Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day

RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY

THRIVING PEOPLES.
THRIVING PLACES.

With its history rooted in the 1977 United Nations Geneva Conference, where the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was first introduced, Indigenous Peoples' Day on Turtle Island is now celebrated and recognized by over 50 cities and states in the U.S. each year on the second Monday in October.

Every day — and especially today — Nia Tero recognizes the significance of honoring the land of the Coast Salish peoples where many of our team members live and work.

In partnership with Amplifier design lab, we launched Thriving Peoples. Thriving Places. campaign in August 2021 on International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. This campaign is a timely reflection and embodiment of the focus of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held soon in Glasgow on October  31 – November 12, 2021, when leadership from across the globe will come together with the purpose of collectively tackling climate change. 

On October 11th, tune in and stream KEXP.org / 90.3 FM for a full day of Indigenous Peoples' Day programming - music, interviews, and stories from Indigenous peoples all over the world.

Over the next year, we will continue to introduce you to Indigenous women in leadership from across the world who have made significant contributions to Indigenous rights and guardianship. With that, we are thrilled to uplift Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Kanaka) and Natalie Ball (Black, Modoc, Klamath) through the Thriving Peoples. Thriving Places. campaign. 

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Kanaka) (affectionately known as Kumu Hina) is a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner and filmmaker who uses digital media to protect and perpetuate Indigenous languages and traditions. She began her film work as a protagonist and educational advisor for the award winning films Kumu Hina and A Place in the Middle, and received a National Education Association Human Rights Award, Native Hawaiian Educator of the year and White House Champion of Change for the groundbreaking impact campaigns associated with those films. Continuing her journey to the other side of the lens, Kumu Hina produced the PBS/ARTE feature documentary Leitis in Waiting and award-winning short Lady Eva about her transgender sisters in the Kingdom of Tonga. Hina is also a transgender health advocate, burial council chair, candidate for the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and composer of “Ku Haaheo E Kuu Hawaii,” the internationally known anthem for the protection of Mauna Kea. She is a 2020-2021 Native Stand fellow with Nia Tero. 

Natalie Ball (Black, Modoc, and Klamath) was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She has a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Ethnic Studies and Art from the University of Oregon. She furthered her education in New Zealand at Massey University where she attained her Master’s degree, focusing on Indigenous contemporary art. Ball then relocated to her ancestral homelands to raise her three children. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including the Half Gallery, NY; Vancouver Art Gallery, BC; Blum & Poe, LA; Portland Art Museum, OR; Gagosian, NY; Seattle Art Museum, WA; Almine Rech Gallery, FR; and SculptureCenter, NY. Natalie attained her M.F.A. degree in Painting & Printmaking at Yale School of Art in 2018. She is the recipient of the 2021 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation’s Oregon Native Arts Fellowship, 2020 Bonnie Bronson Award, 2020 Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2019 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and the 2018 Betty Bowen Award from the Seattle Art Museum. She is a 2021-2022 PNW Arts Fellow with Nia Tero.

Both Hina and Natalie exemplify the ideals of guardianship, kinship, reciprocity, and wisdom. Their voices, work, and leadership benefit not only their own peoples and communities, but all of us who share this planet — which is why now, more than ever, we must celebrate them, listen to them, and most importantly, follow their lead.

Help us spread the word! There is a role for YOU to play on Indigenous Peoples' Day:  

• Learn about and uphold the work of Indigenous leaders featured here
• Download portraits of these leaders to post on social media
• Share their stories widely today with hashtags #ThrivingPeoplesThrivingPlaces #IndigenousPeoplesDay2021
  #IPD2021 #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousRights
• And learn whose Indigenous homelands you’re on at native-land.ca