Welcome to The Weekly.This week, we’re dedicating the newsletter to ICT’s coverage marking the 10th anniversary of the Standing Rock movement, a defining moment in modern Indigenous activism that united Native communities and allies from around the world. Through firsthand reflections, historical analysis, legal updates and reporting on the movement’s lasting impact, we look back at the legacy of #NoDAPL and the ways its influence continues to shape Indigenous advocacy today.
‘The cavalry’s coming!’: Indigenous activism from 1492 to Standing Rock
Famed Indigenous activists like Leonard Peltier and Madonna Thunder Hawk and younger activists shared their thoughts with ICT about the evolution of Indigenous activism from the rise of the American Indian Movement in the 1960s to Standing Rock and beyond. READ MORE →
How social media amplified the Standing Rock movement
Social media pushed Standing Rock’s message from on-the-ground efforts and communication to international awareness, redefining Indigenous narratives.READ MORE →
Standing Rock 10 years later: ‘We still have a lot of unknowns’The fight continues on in court a decade after protests began over the controversial construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. READ MORE →
A decade after Standing Rock, contentious segment of Dakota Access oil pipeline gets OKThe announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely. READ MORE →
Standing Rock: ‘It felt like every Indigenous person was there’Water protectors who answered the call to Standing Rock reflect on the community, courage and Indigenous solidarity that defined a historic movement.READ MORE →
Standing Rock: ‘A sense of community’Those who gathered at Standing Rock recall a movement rooted in prayer, community and collective action that continues to shape Indigenous advocacy today.READ MORE →
NEWSCAST: #NoDAPL Movement 10 Years LaterThe ICT Newscast for Friday, May 1, 2026, covers the 10th anniversary of Standing Rock, an MMIP advocacy group on wheels and two Pawnee artists/comedians.WATCH NOW→ Your support keeps Indigenous stories alive.We rely on readers like you to continue this work. When you give to ICT, you are supporting independent Indigenous journalism and helping ensure these stories are told with accuracy, care, and accountability.Donate now!
Please take a few moments to see this in-depth interview that I did with Mvskoke Media, the news site for the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma. We discuss Tribal mapping, historic and present-day Tribes in Oklahoma and beyond, and perceptions of history from a Native perspective. Please share this freely !
To check out our work at Tribal Nations Maps, please go to:
This administration has put two things on a fast track to destruction. The hot button war over Iran’s uranium destroys peace and prosperity. The rush to mine Black Hills uranium destroys people and the sacred. Both are based on manufactured crisis. Both bypass democratic oversight. Both are moving at the speed of executive commands because if either one slowed down long enough for the people to really weigh in, the answer would be no.
Congress never authorized the war in Iran. They voted four times so far and failed to stop it. The Lakota people never consented to uranium extraction from treaty land. We’ve fought it for over 20 years and we’re still fighting. Today’s fresh Hell we are forced to face down: the Dewey-Burdock uranium project, 50 miles from Pine Ridge, in the aquifer above our reservation. It was just put on Trump’s emergency federal fast-track permitting dashboard with a mere thirty-day review period starting last week.
The BLM’s draft Environmental Assessment that is supposed to protect the public was prepared under executive pressure to compress review timelines from years to weeks. It defers most of its analysis to a 12-year-old study. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty is mentioned zero times. The Programmatic Agreement resolving cultural harm to Lakota sacred sites won’t even be executed until six weeks after the comment period closes. That is not environmental review, that is a forced march.
The fast track to war bypassed Congress. The fast track to extraction bypassed the treaty. In the end, the only force that can sideline this runaway train is the consent of the governed. Here is what you can do right now:
First: Tell Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum directly. We need him to reverse the Pe’ Sla drilling permit, pull Dewey-Burdock off the fast-track program, and suspend all extractive permits on treaty lands until real consultation and a full environmental review are done. Use our existing action page. It’s fast and easy to make all three demands in one customizable letter to Burgum online here.
Remember, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty is the law of this land. Emergency orders don’t override it. Executive dashboards don’t override it. Your voice will have the final say. Use it.
Wopila tanka – In solidarity and struggle, Chase Iron Eyes Executive Director Lakota People’s Law Project Sacred Defense Fund
I oppose approval of the Dewey-Burdock Uranium ISR Plan of Operations (DOI-BLM-MT-C040-2026-0009-EA) and urge the BLM to withhold approval until a full, lawful review is completed. This draft Environmental Assessment is legally compromised on multiple grounds: it asks the public to comment before the Programmatic Agreement resolving cultural harm to Lakota sacred sites is executed, inverting the Section 106 process required by the National Historic Preservation Act; it analyzes only 4.2 acres while ignoring the 10,580-acre uranium operation those acres exist to enable, in violation of NEPA’s prohibition on project segmentation; it uses pre-existing groundwater contamination as a reason to minimize further harm to the same aquifer that flows toward Pine Ridge Reservation; and it contains no environmental justice analysis for the Native communities most at risk. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, which governs the United States’ relationship to these lands, is mentioned zero times. I urge the BLM to extend the comment period, prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement, conduct meaningful government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and withhold approval until all legal requirements are met.
Lakota People’s Law Project P.O. Box 27 Santa Fe, NM 87504 United States
“So what has the past year been like for the 81-year-old who spent 49 years and two months behind bars?
In an interview with ICT this week, Peltier said life has been pretty good since being released following former President Biden’s decision to grant him clemency as he was leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025.”
Click the link to read more. When he was set free it was the best news I had all year.
*Please note. I have not posted as much lately because I am raising chickens and taking care of my property by myself. I have turned to using most of my time offline. Too much technical interference going on. Most of you know what I mean. Leonard is a free man. I am freeing myself from technical slavery. I will now post maybe once or twice a month.
A very happy New Year from all of us at Lakota Law! Our team thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for your good spirit and support throughout 2025. This year’s theme seemed to be great change amidst new leadership. Heads of state here and abroad instituted violent policies and practices which caused great upheaval and disrupted too many lives. But, with your help, Lakota Law modeled a different way of doing things. Together with you, in our own first year of full Indigenous leadership, we fought back.
Your friendship supported our relentless battle against human and constitutional rights violations and helped grow our Sacred Defense legal team, work, and programming. Your good will helped build increased solidarity with Indigenous people and movements with sovereign Native nations. A big wopila to you for making these things possible! Now, if you can donate one more time before the end of the tax year, you’ll help empower our communities and campaigns in 2026 and the years to come!
As the sun sets on 2025, let’s rise again together in 2026!
In 2025, you helped us make a difference by supporting sovereignty in Hawaii and amplifying the need for disaster relief in Alaska. You empowered our creation of the “Original Homegrowns” series of videos, detailing attacks on Indigenous people — not just those crossing borders, but those born right here. And you sent thousands of messages to state leaders to stop construction of new detention camps for migrants.
You helped us provide valuable media support to Elaine Miles, a respected Native actor harassed by ICE agents near her homelands in the Pacific Northwest. And — in the wake of a horrific family tragedy resulting from the negligence of the state’s foster care system — supporters like you sent thousands of emails to the Arizona State Senate, inspiring its unanimous vote to create Emily’s Law. Arizona’s new “turquoise alert” system will now help keep Indigenous people, particularly vulnerable young ones, safer.
Additionally, you helped us increase our programming under the wider Sacred Defense umbrella, particularly with the rebrand and relaunch of our Last Real Indians Native News Desk. With a limited staff, we’ve already become a go-to Indian Country news outlet, with several stories republished in major media. In 2026, we’ll expand our staff, coverage, media partnerships, and reach.
A special thanks to all who joined Lakota Law’s membership circle this year and attended our membership events, including our Sacred Summer series. Lakota Law membership is now at an all-time high of more than 2,500 people! We can’t wait to engage further with you in the year to come, continue to demonstrate the power of Indigenous leadership, and take our work together to new heights.
Wopila tanka — thank you for making good things happen with us! Chase Iron Eyes Executive Director Lakota People’s Law Project Sacred Defense Fund
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!
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!
Water is Life 