to the space which only added to the tapestry of the work we are involved in around Indian Country.

I am so grateful to have been a part of this May 2024 cohort. My experience was spiritually fulfilling and will impact the work I am involved in through NOA. And I can’t wait to see what everyone else in the cohort is up to over the years! Overall, I left the National Organizer Training with renewed hope. 

A big thank you goes out to Judith and Robert, who are great examples of strength and humility, as well as the rest of the Training Team who took the time away from their families and communities. This experience is one I won’t forget.

Wado (thanks in Cherokee) for reading,

Shea Vassar Gomez

Jennifer Fairbanks

National Day of Action + Reflection: Indian Citizenship Act Centennial

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Shea Vassar

Contact the Interior Department about Bears Ears

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As the first national monument proposed by a coalition of Tribal Nations, Bears Ears gained protections under the Obama administration but lost protections under the Trump administration.

The five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission (BEC) — Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Zuni Tribe — are among the many Tribal Nations with deep cultural connections to the entire Bears Ears landscape.

They helped win the reinstatement of protections under President Biden, who restored the original designation and re-established the BEC as collaborative managers of these sacred lands and waters.

In an unprecedented collaborative process, the BEC worked directly with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to develop a draft resource management plan for the monument, which has just been released — and it needs our support.

Alternative E was created from the input from over 90 community meetings which gathered input and concerns. As outlined in this newly released plan, Alternative E would set a new standard for sustainable management of public lands.

Specifically, Alternative E incorporates the most Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and TraditionalEcological Knowledge — both needed to balance public access with protecting the area’s cultural and natural resources. It would represent a sustainable collaboration that:

  • Upholds the sovereignty of the Tribes and honors Indigenous peoples’ personal, traditional, and cultural connections to the land.
  • Reflects time-tested best practices for land management passed down over centuries from the original, and ongoing, stewards of this land.
  • Protects the habitat, wildlife, and resource biodiversity.
  • Responsibly manages access and use of the Monument in a way that allows current and future visitors to recreate, hunt, and fish, while also responding to the needs and health of the land.

Our work together has already generated more than 63,000 comments in support of the plan, but that’s not enough to ensure its adoption before the final decision is made — and the deadline is fast approaching.

We must back-up this unprecedented community-driven federal-Tribal co-management plan for Bears Ears National Monument. Please add your name now to show strong public support during the official comment period.

Together, we’re re-Indigenizing national parks and protecting sacred places across the country.

Hawwih (thank you) for supporting grassroots community-powered Tribal sovereignty.

Shea Vassar

Protect Sovereign Rights and Continue to Allow Access to Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve for the Miccosukee Tribe Now

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The Biden administration has been doing a good job at providing many ways for Tribal communities to exercise self-determination, protecting our sacred places, creating opportunities for Tribal co-management of land and water, and restoring dignity by removing racist and misogynistic names from land and buildings across the country.

Still, while President Biden has made important strides forward, there’s still so much work to do to restore our sovereign right to be full participants in decisions affecting the health and well-being of our communities and for future generations.

This is why we must ask President Biden to do more — to keep fighting for our rights and delivering results.

Big Cypress National Preserve has been a home for the Miccosukee and Seminole people for centuries. They have stewarded its lands and waters and still live in traditional villages there. Today, there are fifteen active traditional villages in Big Cypress, and sacred cultural sites, multiple ceremonial grounds, as well as burial grounds throughout the Preserve. Beyond the physical occupation, Miccosukee citizens must retain rights to use and occupancy throughout the entirety of the Preserve as were explicitly protected in the Preserve’s 1974 enabling federal legislation..

In the next two months, the National Park Service is planning to designate the preserve as “wilderness” with the intention of increasing protections for the freshwaters and fish essential to its health and the health of the neighboring Everglades. However, this designation will also significantly limit the Tribe’s access to their homelands and completely ignores the critical stewardship of Big Cypress they’ve provided for hundreds of years.

The truth is the creation of national parks and the designation of wilderness areas has often resulted in the forced removal of Tribal Nations who lived there, causing direct harm to the ecosystems which they had been stewarding.

The creation of Everglades National Park, for example, resulted in the forced removal of Miccosukee and Seminole traditional villages and the stealing of their 99,200-acre reservation. It is not the presence, or lack, of human habitation that defines the health of a landscape, but rather, it is the relationship of human beings with that land that determines the land’s fate.

Deleting Tribal Nations by the stroke of a pen on paper, from a landscape created in harmony with and by Indigenous peoples, is a surefire recipe for the same kinds of ecosystem collapse that Yellowstone National Park has endured.

So far, Big Cypress National Preserve has been spared the error of undertaking a fortress conservation approach. A wilderness declaration which restricts Tribal citizens’ right to move freely about their homeland or which does not accommodate Tribal rights to permanent residence in those spaces will only serve to repeat again the folly of the past century’s approach to conservation.

We have Secretary Haaland to thank for reaffirming the federal government’s trust responsibility to Tribes through Sec. Order 34-02 and DOI Departmental Order 227, but the National Parks Service’s approach to this project, doing box-checking consultation and constraining 147,000-190,500 acres of Tribal rights without free, prior, and informed consent, runs afoul of this guidance. We need to ask the administration to hold the Service accountable.

The Biden administration can protect Big Cypress without trampling on sovereign rights by pausing this initiative and calling for a supplemental environmental impact statement, during which Tribal input can be meaningfully heard and incorporated or by not establishing the new wilderness designation in the first place.

Shea Vassar

Indigenous Leaders Call for Compassionate Release of Leonard Peltier

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For Immediate Release: April 15, 2024

Rapid City, SD – In light of the severe health conditions and medical needs of longtime Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier, NDN Collective and Native Organizers Alliance are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to free Peltier through compassionate release.

“At the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, Attorney General Merrick Garland stood in front of hundreds of Tribal leaders and committed to make Native American civil rights a priority to the Biden administration,” said Nick Tilsen, President and CEO of NDN Collective. “Supporting the compassionate release of Leonard Peltier after nearly five decades of imprisonment would be a clear signal that he intends to make good on that promise.

“Peltier’s civil rights were violated repeatedly throughout his prosecution and imprisonment. His continued incarceration should be considered cruel and unusual punishment,” continued Tilsen. “Will Attorney General Garland be known for being humane and releasing Leonard Peltier, or for letting him die behind bars on his watch? One of these choices will absolutely be a part of Garland’s legacy. Given the recognition of the many prosecutorial and constitutional violations from every level of those involved in his prosecution, the only morally and legally sound action is to release Leonard Peltier now. Every single moment matters.”

“We are asking the Department of Justice to support the compassionate release of Leonard Peltier,” said Judith LeBlanc, Executive Director of Native Organizers Alliance. “As the longest-serving political prisoner in the United States, Leonard has become a symbol of resilience. At a time when democratic values are being questioned, the DOJ should take action as he nears the end of his life and allow him to return to his family and his ancestral homeland. We implore the DOJ to grant Peltier compassionate release.”

NDN Collective has been actively organizing for the release of Leonard Peltier for years, including leading a caravan from Rapid City, SD to Washington, DC last year where they rallied outside the White House.

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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. 

To Request an Interview Contact:

press@ndncollective.org

Press release originally published here: https://ndncollective.org/indigenous-leaders-call-for-compassionate-release-of-leonard-peltier/

 

Shea Vassar

Tell Congress: Pass the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act

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Right-wing members of Congress have used annual government funding bills as a political football — threatening government shutdowns in an attempt to push through their wildly unpopular policy ideas including attacks on communities bearing the brunt of systemic racism and exploitation as well as cuts to critical programs and services.

All this month, Congress is voting on funding bills with the threat of a shutdown looming in the background. Government shutdowns do one thing: hurt people.

That’s why we need “advance appropriations” on services under the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service so that funding for Indian Country is not threatened by the whims of extremists in Congress.

We’re urging Congress to pass the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act — a bipartisan bill introduced in the House and the Senate to ensure the continuation of critical programs like Indian Health Facilities, Payments for Tribal Leases, Operation of Indian Education, Operation of Indian Programs, and more.

According to Francys Crevier (Algonquin), CEO of National Council of Urban Indian Health:

“This legislation is simple and essential. It would enable Congress to appropriate funding for the Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Indian Education one year in advance — ensuring timely and sustained funding for essential programs and services that are vital to the well-being and prosperity of Native communities. The Act demonstrates a commitment to transparency and accountability, ultimately empowering our communities to thrive. I urge Congress to swiftly pass this bill, a significant step forward in supporting Native American health and education initiatives.”

Take action today and send a message to your members of Congress to pass the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act now.

Together, we’re strengthening Native communities and the movements for self-determination, sovereignty, and a multiracial democracy.

South Fork Kuskokwim River, Alaska, August 1914
Shea Vassar

NOA Supports New Bill to protect Kuskokwim River

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Native Organizers Alliance praises bill to protect “Indigenous ways of life”

South Fork Kuskokwim River, Alaska, August 1914

South Fork Kuskokwim River, August 1914

Washington, DC—The “Balance for the Kuskokwim River Act” was introduced today in Alaska that would protect the Kuskokwim River’s water quality and prioritize the customary and traditional subsistence lifestyle of the Alaska Native people of the region under the Federal Clean Water Act. Stretching over 700 miles, the Kuskokwim River is the second largest river in Alaska and a resource for subsistence fishing for the Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Athabascan people. The following statement from Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of Native Organizers Alliance, can be quoted in-part of in-full. 

 

“Native Organizers Alliance stands with our Alaska Native relatives to celebrate the introduction of a bill that aims to protect the Kuskokwim River and Indigenous ways of life. For too long, Native rights have been ignored in favor of corporations and government agencies that have continued to exploit our lands and destroy our traditional ways. This bill aims to acknowledge Alaska Natives’ subsistence rights and protect one of the state’s most valuable resources—salmon. 

Numerous Alaska Tribes and Indigenous grassroots organizations have opposed projects like the Donlin Mine that could potentially pollute the Kuskokwim River. This bill extends much needed protections to this critical water and food source.

We are grateful to members of Alaska’s legislature, and for the work that Mother Kuskokwim and numerous Alaska Tribes and organizations are doing to fight for Native rights. Their resistance is felt across Indian Country.”

Sign and Support

 

 

Shea Vassar

NOA Responds to the Biden Administration’s Pause on LNG Approvals

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Recently, the Biden administration announced their decision to pause pending approvals for all exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The pause will be in effect while the Department of Energy (DOE) conducts a public interest determination that will include an analysis of the impacts of climate change and the harms to Native communities. Too often, our Native communities and sacred places have had to bear the brunt of toxic messes and pollution created by the fossil fuel industry. 

This decision is a major win for our Tribes, Native communities, and grassroots advocates who have been organizing for government action on climate change. It is also a continuation of this administration’s proven historic efforts to curb climate change and phase out these harmful fossil fuels. Native Organizers Alliance (NOA) applauds the administration for their efforts toward regenerative energy to create a sustainable future for us all. 

Indigenous and youth organizers provided the political momentum to make this shift happen as well as the leadership behind the March to End Fossil Fuels and the Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels.

While this decision does not address the harms already caused by current and ongoing projects, it’s a critical step in the right direction to end reliance on fossil fuels. Pushback from fossil fuel supporters is already underway with a Senate hearing called last week to investigate the pause. 

We must not let corporate greed derail this moment. We will continue to press for the right decisions on behalf of Mother Earth. This includes shutting down DAPL, Line 5, the Willow Project, and more.

As the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman Janet Alkire said, “As a matter of sovereignty, honor, and respect for the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, we must demand that DAPL be shut down. Now. Shutting the pipeline down will also protect crucial water supplies for millions and reject the increase of greenhouse gasses responsible for disastrous climate change.”

“A just democracy for all requires transformational change,” said Tremayne Nez, NOA’s Policy Director, “We must prioritize Mother Earth and people before fossil fuel profits for a sustainable future for all.”

Shea Vassar

Native Organizers Alliance 2023 in Review

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Download our 2023 Annual Report here.

It’s a new year! And while we are preparing for the upcoming events of 2024, we also know it is important to reflect on the various accomplishments of the previous 365 days.

While so much of our organizing includes on-the-ground trainings, email campaigns, and education, Native Organizers Alliance was included in 26 panels, webinars, podcasts, and interviews.

Here’s a look at just some of the projects we were involved in throughout 2023: 

 Training Program

Our Native Community Organizer Training is for Native leaders, nonprofits, and organizations both in rural and urban communities. During these in-person sessions, we share new skills and strategies that are vital for effective organizing.

In 2023, we held 1 National and 7 State-Based or Regional Trainings for a total of 245 total training participants.

Save Oak Flat

In Spring 2023, we were notified of a Trump-era deal, which would hand over Oak Flat in Arizona to a notoriously devastating mining corporation. We organized an email campaign that supported the San Carlos Apache and Apache Stronghold, who are on the ground and working towards permanent protections for Oak Flat. Thankfully, the Biden administration listened, pushing that approval.

The constant attack on Oak Flat is why we also have shown support for Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s Save Oak Flat from Foreign Mining Act. Let’s keep up the fight to protect Oak Flat for future generations!

Re-Indigenizing National Parks

At Native Organizers Alliance, we’re working with Tribes, Native communities, and grassroots organizers across the country to grow the movement to re-Indigenize and protect national parks. In 2023, we used social media and our email list to push for co-management legislation as well as programs that would teach the Indigenous histories of the land where these parks exist.

We also organized a letter program to President Biden to establish a new national monument to protect the Grand Canyon. Tribal leaders and organizers were able to celebrate the years of work put towards this designation when the White House announced Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni:

“Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument will conserve nearly 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. The new monument protects thousands of cultural and sacred sites that are precious to Tribal Nations in the Southwest – including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.”

The White House on August 8, 2023

Honoring Chaco Initiative

Many of our partners are fighting to protect Greater Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, a sacred place with deep cultural significance for Indigenous people. While steps have been taken to protect certain areas of Greater Chaco from industrial exploitation, more needs to be done to truly safeguard the safety and well-being of this cultural landscape and surrounding communities. We will continue to uplift this need and support The Honoring Chaco Initiative.

This legislation is a first-of-its-kind effort to change the paradigm of public lands management in this sacred landscape and finally prioritize the health, economic, and environmental justice, equity, and sustainability of the region.

All Our Relations Snake River Journey

Native Organizers Alliance was honored to be a part of the Indigenous-led 2023 All Our Relations Snake River Journey. Traveling through Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in September and October the campaign set out to build community and demonstrate the momentum of public support for restoring salmon to abundance and upholding treaty promises to Northwest Tribes.

Read more about our time on the journey here.

Free Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier is the longest-incarcerated political prisoner in our country. The fight for Leonard Peltier’s freedom continues to this day. In the fall, we brought together a coalition of organizations to bring renewed pressure on the Biden Administration to act.

We rallied for support via a petition with 70,000+ names that was then delivered to the White House by Congressman Raúl Grijalva.

Indigenous Futures Survey

The Indigenous Futures Survey is an annual survey that aims to capture Indigenous people’s voices, perspectives, and concerns for use in developing policy, understanding socio-economic trends, and highlighting important issues impacting Indian Country.

This information will help inform Tribal leaders and members of Congress about issues facing Indigenous People and inform so much for the upcoming Native Vote 2024.

The success of this year’s IFS is only possible because of the 10 fellows who worked in their communities with local organizations. Each fellow is part of our ‘moccasins on the ground’ approach and their work is important in the continued community and power building that makes grassroots organizing possible.

This year’s survey is co-led by IllumiNative and Native Organizers Alliance, with Kauffman and Associates, Inc. supporting the survey development and analysis.

DAPL and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

After many years of delays and a fatally flawed Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) written by a member of the American Petroleum Institute — a clear conflict of interest — the Army Corps of Engineers finally took public comments on this dangerous violation of the sovereignty of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Through our channels, we were able to submit over 101,000 comments on this DEIS. The fight against DAPL might have begun in 2016 but we will continue to stand in support of Tribal sovereignty until this pipeline is no longer a threat to the area.

 

info@nativeorganizing.org

3518 S Edmunds St, Seattle, WA 98118