#LakotaLawProject

Wopila: December 2, Tuesday

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Lakota Law

It’s almost time for one of our most exciting events of the year! If you’ve been with us for some time, you may be familiar with our Wopila Gathering — an online celebration we hold every Giving Tuesday to share the spirit of wopila and Indigenous knowledge and culture with the world. This year’s fifth annual gathering is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST (4 PST/7 EST) on Tuesday, Dec. 2. We hope you can be with us, because the program is absolutely stacked with goodness.

This year’s theme is The Spiritual Resistance: Sustaining Sovereignty and Culture in Troubled Times. In addition to organizing, legal, and program updates from Lakota Law’s team, we’re bringing in Native musical artists and knowledge keepers from all four directions across Indian country. We’re particularly excited you’ll be able to hear from tribal leaders — including Chuck Hoskin, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation — and enjoy music from Nataanii Means, Rain from Heaven, Nanibaah, destroykasmin, and our own Tokata Iron Eyes. Please mark your calendars, RSVP here, and then join us on Dec. 2 at give.lakotalaw.org for the event!

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Our theme and participants this year are consciously chosen to address the current moment. Across Turtle Island and around the world, Indigenous communities face tremendous challenges — legal battles, climate threats, political upheaval, and ongoing attacks on our rights and our ways of life. But through ceremony, through culture, through art and music and the unbroken lines of our traditional teachings, we remain strong. 

Our spiritual resistance is more than survival — it is the active, daily practice of sovereignty. It is the protection of our homelands and our relatives. It is the renewal of our languages and our kinship systems. It is the courage to keep standing in full humanity, even when the world tries to silence us. We engage in the practice of wopila — of giving our heartfelt gratitude — for all those who participate in this resistance, and we invite all our relations and allies to stand with us on Dec. 2 as we build a future worthy of our ancestors.

This is our biggest fundraiser of the year — and we make sure the experience is reciprocal. You’ll hear incredible and uplifting music and presentations that highlight not just our own concerns and voices as Lakota People, but also those of our relatives from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska. It’s going to be an enlightening and amazing day, so please feel free to share this invitation with anyone and everyone interested in sharing in the music and conversation, learning more about our cultures, and helping to forward tribal sovereignty and win Indigenous justice. 

Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for being a valued friend to us.
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. Please RSVP and join us for our fifth annual Wopila Gathering — a joyful day of music, culture, and conversation — on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2. With your participation and that of so many of our talented and generous friends, we believe this will be our best event yet!

Not Right versus Left – A Complete Collapse of the U.S. Myth

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Lakota Law

I have a short, one-question quiz for you today. What does Wounded Knee have in common with Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland? At a glance, perhaps not much. But the rights and sovereignty of people across Turtle Island are now at risk as the federal government, as it did at Wounded Knee in 1890 and again in 1973, is sending armed troops into American cities to violently subjugate the people of this land.

We need to talk about this moment, what it means for our constitutional sovereignty, and what we can do about it. That’s why we’ll be hosting our next Lakota Law Membership Circle Event — Indigenous and Constitutional Sovereignty at Risk — at 5 p.m. PST on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Tokata will host, and I’ll be joined by our legal team to share our perspectives. Please become a Lakota Law member (for just $10 — the price of one fancy coffee!) to take part in this important discussion. 

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The invasions of left-leaning U.S. cities are not happening in a vacuum. The troops are there to accomplish three things. They’re enforcing the Trump administration’s racist and inhumane immigration policies, and they’re providing a means of distraction — a way to keep the American people from addressing, or even seeing, the corruption, grift, and scandal that should be synonymous with this version of the executive branch. 

Perhaps most importantly, they’re sending a clear message that resistance, dissent, and demonstration — cornerstone First Amendment rights of our constitutional republic — will not be tolerated. Last week, Trump codified this ethos by issuing a national security memorandum that further erodes the rights of all U.S. citizens. It seeks to label those questioning the policies and methodologies of the administration as domestic terrorists — familiar territory from where I sit, as it’s exactly what happened to me and my family at Standing Rock in 2017.

The (same old) cavalry is coming, and I suggest that should be of comfort to absolutely nobody. In our homelands, it started with Custer, whom some descendants of the original immigrant settlers still love to exult and celebrate as a hero. In reality, he was a butcher of noncombatants, a gutter of women, children, and elders. His armed compatriots then earned Congressional Medals of Honor for doing the same to Native People who believed the Ghost Dance (incorporating elements of Christ consciousness) might bring about much needed shifts for our human family.

Fast forward 135 years, and our nation and our world are still badly in need of such a shift. Once again, large swathes of the population have bought into a mythology foisted upon them by the nefarious agents of the blood profiteer war machine — the main beneficiaries of government largess — at the continued expense of life, liberty, and happiness.

Many more of us are waking up to the reality that this is it; we must engage with everything we have in the existential battle to preserve our constitutional, civil, and human rights. It’s time to unite and fight! So, my relative, I hope I’ll see you on Oct. 29 to talk more about what we can and will do together to protect our sovereignty.

Wopila tanka — thank you for fighting for justice!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. Please join us as a Lakota Law member today and join us on Zoom on Oct. 29 for this important online conversation!

****Please take note of the complete shift in the political landscape. It is no longer left versus right. What is happening now is the total corruption and collapse of government. The U.S. experiment in democracy is over. The U.S. government is sponsoring and supporting genocide in Gaza. The prior and the current administration is complicit. Remember this in your discussions. RM

National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors

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Lakota Law

September 30th, 2025

Today’s National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors is another solemn reminder of how we acknowledge and learn from the past. The National Day of Remembrance began in Canada and is acknowledged in the States to honor the generations of Native and First Nations children forcibly removed from their homes to be sent to boarding and residential schools. Many of these institutions were government funded and many were church funded, but all were responsible for the oppression of Indigenous culture, language, and spirits. 

And still — last week — we were given another reminder that those at the federal level continue to deny the truth. This past Thursday, as reported on our Last Real Indians Native News Desk, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers who were awarded Medals of Honor for their 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee of nearly 300 Lakotas — including defenseless women and children — will keep them. Hegseth’s announcement, made on X, followed a review requested by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2024. 

Read on LRI: Here’s the Wounded Knee Memorial on the Pine Ridge Reservation, located where more than 250 Lakota women, children, and men were killed by the U.S. military on December 29, 1890.

Many tribal leaders and organizations issued statements condemning the announcement, largely pointing out that the decision is not reflective of real American history — nor our shared values. People are simply asking for a correction in awarding the slaughter of women and children at Wounded Knee. This should not be a complicated issue.

Thankfully, our voices are being heard. After LRI Native News published our story on Hegseth’s announcement, Yahoo News and many others republished comments made by Lakota Law director Chase Iron Eyes. That’s important, because mainstream media often forgets to include voices from Indian Country, even on the issues that directly affect us. I see it as a simple equation: if you’re writing about a community, include that community’s voice. 

While the announcement to rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor was denied by the current administration, and though Hegseth said the decision is final, that doesn’t mean this battle is over. There are still other pathways to remove the medals from history. For instance, we can and should tell Congress to pass the Remove the Stain Act. It also took far too long to end the political imprisonment of Leonard Peltier — but through tremendous, coordinated organizing and continued discussion and pressure, we got there.

Soon, we’ll publish an op-ed on LRI Native News from South Dakota Senator Red Dawn Foster detailing the steps it took to pass the resolution in the South Dakota State Senate asking Congress to investigate the Wounded Knee Massacre and next steps we can take to rescind the medals. We’ll also have much more to say later this week on the pattern of governmental overreach currently eroding our human, civil, and constitutional rights.

Indigenous residents of Turtle Island have long known these struggles. And we also know that when things look grim, you can’t give in, give up, or lose faith. So I thank you for standing with us. Let’s keep fighting together.

Miigwech — my enduring gratitude to you as a fellow member of this movement!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Action: Save the He Sapa (Black Hills)/Protect Spearfish Canyon

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Lakota Law

It’s time, once again, to protect a sensitive ecosystem in the He Sapa (Black Hills) from mining. A few days ago, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) opened its 30-day public comment period for the Ponderosa gold mining project. If completed, this abomination will create 43 drill pads, each with the potential to wreak havoc 24 hours a day in Spearfish Canyon, a peaceful creekside and scenic byway right in our backyard.

We can’t let this happen. Please help us defend our homelands by sending your message to the USFS today. The proposed drilling project, just about a mile from a tribally-controlled area frequently used for ceremony, threatens to disrupt our way of life. Ponderosa should never endanger this beautiful area, which is also a haven for outdoor recreational activities and home to thousands of animal and plant species. 

Watch our video, then please take action to stop the Poderosa gold mining project!

I can’t thank you enough for helping to protect our homelands and sacred sites. More than a thousand Lakota Law supporters like you responded to my last call to stop drilling near Pe’ Sla. I’m hoping for an even bigger response this time!

As always when sending to the Forest Service, please make sure to include your name, clearly register your objection, and state your reasons (environmental harm, preservation of peaceful recreational activities, and respect for Native ceremonial practice are good ones). In addition, on this one, please make sure you tell the USFS to conduct a thorough environmental review and create an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

We’ve only got a few weeks to weigh in and protect Spearfish Canyon! Please send your comment today. Thank you in advance on behalf of everyone who values our natural surroundings and all of us who call this beautiful region our home.

Wopila tanka — my gratitude to you for protecting our homelands!
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

The Black Hills: Garden of Heroes?

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Lakota Law

Happy Juneteenth to all! Speaking of American racism, the domestic news cycle this past week largely focused on protests by millions nationwide against the attacks on migrant communities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (as well as President Donald Trump’s costly, sparsely attended military parade). Those are important issues, and we hope you stand with us in the ongoing fights for equity and justice — and against fascistic policies and displays.

Meanwhile, it’s also important not to overlook the myriad implications of the administration’s proposed legislative agenda, including for Native communities. Those include massive budget cuts to eliminate funding for key programs and services, and now — as I report to you on our sister site, the Last Real Indians (LRI) Native News Desk — South Dakota elected officials want to put Trump’s proposed “Garden of Heroes” on Lakota homelands in the Black Hills, without consent from Native People. 

Read on LRI: Do Native People want Trump’s Garden of Heroes in our homelands? Did anyone think to ask us?

In the story, you’ll get the gist of the proposal, and you’ll notice a vast difference in approaches toward it from South Dakota’s (white) elected officials and from Indigenous leaders. Because the Lakota have never ceded the sacred He Sapa (Black Hills) to the U.S., and because the area was stolen in violation of treaty law, one might think the elected officials would make it a priority to get thoughts — permission, even — from the land’s original inhabitants. Unfortunately, they continue to operate from a place of entitlement.

As you’re likely aware, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 45 years ago in favor of the tribes, but the Lakota have never accepted the (now more than $1 billion in) settlement money. The Black Hills are not, and never have been, for sale. As Lakota Law and Sacred Defense Fund executive director Chase Iron Eyes mentions in our story, if the federal government wants to place its garden on Lakota lands, it should return them first.

On a positive note, the garden is slated to include Indigenous representation. That, at least, is something. But, on this monumental day commemorating the end of U.S. slavery, let’s be clear that respecting the perspectives and agency of marginalized groups must also be part of the process. Now more than ever, we must keep fighting — not just for recognition, but for an inclusive and healthy path forward for all who call this place their home.

Miigwech — thank you for fighting for equity and justice!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations, Lakota People’s Law Project
Editor-In-Chief, LRI Native News Desk

Action: Protect Pé Sla

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Lakota Law

Warm greetings. Today, I share an urgent action. For many years, my family has helped lead the fight to protect Pe’ Sla, one of the most sacred places — located high in the Black Hills — to the Lakota People. In 2012, we helped make sure it returned to Indigenous care, but now it is threatened again by mining interests.

Fortunately, once again, we land defenders have the opportunity to stop the desecration of this ceremonial ground — but time is very short. May 16 — just days from now — is the deadline to tell the U.S. Forest Service it must not allow mining on this sacred ground! Please see below for the exact points to make, and I also invite you to watch my video and learn a little more about why I care so deeply about this special place.

Please watch my video, and then send your message to the Forest Service. Wopila!

Thankfully, the original May 9 deadline for comments was extended by one week — so let’s make our voices heard! We must not let the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project tear up our sacred ground in its quest for graphite.

As our dear friends at the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance (BHCWA) have pointed out, this project is immediately adjacent to — and some proposed drill pads might encroach on — Pe’ Sla. Maps are vague, but, in their words, “by any definition, the project is too close!”

BHCWA’s research tells us that “the project would involve 18 drill pads. Exploration could contaminate water in the upper Rapid Creek watershed, with some proposed drill pads very close to streams. And there is also the potential for contamination or cross-contamination of underground water sources.”

BHCWA suggests that you include the following information when you submit your comment:

  • Your name and address
  • Why you care about this project and the Black Hills
  • The name of the project (Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project #67838)
  • Request for a 60-day extension of the “scoping” public comment period, so everyone has an opportunity to comment
  • A reason why you oppose the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project. Use your own words, but two good ones are the potential negative environmental impacts and the disruption of traditional ceremonial practices for Lakotas
  • Tell the Forest Service to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project

This is an urgent request to protect sacred territory frequently used by many Lakota People for ceremonial practice. It is a pristine ecosystem and beautiful place. Please help us protect Pe’ Sla.

Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for your advocacy!
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Sugarcane: A Documentary

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You cannot watch this with a dry eye. While it focuses on one Canadian border school, you learn that there were over 400 border schools in the U.S.

There is so much healing that needs to be done.

Looking at the world today, one has to ask: When will the killing stop and the healing begin?

Return Lands

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Lakota Law

Over the past months, we’ve shared with you about our exciting partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone people of California’s Bay Area. We’ve helped the tribe create media and, together, we designed a call to action to assist the Muwekma — proud descendants of some of California’s original inhabitants — as they seek to restore their rightful status as a federally recognized tribe.

This week, we met with the Muwekma again to discuss and help amplify another of their important initiatives: namely, returning the Presidio to their caring hands. Giving this sacred and historic land back to its original stewards would be a huge win for Indigenous justice — and it’s a real possibility in this moment of change and opportunity. Please watch the new video from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, in which they lay out the reasons why it should happen.

Watch: The Muwekma Ohlone have the original right to the Presidio.

You may recall that, years ago, I helped to organize the #landback movement by calling to return the Black Hills to the Lakota. I was present at the protest action near Mount Rushmore when President Trump visited for American Independence Day during his first term. Today, we remain dedicated to the return of our own sacred lands — and we stand in strong solidarity with other Indigenous groups seeking the same.

Perhaps ironically, Trump’s return to office could present a new opportunity to achieve those goals. His administration’s efforts to gut the federal workforce, eliminate programs, and lessen the financial burden for the federal government could create openings for tribes to step into voids created around stewardship of federal lands. And while Lakota Law stands with needed federal workers who keep our society running smoothly, we also recognize Indigenous ownership and stewardship as the ultimate outcome for stolen, sacred lands.

As with many things these days, this is a rapidly evolving issue, and we’ll have more to say on it soon, including action opportunities and more messages directly from our friends at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. As always, I’m grateful for your solidarity with us and with Indigenous landback efforts across Turtle Island.

Wopila tanka — thank you for standing for the sacred.
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

LEONARD PELTIER IS HOME!

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Lakota Law

A few weeks ago, we let you know that our respected American Indian Movement (AIM) elder and activist Leonard Peltier was granted his release from federal prison after nearly 50 long years. Today, my daughter, Tokata, and I were present on the ground in Florida to witness this momentous event. Watch our new video to get more of our thoughts on what this means for our movement and what comes next.

Watch: Tokata and I discuss the significance of Leonard’s freedom.

Though former President Biden commuted his sentence, Leonard has not been granted a full pardon and remains on house arrest under the watchful eye of the federal government. If Leonard wishes it, we will remain active in helping him fully clear his name so he can live out his remaining days in true freedom. We’re so grateful to you and every one of our tens of thousands of supporters who demanded that Biden free him. And I want to credit Jenipher Jones and all the good folks at For the People, who have handled so much of the legal strategy on Leonard’s behalf.

Today, Leonard flew by private plane to his homelands among the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa on Anishinaabe territory in so-called Minnesota. This week, there will be a feed to honor him — a hero’s welcome home, thanks to our friends at NDN Collective. Our media relations director, Darren Thompson, will be onsite to report on that. We know you join us in wishing Leonard well. We’ll continue to honor his sacrifice as the USA’s (and its Native nations’) longest-serving political prisoner. 

As we shared with you a few days back, we recognize AIM’s legacy as the genesis point for the modern Indigenous justice movement. We must continue to assert and defend Indigenous sovereignty and American constitutional sovereignty as key pillars of that movement. We’ll always be grateful to stand on the shoulders of giants like Leonard, Russell Means, Dennis Banks, The Bellecourt brothers, Pat Bellanger, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Phyllis Young, and so many more.

As this week’s headlines attest, we are now in a moment when fighting for justice is all-important. Our basic freedoms are under attack — and not just ours as Indigenous people. As key government agencies are gutted, as funding for vital programs is shut off, and as airplanes crash out of the skies, we’re all affected. Thus, the lessons of the AIM era should resonate stronger than ever before: we must rally together to protect one another. We must fight to restore sanity. Stay ready. We will have much more to say about what that will look like later this week.

Wopila tanka — thank you for supporting justice!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Note: Please look back at our posts over the years when we asked for justice for Leonard. He now needs a complete pardon, and the past injustices need to be exposed.

This is a great time to shine a light on all government agencies. As you see, that is what is being done, and like peeling off a bandage, it might hurt; however, we are living through a fantastic time of exposure. Sometimes, you need to get those agencies to get rid of the entrenched corrupt officials. Prepare yourself for new people with integrity to step in—get involved in the process. We have been knee-deep in corruption for decades.

The powers we are fighting want us to view what is happening as a threat. Ask yourself who the people are who are complaining and why they are complaining and in a panic.

The Last Four Years: Remember

Lockdowns for a fake pandemic

Sudden Deaths

Endless Wars

Open Borders

Billions to support neo-Nazis

Isolation

Inflation

Mask Mandates

Genital mutilation of minors

More Wars

Supporting Genocide

Devastating Hurricanes/Wildfires/Flooding/Train derailments/Chemical plant explosions

……need I continue? It is like people think the last four years were in paradise.

Action: Tribal Recognition for the Muwekma Ohlone

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Lakota Law

A couple months back, amid the tail end of their “Trail of Truth” cross-country horseback ride to Washington, D.C., we introduced you to our partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. For decades, these relatives — some of the original peoples of California — have been denied their rightful status as a federally recognized tribe. That’s unacceptable, and so through a partnership that involves our assistance with media creation and outreach, we aim to help them right this grievous wrong.

Today I remind you that your voice is critical in helping the Muwekma restore their federal recognition. If you have not done so, please send a message to your congressional reps demanding justice for the Muwekma. While you’re at the page, please also watch the new video we produced with their cooperation and on their behalf, then share the action on your preferred social media channels.

Watch, take action, and share! It’s long past time some of California’s original peoples had their federal recognition rightfully restored.

As Muwekma Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh makes clear in the video, this is “about standing up and demanding justice for the Muwekma Ohlone.” It’s about creating a future for her people that appropriately recognizes their history — more than 10,000 years living in one of the world’s most beautiful, powerful, and wealthy places. San Francisco, the Silicon Valley, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, and I could go on and on: all of these places occupy land stolen from Ohlone ancestors. 

Restoration of federal recognition is the very least the Muwekma deserve. The tribe previously held federally recognized status under its former name — the Verona Band of Mission Indians. Though this status was never officially terminated, the Muwekma were eventually, inexplicably, left off the government’s official rolls. 

Federal recognition is tremendously important to Native People for a number of reasons. Those include access to key government funds that can provide educational opportunities for youth and elevate living conditions for entire communities, not to mention the abilities to establish new paths toward self-determination and repatriate artifacts and ancestral remains that should come home to Native care.

As Indigenous People, we understand how big a difference these things make. As I mentioned to you in our last message about the Muwekma, the horses Chairwoman Nijmeh and her companions rode those many miles came from Percy White Plume of the Horse Nation on the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation. On the rez, we know we have to stand together, now more than ever.

That’s why, under Sacred Defense Fund, Lakota Law will continue to expand its mission to create and foster partnerships that elevate voices and address concerns far beyond Lakota Country. We support sovereignty efforts across Turtle Island and justice movements worldwide. We stand for equity, and we fight for fairness. And we remain extremely grateful to you for being there with us, every step of the way.

Wopila tanka — thank you for your friendship, courage, and activism.
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. Please write your reps and demand federal recognition for the Muwekma Ohlone. Let’s show solidarity with our California relatives and keep fighting, every day, for tribal sovereignty and respect.

Lakota People’s Law Project
c/o Sacred Defense Fund
PO Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504