NDN Collective Stories

Among the many amendments proposed in BIA’s draft is a significant change in the way “Indian product” is defined, one that would bring regulation of agricultural products under the umbrella of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act for the first time in the Act’s 88-year history.

Three Native American men were stopped by security at the entrance of the Central States Fair, then forced to turn their shirts inside-out -- one wearing an NDN Collective T-shirt, the others wearing American Indian Movement attire.

"One thing that I like to say about my process is that when I am in the clearest alignment with myself, then my writing is more a record of what I'm listening to. I'm listening for the voices of my ancestors. I'm listening for the sounds."

"To be able to access that clay, those materials, and use them in a way that helps us survive, that lets us have that vision to go to the next step where our people are going, wherever that direction is. We have the ancestors behind us and we're holding on to our relatives as we move forward."

"We know that every young person, every little kid, every child that is growing up, they are receiving the energy that they get through their blood, through their genes. It's a millinery-like charge that's really rooted and connected to our worldview that's existed for a thousand years."

Kanaka (Native Hawaiian) community in Hawaii and Maui grapple with new wave of colonialism and outside interests on the heels of devastating wildfires resulting from poor land stewardship by U.S. government, extractivism, and tourism.

NDN Fund’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) invests $1.57M loan capital in the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in Maine to build sustainable infrastructure for traditional eel harvesting, leaving a ripple effect of economic and cultural healing.

“Indian Country has never seen investments like those coming from the IRA before – and these investments are happening because of the diligence of our movement ancestors and comrades who have been fighting for justice for decades. By resourcing Indigenous communities through the IRA, we can build and develop local and regional climate adaptation models on Indigenous terms."

"My inspiration is always going to be tied to the community, salmon, water and really, it’s part of my identity, versus what motivates and inspires me."

“The self-determination of Indigenous Peoples is how we get the best outcomes for Mother Earth and all Peoples around the globe. We are honored to carry this knowledge to international spaces, where we fight to protect and uphold our rights, and to demand safeguards for our knowledge systems in negotiation rooms filled with world leaders."