Contact us at: whispernthunder1@gmail.comBurgeoning Indigenous Self-determination
~ Mary Burrows
A statement on Equity
from NDN Collective:
Just and fair inclusion in a society wherein
which all can participate, prosper, and reach
their full potential: unlocking the promise of
the nation by unleashing the promise in us all.
“Equity requires that we understand the past without being trapped in it, embrace the present without being constrained by it, and look to the future guided by the hopes and courage of those who have fought before and beside us.”
In December 1996, 40 activists of various races and cultures met at Jemez, New Mexico, seeking to reach common understandings among cultures, politics, and organizations. The result was “Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing,” with an underlying discussion on globalization.
The Principles encourage “walking the talk,” and personifying the values of justice, peace, and community sought in the world. Guidelines for influential organizing include:
• Being inclusive: Diversity at the planning table, in staffing, and in coordination;
• Organizing from a constituent base which is constantly built and strengthened;
• Listening to those being affected and providing representation to them;
• Working together in solidarity through communications, strategies, and resource sharing;
• Building just and accountable relationships among participants.
The United Nations General Assembly, in 2007, issued The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, wherein it affirmed that “indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the rights of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such.”
The declaration further affirmed “the fundamental importance of the right to self-determination of all peoples, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.”
Oglala Lakota organizer and activist Nick Tilsen founded NDN Collective in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 2018. The Collective is an Indigenous-led organization geared toward building the collective power of Indigenous people. Tilsen was also a part of the creation of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation in 2007, which established a self-sustaining community in the heart of the Oglala Lakota Nation, for which he received accolades from president Barack Obama in December 2012.
The Mission Statement vows to “build 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.”
Land Back is a world-wide, multi-racial movement toward decolonization in cooperation with descendants of once-dominant, destructive colonizers. It is a movement “to not only reclaim Land, but also Language, Ceremony, Medicine, and our Relationship with one another. We understand that these elements are inseparable while recognizing our ancestors and elders: whose struggle, organizing, and sacrifice allow us to continue to work today.”
Land Back has deep legacies in resistance to the takeover of indigenous lands all over the world. In this hemisphere, a Pueblo revolted in 1680, there was a resistance in Bolivia in the 18th Century, the struggles for hunting and fishing rights and the Zapatistas in Mexico in the 20th Century, the protesters at Standing Rock in the 21st, Land Back honors the legacy of the Ancestors as they work to defend and restore the health of indigenous lands and communities.
Under their mission of planet justice, NDN Collective sponsors the LandBack Movement as separate from, but contributing to, the greater Land Back initiative. The Collective has influenced 1500 entities through its campaigns, but it operates hyper-locally in its organizing, advocating, and movement-building.
The ultimate LandBack goal is the return of all public lands in the Black Hills (Paha Sapa: The Heart of Everything that Is) to the Lakota people, to be achieved through organizing efforts and advocacy in support of tribes and treaty councils. The return of Black Hills lands is the cornerstone of the program.
Consistent with its mission to heal the planet, opposition to mineral extraction, specifically uranium and lithium in the southern Black Hills, is a campaign waged by the Collective in collaboration with Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, residents of the City of Hot Springs, “It's All About the Water!” and other groups.
Previous yellow cake uranium extraction in southwest South Dakota has left polluting settling ponds, unfilled drill holes, radionuclides in ground water and in wells as far east as the Missouri River, and incidents of cancer caused by improper use of mine tailings in the past. Presently, a Canadian (Chinese conglomerate) company wants to enter a sacred space known as Craven Canyon, wherein are millennia-old petroglyphs and ceremonial sites, and drill 17 “exploratory” bore holes to depths of 700 feet, while using from 5000 to 10,000 gallons of water per day EACH to “explore” for yellow cake. Southwest South Dakota has experienced severe drought for several years.
Women-led NDN Fund, the US-based all-female lending and investment team of the Collective, supports self-determination through flexible financing systems. Loans and investments represent entities and companies that engage in resource rematriation, climate resilience, and social equity. Aproximately one third of NDN Fund loans went to female-owned enterprises.
The Abundance Fund assists families to achieve generational wealth in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Families epitomize self-determination by defining
abundance in their own terms. Participants emphasize quality of life, community well-being, sound relationships, and generous spirits.
The Collective openly confronts racism by challenging systemic structures that create harm and by seeking to address racism and discrimination against Indigenous People. It proudly advocated for the release from prison of Leonard Peltier and provided a home for him at Turtle Mountain, Chippewa Nation, in North Dakota.
The blockade and direct action protest at Mt Rushmore on July 3, 2022, against a visit of Donald Trump to the Shrine of Democracy, non-violently shut down the monument for three hours and drew world-wide attention. The Collective was protesting Trump's opposition to Native Americans' and others' interests.
Prior to the blockade, Collective CEO and founder Nick Tilsen, while performing a routine Cop Watch surveillance, witnessed an interaction between an unsheltered relative and a police officer in downtown Rapid City. Tilsen, concerned for the relative's safety, parked his truck in an adjacent space to intervene. At the time, Tilsen was cited for aggravated assault and obstruction, but was not detained. ONE YEAR later, Tilsen was charged and ordered to stand trial in January 2026. On January 12, 2026, an additional charge of simple assault was added to his case. The feeling was that prosecutors thought the simple assualt charge would be easier to prove.
Tilsen's team feels that this move was politically motivated in an effort to silence actvists by criminalizing their activities. Tilsen's trial ended in a hung jury, with no word of whether he would be re-tried.
With the advent of the current political administration, federal funding for NDN Collective and other entities in Indian country has been slashed. As a result, the Collective has reorganized and laid off about 40% of its staff.
Gaby Strong, NDN Collective's vice president, said, ”It has been a real grieving for us to have to let go of a signifcant amount of our comrades, our relatives, the people who have worked alongside us for years.”
“I think one big thing is, it's not lost on us that we're in a moment in history in this country and in the world where there is democratic backsliding and the rise of authoritarianism,” Tilsen said. “It's a direct threat to tribal sovereignty and Indigenous self-determination. Therefore, it's a direct threat to everything NDN Collective stands for and fights for in this world.”
Previous Collective asset levels of $50 million have been reduced by funding cuts and fewer returning donors to about $25 million. Corporate donors fear they will be seen as advocating for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, so they bend the knee to the administration and withhold funding.
“I think that the powers that be would love for an NDN Collective to go away,” Tilsen said.
“But we're not going anywhere! We have a role, and we're gonna live out that role, and we're gonna be here for a long time to come in this formation because it's required for us, and we see that, and we're stepping in to that responsibility.”
Home - NDN COLLECTIVE
Judge Moves Nick Tilsen’s Case to Trial for January 26 - NDN COLLECTIVE
BREAKING: Hung Jury in Nick Tilsen’s Case Results in Mistrial - NDN COLLECTIVE
Mount Rushmore fireworks: Protesters arrested, block road ahead of Trump's arrival
Despite major foundation cuts, NDN Collective vows to 'double down' - Buffalo's Fire