NDN Collective

Environmental Justice Victory: Stopping Toxic Expansion Near DuPont Elementary School Thanks to rapid support from NDN Collective, Cultivando secured a rare and critical win for environmental justice in Commerce City. A midstream oil and gas operator was forced to drop its plans to expand an oil storage terminal near DuPont Elementary School. This expansion would have increased toxic exposure for a predominantly Hispanic, low-income student body already facing asthma-related emergency visits at rates 22% higher than their peers in Adams County. Importantly, this victory wasn’t due to state intervention. The state appeared poised to approve the expansion despite the harm it posed. Instead, it was the result of a united and informed community. Cultivando mobilized parents, neighbors, and allies to push back and demand the permit be denied, leveraging key partnerships with Adams 14 School District, DuPont Elementary, and its educators and families. Through their Promotora model—a grassroots organizing approach rooted in Indigenous values and social justice—Cultivando demonstrated how community-led action can challenge environmental harm and inequities. As Laura Martinez, Cultivando’s Environmental Justice Program Manager, told The Denver Post:  “The community experienced discrimination in this permitting process.” This victory is proof of what’s possible when Indigenous-led organizations empower communities to take on the climate crisis. For more on this story, including infrared footage of the facility’s pollution, check out this overview from our partners at Earthworks. The fight for environmental justice continues, but this win reminds us of the power of grassroots action and when the people work together for not only each other but Mother Earth.

After two years of organizing to protect the Black Hills from mining, the Dept of Interior announced that Sec. Deb Haaland signed “Public Land Order 7956”, which finalized protections for the Pactola Reservoir–Rapid Creek Watershed from mining and development for 20 years! Simply put, mining and the pollution it causes will not be allowed in the Pactola Reservoir area, our main drinking water source in Rapid City and beyond. We will now work to gain the required Congressional approval to make these protections permanent. This is a win for Mother Earth, Tribal sovereignty, Indigenous rights, religious freedom, and, not least importantly, for the countless organizers and community members who fought for these protections. There’s more work to be done in ensuring the protection of ALL of the Black Hills, however, this is a step in that direction. Wopila, Sec. Haaland and to the team within the DOI for making this critical call to protect the land and water. 💻 Subscribe to our Policy & Organizing Newsletter for updates and Calls to Action: https://lnkd.in/dDGB-3PV #ProtectTheȞesápa #ndncollective #landback

Are you wanting to learn more about the E.P.A. Thriving Communities Grant? Join us for our “Thriving Communities Grant Program Overview Webinar” on January 8, 2025 from 1-2:00 pm CST. RSVP to learn more and ask questions about the grant! ndnco.cc/tcgwebinar

Last week the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent an extraordinary letter to Pres. Biden in support of clemency for Leonard Peltier.  “Mr. Peltier’s case is a stark example of systemic racism and injustice within the criminal legal system,” said NACDL President Christopher A. Wellborn of Rock Hill, S.C. “Despite mounting evidence of his innocence and declining health, he remains incarcerated. It’s time to rectify this historic wrong.” Representing 44,000 criminal defense lawyers in the U.S., NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and reforming systemic racism and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully equipped to serve all accused persons at the highest level.  Pres. Biden, the time is now. Free Leonard Peltier! Join us in the call to #FreeLeonardPeltier by: ➡️ Telling President Biden to grant Executive Clemency for our relative: https://lnkd.in/ep2eXPKq ➡️ Calling the White House at 202-456-1111, send an email: comments@whitehouse.gov ➡️ Contacting your Representatives: https://lnkd.in/grup5-2  ➡️ Joining our #FreeLeonardPeltier Network and tell us why the fight to #FreeLeonardPeltier is important to you! ndnco.cc/freelp-network ➡️ Texting “FreeLeonardNow” to 50302 to stay up to date on upcoming actions to free our relative. ➡️ Leave a Whitehouse Comment https://lnkd.in/gqEehjGq New Release: https://lnkd.in/gpmfpq_5

Season 2 Episode 6: Smokehouse Collective is available for streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 🎙️⚡ In this episode, Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President and CEO, sits down with Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon, co-founder of Smokehouse Collective, a NDN Collective Radical Imagination Artist, and Deg Xit’an Athabascan and Supiaq activist, to talk about the relations between LANDBACK and how Indigenous communities have always lived a subsistence lifestyle on the land through fishing, hunting, and tracking salmon to feed their communities. 🔔 Watch Full Episode NOW: ▶ YouTube: ndnco.cc/LBFTPyt ▶ Spotify: ndnco.cc/LBFTPs ▶ Apple Podcast: ndnco.cc/LPFTPa ▶ Audible: ndnco.cc/LBFTPad Support Indigenous-led narratives and organizing by donating to NDN Collective today at ndncollective.org/donate! 🔗Links in bio. #LANDBACK #LBFTP #IndigenousPodcast #Podcast #NDNCollective

The NDN Collective wants to underscore a critical opportunity for our Indigenous relatives — the  Thriving Communities Grantmaking program (TCGM). We are calling on all of our Indigenous relatives in Regions 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI, & 36 Federally Recognized tribes) to ensure that this funding reaches as many Indigenous Peoples as possible.  This program is a vital source of support for initiatives aimed at addressing environmental injustices, and we need to act now to ensure that our communities take full advantage of this opportunity! We encourage mobilizing our communities to apply now while this funding is available.  For our relatives in the Great Lakes region (Region 5), as of December 5th, the TCGM Program is open to apply! Applications will be accepted from December 5th - November 2026, and grants will be approved on a rolling basis. Applications submitted by January 31, 2025 will be considered in the first round of reviews.  To learn more about the grant and apply today, visit: ndnco.cc/ejtcglr  For all other regions, please visit: ndnco.cc/ejtc  If you have questions contact us at climatejustice@ndncollective.org

Today, on the Winter Solstice, we pause to acknowledge the power of our sky world, & honor the interconnected of all things. There are many ancestral traditions tied to this day, all across Indigenous lands. We all descend from Tribal Peoples, whether those cultures have maintained, or have been impacted, harmed, or uprooted by colonization. As Mother Earth nourishes us, and as the cosmos & universe guide us, we have responsibility to honor & protect the world. We hold gratitude for the People of the Earth who continue to fight, mobilize, pray, & do ceremony, to protect & defend the sacred. We offer reverence & gratitude to the land & universe. We are in a critical time, & the Earth, our Mother, needs all of us to stand up. We encourage you to give time & space to heal yourselves. We are manifestations of Earth & nature, & our spirits need healing & nurturing. It is deeply personal & powerful work to heal, & we pray for that for you, your communities, & the land, & all life, to continue healing & caring for your spirit as you defend & protect the land & all life. We are all connected, Relatives. We are all spiritual beings within a spiritual universe. We hope you can slow down today, & just be. Hold space for practices that are nourishing & powerful for you. With deep love and care,  Happy Winter Solstice Read our Winter Solstice blog: ndnco.cc/wintersolstice #WinterSolstice

At the 47th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational Basketball Tournament the Pine Ridge Thorpes boys basketball team show their solidarity and call on President Biden to give Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier. This is a beautiful demonstration of the intergenerational support for this longstanding call for Justice! Free Leonard Peltier now! Join us in the call to #FreeLeonardPeltier by: ➡️ Telling President Biden to grant Executive Clemency for our relative: https://lnkd.in/ep2eXPKq ➡️ Calling the White House at 202-456-1111, send an email: comments@whitehouse.gov ➡️ Contacting your Representatives: https://lnkd.in/grup5-2  ➡️ Joining our #FreeLeonardPeltier Network and tell us why the fight to #FreeLeonardPeltier is important to you! ndnco.cc/freelp-network ➡️ Texting “FreeLeonardNow” to 50302 to stay up to date on upcoming actions to free our relative. ➡️ Leave a comment at The White House https://lnkd.in/gqEehjGq

There’s still time– Register for this afternoon's training to secure your swag bag! 🕒 Join us for our FREE Know Your Rights Training: Cop Interactions on Friday, December 20th, at The Monument in Rapid City, SD. Sign up for our 3 PM - 6 PM MT session: ndnco.cc/kyrcitpm In this training, we’ll focus on: ➡️The discrepancies and nuances between cannabis laws on the Oglala Sioux Tribal reservation and state laws. ➡️Practical tips on handling police interactions, navigating searches, and ensuring a safe resolution. ➡️How to file a complaint on a cop abusing power in a stop. 2025 is anticipated to be a year of heavy organizing and participation in actions, which will be met with policies, state repression, and heightened police presence. Our training is an opportunity to stay ready as things heat up next year. Share this opportunity with your networks! #KnowYourRights #LakotaNationInvitational #NDNCollective

On winter solstice day, the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky, moving briefly across the sky world above us, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. For Indigenous peoples worldwide, the natural world offers profound teachings about the interconnectedness of life and universal laws. The cosmos — sun, moon, stars, and planets — connect us in ways that are both tangible and spiritual. In the spirit of self-care, community care, and reconnecting with ancestral memory and our most powerful selves, we’ve curated 14 meaningful ways to honor the winter solstice— a natural phenomenon that graces us but once a year. Take what resonates, and, if possible, seek guidance from elders and traditional teachings to deepen your connection to this sacred time. Read our Winter Solstice blog: ndnco.cc/wintersolstice #WinterSolstice