NDN Collective is an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

-led

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and advocacy organization based in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

, United States. Founded in 2018, NDN Collective works with more than 200 Indigenous-led groups in the U.S. NDN Collective's mission is "Build the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent right to

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

, 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 Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

: our minds, communities, and

sovereign nations A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) con ...

." According to president and CEO Nick Tilsen (

Oglala Lakota The Oglala (pronounced , meaning 'to scatter one's own' in Lakota language, Lakota) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota people, Dakota, make up the Sioux, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A ...

), 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." NDN is operated entirely by Indigenous leadership, board, and staff that come from over 25 Tribal Nations. "NDN" is internet shorthand for "Indian."

Campaigns

The collective has four primary campaign areas: *

Climate justice Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...

* Racial equity * Education equity * LANDBACK 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 A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, including return of Lakota territory in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the four faces of

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

are carved. “Wherever you go to connect to God, that’s what the Black Hills are to the Lakota,” said Nick Tilsen, president of NDN Collective. The area, known as Paha Sapa — “the heart of everything that is” is sacred to the

Lakota people The Lakota (; or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western D ...

Actions

In 2019, NDN Collective were active in protesting against the Keystone Pipeline. On July 3, 2020, Tilsen helped organize more than 200 people to attend a protest against the

South Dakota's Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration 2020 A Fireworks Celebration at Mount Rushmore held on July 3, 2020, was the only official use of fireworks at Mount Rushmore since 2009. President Donald Trump spoke at the event, which was also attended by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, host of ...

. Activists called for the monument to be removed, and for "a share in the economic benefits from the region". Tilsen was arrested during the protest and charged with a combination of

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

s and

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...

that could have led to 17 years in prison. Most charges were later dropped. On July 4, 2021, four NDN Collective protestors 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". As of 2021, an NDN Collective member advised the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

as part of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Environmental Justice Advisory Council, "issuing recommendations to end

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

, carbon capture technologies, highway expansions". NDN Collective called for

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for Native American activist

Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in a June 26, 1975, shooting on the Pine Rid ...

and aided in his legal effort. On September 12, 2023, NDN Collective protested outside the

, calling for clemency for Peltier. In February 2025, Peltier was granted

by President Biden and released to

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

. NDN Collective welcomed his return and arranged for his housing in

Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation (Ojibwe language: ''Mikinaakwajiwing'') is a reservation located in northern North Dakota, United States. It is the land base for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. The population of the Turtle Mou ...

. From 2023 onward, NDN Collective has participated in protests against Israel. The group participated in the 2023 National March on Washington: Free Palestine. During a 2024 demonstration, Tilsen stated that "The parallels of our struggle are real...The same system that committed the

Native American genocide The destruction of Native Americans in the United States, Native American peoples, cultures, and languages has been characterized as genocide. Debates are ongoing as to whether the entire process or only specific periods or events meet the genoc ...

is the same system that is fueling the genocide in Gaza."

Funding

NDN Collective in late 2021 was named a recipient of a

Bush Foundation The Bush Foundation is a charitable organization in the United States. It invests in programs in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share this geography. They work through open grantmaking programs to support e ...

grant of $50 million. The organization has announced plans to redistribute these funds to indigenous individuals in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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. Prominent donors to NDN Collective include

Mackenzie Scott MacKenzie Scott ( Tuttle, formerly Bezos; born April 7, 1970) is an American novelist, philanthropist, co-founder of Amazon, and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. As of May 2025, she has a net worth of US$35.9 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionair ...

, in 2021, due to her concerns about wealth inequality, discrimination, and the need for investment in education, and the

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

Earth Fund, which in 2020 donated $12 million for their work against climate change. NDN Collective was also funded by the Target Foundation in 2022, as one of its "Ecosystem" grant recipients. The organization is also slated to receive funding from the Inflation Reduction Act through its affiliation with the

Climate Justice Alliance The Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental collective of over 70 rural and urban community-based organizations focused on sustainability, development of underrepresented communities, Race (human categor ...

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). 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.

References

External links