This article originates from this NDN Collective press release on November 21, 2024.
These 21 NDN Changemakers are Indigenous organizers, activists, social entrepreneurs and cultural practitioners throughout Turtle Island and beyond who are challenging the status quo and building a better future for all people and Mother Earth.
Rapid City, SD – Today, NDN Collective announces the 2024/26 NDN Changemaker Fellowship Cohort, a two-year fellowship consisting of 21 Indigenous leaders from throughout Turtle Island and beyond who are radically transforming Indigenous communities by defending Indigenous lands, waters, and rights; developing solutions for the future that regenerate the health of the Earth and our communities; and revitalizing our languages, governance practices, ceremonies, and ways of life. They are organizers, activists, social entrepreneurs and cultural practitioners who are challenging the status quo and building a better future for all people and Mother Earth.
“Although this is our fifth year offering the Changemaker Fellowship opportunity, this year marks the first time that NDN is conducting the Fellowship over a two-year time period,” said Serene Lawrence, Program Officer at NDN Collective. “By increasing our investment in the wellness and growth of Indigenous community members, our hope is that these individuals, their families and their communities will feel a greater scope of impact as a result of NDN’s support.”
Each fellow was uplifted and selected by grassroots members of their region in a process which involved nearly 500 applicants from 21 different regions across the colonial nation-states of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. including its surrounding Island nations.
“Learning about the many amazing changemakers throughout Turtle Island and Island Nations has been an incredible experience. Each application added a vibrant color to the future Indigenous leaders are building with their communities,” said Helen Aldana, Program Officer at NDN Collective. “We are honored to be a part of the 2024 – 2026 Changemakers’ journey as they take this time to invest in their personal and professional development to grow into the leaders they envision being for their community, their ancestors past and future, and Mother Earth.”
2024/26 NDN Changemaker Fellows
- Yazmín Novelo (Pueblo Maya Yucateco)
- Shelly Boyd (Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Colville Confederated Tribes)
- Rosalía Pablo Juárez (Pueblo Triqui)
- Octavio Domínguez Rosas (Indígena nahua)
- Ivy Richardson (Quatsino First Nation)
- Guadalupe Tzopitl Montalvo (indígena nawa)
- Elvia Villani Catalán (Me´phaa)
- Brook Thompson (Yurok & Karuk)
- Bibi Naniki Reyes Ocasio (Boricua Original Peoples of Boriken, Taino)
- Angelina Garcia (Xicana/Caxcan)
- Amy Stiffarm (Aaniiih (Whiteclay), Chippewa Cree, Blackfeet)
- Ayyu Qassataq (Iñupiaq, Yup’ik and adopted Lingit)
- Breanna Lameman (Diné)
- Demian Lawrenchuk (Inniniw (swampy Cree))
- Diana Ooleepeeka Neill-Anawak (Inuk, Nunavut Land Claim (Inuit Nunangat)
- Elisha Ieshontenhawe King (Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk)- Akwesasne)
- Emma Perez (Chamorro of the Mariana Islands)
- Imaikalani Winchester (Kanaka Maoli)
- Kwahará:ni Jacobs (Registered Mohawk of Kahnawà:ke)
- Rosa King (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
- Kawennahente Toni Cook (Akwesasne Mohawk)
