NDN Collective

NDN Collective is an indigenous-led activist and advocacy organization based in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA.[1]  Founded in 2018, NDN Collective works with more than 200 Indigenous-led groups in the U.S.[2] NDN Collective's mission is "Build the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent right to self-determination, while fostering a world that is built on a foundation of justice and equity for all people and the planet." and includes “defend: our people, communities, and nations; develop: Indigenous communities in a regenerative and sustainable manner, and decolonize: our minds, communities, and sovereign nations.”[3] According to president and CEO Nick Tilsen (Oglala Lakota), NDN Collective has “an overall strategy to shift power, decolonize wealth, and resource Indigenous people who are on the front lines of fighting for justice and equity.” [4] NDN is operated entirely by Indigenous leadership, board, and staff that come from over 25 Tribal Nations.[5]

Campaigns

The collective has four primary campaign areas:

The collective created its LANDBACK Campaign to support the global indigenous Land Back movement. The movement demands the return of Native American territory seized by breaking treaties, including return of Lakota territory in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the four faces of Mount Rushmore are carved.[6] “Wherever you go to connect to God, that’s what the Black Hills are to the Lakota,” said Nick Tilsen, president of NDN Collective.[7] The area, known as Paha Sapa — “the heart of everything that is” is sacred to the Lakota people.[8]

Actions

On July 3, 2020, Tilsen helped organize more than 200 people to attend, and was arrested at, a protest against the South Dakota's Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration 2020.[9] Tilsen was charged with a combination of misdemeanors and felonies that could have led to 17 years in prison.[10] Most charges were later dropped.[11]

On July 4, 2021, 4 climbers were arrested after scaling a 100-foot-tall grain elevator in downtown Rapid City and hanging a gigantic, inverted American flag with the words "Land Back".[12][13][14]

Funding

NDN Collective in late 2021 was named a recipient of a Bush Foundation grant of $50 million. The organization has announced plans to redistribute these funds to indigenous individuals in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota[15] Through other funding, including grants from the MacArthur and Skoll Foundations, NDN redistributes capital through two loan pools. The Social Enterprise & Economic Development for Indigenous Growth (SEEDING) program offers loans of $500,000 or more, while the Relief & Resilience program provides small business loans to Indigenous entrepreneurs.[16]

Prominent donors to NDN Collective include Mackenzie Scott, in 2021, due to her concerns about wealth inequality, discrimination, and the need for investment in education,[17] and the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund, which in 2020 donated $12 million for their work against climate change.[18]

NDN Collective was also funded by the Target Foundation in 2022, as one of its "Ecosystem" grant recipients.[19]

Indigenous-led school

NDN Collective opened Oceti Sakowin Community Academy, an independent, Indigenous-led school for Native students in Rapid City, with approximately 40 students in September 2022. The school is based upon the Native American Community Academy (NACA) and NACA-inspired schools network (NISN).[20] Mary Bowman, founder of the school, said, "Culturally responsive pedagogy helps students to be engaged, motivated, and develop a strong cultural identity." The opening of this school represents a first step towards the NDN Collective's goals of education equity for Indigenous students.[21]

Controversies

NDN Collective has demanded the closure of Mount Rushmore and all public lands in the Black Hills of South Dakota, stating: “Not only does Mount Rushmore sit in the heart of the sacred Black Hills, but it is an international symbol of White supremacy and colonization.” NDN and LANDBACK have also used the phrase, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free," interpreted by some as a genocide call for the elimination of the Jewish state.[22]

NDN desires to demilitarize the U.S. military, stating: “"[T]he U.S. military is in the explicit business of taking land away from communities all around the world and using their presence on their land to carry out their own agenda for the inhabitants of that area. Violence is fundamental for the U.S. to maintain its presence, and the military is how they establish dominance domestically and internationally, wherever they may be."[23]

References
  1. Pietsch, Bryan; Fortin, Jacey (2020-07-01). "How Mount Rushmore Became Mount Rushmore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  2. staff, Journal. "Jeff Bezos Earth Fund gives $12 million to NDN Collective for climate change initiatives". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  3. "Our Mission". NDN Collective. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  4. staff, Journal. "Jeff Bezos Earth Fund gives $12 million to NDN Collective for climate change initiatives". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  5. Diamond, Gabriel. "NDN Collective | Nick Tilsen | Skoll Awardee 2022 (short version)". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  6. "The battle for Mount Rushmore: 'It should be turned into something like the Holocaust Museum'". the Guardian. 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. Pietsch, Bryan; Fortin, Jacey (2020-07-01). "How Mount Rushmore Became Mount Rushmore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  8. "Lakota Mount Rushmore protester says charges being dropped". AP NEWS. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  9. Sullivan, Meghan. "Charges against treaty defenders dropped". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  10. Sullivan, Meghan. "Charges against treaty defenders dropped". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  11. "Lakota Mount Rushmore protester says charges being dropped". AP NEWS. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  12. Nauman, Talli (2021-07-09). "Native Sun News Today: Climbers arrested in LANDBACK protest on 'Fourth of You Lie'". Indianz.Com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  13. staff, Siandhara Bonnet Journal. "Protesters arrested for climbing Dakota Mill and Grain released from jail". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  14. Dausch, Dominik W. E. "4 arrested after hanging "LANDBACK" flag from Omaha Street grain elevator". www.kotatv.com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  15. "NDN Collective to Distribute $50 Million to Indigenous Peoples". 1380 KOTA AM. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  16. "NDN Fund". NDN Collective. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  17. "MacKenzie Scott giving to Rapid City based NDN Collective as part of nearly $3 billion dollar campaign of giving". KELOLAND.com. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  18. staff, Journal. "Jeff Bezos Earth Fund gives $12 million to NDN Collective for climate change initiatives". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  19. "Overview | Target Foundation". Target Corporate. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  20. Fire, Buffalo’s. "Indigenous-led school aims for success". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  21. Collective, NDN. "NDN COLLECTIVE OFFICIALLY OPENS DOORS OF RAPID CITY'S FIRST INDIGENOUS-LED SCHOOL FOR INDIGENOUS STUDENTS". NDN Collective. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  22. Grossman, Hannah (2023-05-31). "Target backs org pushing US demilitarization, Mt. Rushmore shutdown for being a 'symbol of White supremacy'". Fox News. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  23. Grossman, Hannah (2023-05-31). "Target backs org pushing US demilitarization, Mt. Rushmore shutdown for being a 'symbol of White supremacy'". Fox News. Retrieved 2023-07-03.

Further reading
  • Pieratos, Nikki A; Manning, Sarah S; Tilsen, Nick (2020). "Land Back: A meta narrative to help indigenous people show up as movement leaders". Leadership. 17 (1): 47–61. doi:10.1177/1742715020976204. ISSN 1742-7150.
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