March 2026
In this month’s newsletter:
- Take Action
- Announcements
- Events
- News
- Online Resources
- Volunteering
TAKE ACTION
National Park Signage
The federal government is dismantling Native and Black exhibits at national parks and museums.
From:
RRB: If we care about telling accurate Native history in our National Parks, now is the time to lift our voices! See this Colorado Sun article for more information.
Please click on this link to submit comments to the Department of the Interior today. You can choose to comment about “signs and other information” about any specific site, so choose a site that is important to you. Or choose many sites and submit comments for them all. For example, one Colorado resident submitted this statement about the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site:
It is important to preserve the accurate history of Sand Creek as a massacre site, a massacre perpetrated by the US Cavalry against Native Americans (mostly the elderly, women and children). A marker referring to a supposed “Sand Creek Battleground” was removed in recent years because this was NOT a battleground, but a massacre site. This marker must not be returned to the site, as might be required by the “Secretarial Order” from the current administration. Please do not try to whitewash the history of this site. Historical accuracy is important, current political whims are not. Thank you.
RRB ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join RRB’s fundraising account with King Soopers!
Right Relationship Boulder has set up a fundraising account with King Soopers! Link your King Sooper’s Rewards Card to “Mediators Foundation” (the RRB fiscal sponsor) and King Sooper’s will donate 4% of your purchases to Right Relationship Boulder at no cost to you.
How to sign up:
- Visit: kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards
- Follow the steps to link your rewards card to Mediators Foundation
Why it matters: King Sooper’s will donate 4% of your monthly grocery purchases to RRB
EVENTS
American Indian Cultural Embassy Community Meeting
Saturday, Mar 7 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm
Register here.
Niwot Native Art Market Brings Indigenous Artistry to Niwot Hall
Sunday, March 8, 2026; starting at 11am
NIWOT, CO – Local residents and art enthusiasts are invited to experience a vibrant showcase of Indigenous culture at the Niwot Native Art Market on Sunday, March 8. Hosted at the historic Niwot Hall, the event will feature Native artists presenting a diverse range of both traditional and contemporary works.WHAT: An intimate, curated market featuring local Native artists. Attendees can explore and purchase authentic jewelry, textiles, and contemporary art directly from the creators.WHEN: Sunday, March 8, 2026 Doors Open: 11:00 AMWHERE: Niwot Hall 195 2nd Ave, Niwot, CO 80544This event is open to the public. It’s a great opportunity to support Native creators and learn about the stories behind the art.
Advocating for Native Peoples on Capitol Hill, by Rachel Overstreet (Choctaw)
Wednesday, March 18th, from 5-6:30pm PT, 6-7:30pm MT, 7-8:30pm CT, or 8-9:30pm ET.
From her Washington, DC office as the Legislative Representative for Native American Advocacy at Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL), Rachel advocates for national policies that honor tribal sovereignty, help Native communities succeed, and repair relationships between faith communities, the government, and Native peoples. Currently, her main goal is to pass legislation to create a Truth and Healing Commission on the Indian Boarding Schools.
Read her article, Speaking with Friends About Indian Boarding Schools, in the January 2026 issue of Friends Journal.
Join us for Rachel’s talk and come with your questions for her, such as: Which bills are you currently advocating for or against? How do tribal nations and organizations influence your priorities? What is your approach to legislators of both parties? How can citizens engage with law makers most effectively?
Save the Date!
Truth & Remembrance Pilgrimage at Sand Creek Massacre Site
May 22–23, 2026
Sign up here to express your interest, details forthcoming.
Offered by: The Colorado Coalition of Indigenous Allies, Every Day Epics, Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.
Sponsored by: The Episcopal Church in Colorado.
Native Voices Short Film Festival
Match 29th, 2026
3:00-5:00pm
More information here!
NEWS
Poll: Arizona voters strongly oppose proposed Oak Flat copper mine
Read more here.
Oak Flat, preparing for a sunrise dance
By: Daniel Herrera Carbajal, ICT
A new poll released by the Center for Biological Diversity shows that Arizona voters oppose the proposed copper mine at Oak Flat.
Conducted by FM3 Research, a California-based polling firm, the poll finds that almost half of likely voters are strongly opposed to the copper mine.
Two companies, Rio Tinto and BHP, want to build the Resolution Copper mine on more than 16,000 acres of Tonto National Forest and other public land about 60 miles east of Phoenix in an area known as Oak Flat, which the Apache consider to be a sacred site. The companies estimate the mine can produce as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over 40 years.
San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement that the federal government “has a trust responsibility to protect our tribal cultural and sacred sites.”
“These two mining companies have a well-documented history of knowingly destroying indigenous cultural sites and we must not allow those actions to continue in Arizona,” he said.
Washoe Tribe buys 10,000 acres in one of California’s largest ever land returns
Read more here.
The newly named Wélmelti Preserve. Photograph: Elizabeth Carmel
The Washoe Tribe has purchased more than 10,000 acres of land near Lake Tahoe for conservation in one of the largest tribal land returns in California history.
The sprawling property, located 20 miles north of Reno, Nevada, stretches from the Great Basin through the Sierra Nevada and encompasses sagebrush scrublands and juniper and pine forests.
It marks a key development for the tribe, which was forcibly removed from its lands and saw its individual allotments stolen, said the tribe’s chairperson, Serrell Smokey.
“We were told we could no longer use the land for resources or ceremony. Since that time, the land has been calling us back, and we are answering that call,” Smokey said in a statement. “This land purchase is good medicine for our people. This is a small start to healing from generations of historical trauma, and the benefits will go on for many generations to come.”
Climate Conference Videos Posted! Making History: The Leadership of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-Descendant Peoples at COP30 and the Path Forward.
From Rising Voices:
The first video is fantastic as an inspiring overview of what leaders from Indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-Descendant peoples fought for, achieved, and are striving for as a path forward. It’s a rare chance to get the specifics, and learn about what you can do to support projects, processes, and initiatives that are building steam. I might add this video is great for educational purposes, but also for policy, advocacy, and inspiration. Here’s the link
The second video includes extensive responses to several questions, getting into the details on both Indigenous climate finance and Indigenous-led economies. Super important. Here is hhe link.
Indigenous protest in the Amazon forces Brazil’s Lula to revoke waterway decree
Read more here.
SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian government said Monday it would revoke a decree signed by leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that allowed private concessions for waterways, following 33 days of protests by thousands of Indigenous people at a Cargill facility in Santarem in northern Brazil.
Jesse Jackson was a ‘powerful ally’ to Indigenous people
Read more here.
Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson often connected Black issues in the United States with Indigenous issues equating to a decades-long commitment of fighting for Indian Country
Despite recent gains, tribal citizens descended from slaves face disparate treatment
Read more here.
MCLOUD, Okla. (AP) — Tribal citizens whose Black ancestors were enslaved by citizens of several tribal nations in Oklahoma are starting to see more inclusive access to Native American health care, education and other social services, but barriers remain.
Federal and tribal agencies have worked in recent years to clarify eligibility requirements and train on-the-ground staff. But a report released by the Government Accountability Office ahead of Black History Month shows there is more work to be done when it comes to the treatment of Freedmen descendants.
The COVID-19 pandemic helped to lift the veil on what longtime activist Marilyn Vann called disparate treatment of the descendants. She pointed to high-profile cases in which people were denied vaccines and financial aid while the virus was surging.
“Certainly there are more doors open now, but that doesn’t undo the harm,” Vann said, adding that a “chilling effect” prevents many Freedmen descendants from seeking out services they’re entitled to.
New Videos: Native Memory Project
New buffalo videos are posted
Little reservation’ in Minneapolis held its breath amid immigration crackdown
Read more here.
The Little Earth Native housing complex became the target of federal immigration enforcement efforts during immigration surge in January and early February.
Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the US
Read more here.
Faron Houle, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, speaks about applying for tribal identification at a pop-up event in Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet.
Some strangers mistake the pest-control company manager for Latino, he said, and he fears getting caught up in ICE raids.
Like Mantz, many Native Americans are carrying tribal documents proving their U.S. citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents. This is why dozens of the 575 federally recognized Native nations are making it easier to get tribal IDs. They’re waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility — ranging from 5 to 18 nationwide — and printing the cards faster.
It’s the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of U.S. citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, said David Wilkins, an expert on Native politics and governance at the University of Richmond.
Ute Indian Tribe says a top state lawmaker meddled when it tried to buy back land
Read more here.
By: Annie Knox, Utah News Dispatch
A tribe alleges a top state lawmaker plotted with other officials to block it from buying a swath of mountain wilderness that is part of its ancestral land and popular with hunters.
The Ute Indian Tribe sued the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration and several state officials in 2023, saying the tribe’s bid of nearly $47 million was the highest “legitimate” bid for the Tabby Mountain lands spanning about 45 square miles in eastern Utah.
The tribe said in court filings it “was rejected only because of racial discrimination.” The trust land agency ultimately decided in 2019 not to sell the land to anyone.
An updated lawsuit filed in November names House Speaker Mike Schultz as a defendant, along with more than a dozen other current and former state officials. The suit alleges Schultz worked with fellow state lawmakers and officials at SITLA and the Utah Department of Natural Resources to keep the land in state hands and to pass a new law “in retaliation” against the tribe.
LIVE in Mni Sóta Makoce for Memorial Honoring Renée Good
Recording here.
Wokiksuye means in Remembrance and Witness in Lakota – please join First Peoples of Mni Sóta Makoce for an official public memorial ceremony in collaboration with the Good family.
We ask that you continue to uplift community-led solutions and the good work being done across Turtle Island to keep each other safe. Including but not limited to plugging into a Tribal ID card registration event, hosting a Know Your Rights ICE training, providing grocery delivery to impacted families, taking part in ICE patrols in your community, and raising donations for gas/food cards for those holding the line.
ICE has locked up 3,800 children in ICE concentration camps since 2025. Lives are being taken within detention, including Mariee Juares (18 mo), Wilme Ramirez (2 yrs), Anadith Reyes (8 yrs), and Darlyn Cristabel (10 yrs). Children do not belong in government detention camps and are meant to be safe with their families. We ask you to please keep the families, children, and communities directly impacted by this ICE occupation in your prayers.
Listen to the recording of statements provided by the Good family, local community leaders, organizers, poets, artists, and more!
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (All Are Related), NDN Collective
Online Resources
Truth, Restoration, and Education Reports (TREC)
https://www.peopleofthesacredland.org/trec-reports
The Truth, Restoration & Education Commission, led by the People of the Sacred Land in Colorado, has been examining the legal and political pasts of the state’s tribes, with a focus on restoring the status of tribal nations. In one of the final reports, the commission reveals a history of genocide, land grab, theft in perpetuity and the elimination of Tribal Sovereignty in Colorado, and recommends actions for restoration and reparations.
First Nations’ colleague and People of the Sacred Land President Rick Williams (Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne) tells CBS News, “We would like to see the state of Colorado and the federal government own their responsibility for restoring justice to Indian people in Colorado. It isn’t doing land acknowledgments…. It’s about helping us protect sacred sites. It’s about trying to find ways to maybe bring these people home.” See the 3 min. interview and article