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Looking back on 2022, Indigenous Peoples Power Project, our staff, board, and training network are grateful for the opportunity to be in community, in ceremony, and in solidarity with so many great people working hard to make our planet a better place. Having been met with many challenges in 2022 and amid a global pandemic, our goal was to stay connected to those on the frontlines, to offer support and resources to our most vulnerable, and with your support we are excited to share our accomplishments and the relationships we’ve built in the last year. None of this would be possible without you.

IP3 Hires Communications Coordinator

As a relatively young and growing 501c3 organization at the start of 2022 with a two person all Indigenous staff, IP3 started the year by hiring a full time Communications Coordinator to assist in our internal and external communications efforts. We’ll spare you the techie stuff but are happy to report that we’ve built a solid communications infrastructure that utilizes new and emerging technologies to help in our daily tasks. These include Microsoft Exchange, Slack, Monday.com, Bloomerang, MyCloud file server and a variety of other tools to assist our staff working remotely on the backend, as well as technologies on our website, social media, creative marketing, video, and graphic design tools to tell our stories, and help in our outreach efforts on the frontend. These platforms have set us up for long-term success and will help us grow well into the future.

SKODOODISDEN Virtual Action Camp

With our communications infrastructure in place, and Covid-19 restrictions keeping us from our in-person action camps, IP3 hosted our first ever virtual action camp in January 2022. This consisted of a variety of online training sessions with a focus on Creative Resistance, and also included Sovereignty 101, Body Sovereignty & Consent Culture, Restorative Justice, Somatics, Food Sovereignty, Black Indigenous Liberation, NVDA 101, and was attended by nearly 200 participants and presenters through five days of action. This put us in the unique position to offer alternative training sessions outside of Nonviolent Direct Action, Climbing, and Blockades that we hold during our in-person training camps, and to make amazing connections with Indigenous leaders and changemakers across Turtle Island.

IP3 SHOP

In collaboration with artists and trainers in the IP3 network, we launched the IP3 SHOP, an e-commerce platform that offers a variety of items from hoodies, t-shirts, hats, backpacks, and accessories as an alternative fundraising source to help fund IP3 programs, trainings, and curriculum. This was a major undertaking that included integrating artist designs and apparel, product selection, vendor relations, and integration into the IP3 website. Aside from providing additional funding into our training programs, the IP3 shop has been an effective way to expand our messaging, outreach, and engagement.

Skoden Talks w/ The Homies New Host, Sage Chanell

In 2022, we brought our live interview series, “Skoden Talks With The Homies” back on a regular monthly rotation with the help of our new host, Sage Chanell, a former Miss International Two Spirit, and co-chair of the Central Oklahoma Two Spirit Society and mentor of the Oklahoma Youth Two Spirit Program. The show is a casual conversation on Instagram Live with Indigenous leaders from across Turtle Island and beyond doing amazing work to uplift and empower others while building a better future for generations to come. Additionally, through this platform, we help highlight ongoing work of Indigenous communities in such areas of Climate justice, Restorative Justice, Gender visibility, Political organizing, media representation, and cultural livelihood. You can find our “Skoden Talks With The Homies” interviews rebroadcasted on IP3’s YouTube channel.

IP3 / Mosquito Fleet Kayaktivist Training for Trainers

During the summer of 2022, Indigenous Peoples Power Project partnered with Mosquito Fleet to host our first Kayaktivist T4T, to offer Indigenous communities the tools to prepare the next wave of climate justice activists on the water. Mosquito Fleet is a regional network of paddlers, sailors, and community activists fighting for climate justice and a fossil free environment through creative on water direct action and grassroots movement building. Due to the amazing response and participation of the camp, IP3 looks forward to adding Kayaktivist Training as an annual training track for years to come.

Save the C’waam & Koptu / Klamath River

In early summer of 2022, IP3 received a training request from Klamath tribal community members to participate in a Creative Resistance training and rally in support of Klamath nations defending endangered fish, the C’waam and Koptu, and the now toxic waters of the Klamath Basin. After more than a century since its damming, and decades of direct action by the Karuk, Yurok, Hupa to restore their once pristine homelands, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved the dam removal project that could restore hundreds of miles of habitat for the fish and ecosystems that have flourished within it. Once complete, it will be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in United States history. While we wait on the details and dates of the removal project, we remain hopeful that this marks the beginning of a new relationship between tribal communities and the federal government, and what we can accomplish when we work together for the greater good.

IP3 Climb Training for Trainers

Early in 2022, Indigenous Peoples Power Project was able to secure our own climbing gear and equipment and during the Fall, and in partnership with Greenpeace, were able to host our inaugural Climbing T4T to provide continuing training and education for IP3 network climb trainers. From this training, we were able to scale up the skillsets of ten Indigenous trainers furthering their preparedness to respond to ongoing community training requests. This training for trainers was held at the Greepeace warehouse in Oakland, California.

IP3 Hires Project Assistant

With an influx of non-violent direct action training requests in 2022 and as our administrative needs grew, we were excited to welcome our new project assistant, Sam Suarez to the IP3 staff. Having participated in IP3 action camps since 2018, Sam grew into a senior trainer role and has participated in many trainings, actions camps, and direct action campaigns. At the start of 2022, they were a trainer in three sessions of Creative Resistance during our SKODOODISDEN Virtual Action Camp, and have since played an instrumental role in organizing IP3 trainings and events. Between their role as a trainer in the IP3 network and assisting our Executive Director, Asa Wright in daily administrative functions, they have assisted in grant writing, outreach, and facilitating our work with IP3 partners, collaborators and sponsors. We are grateful for their work, and for their commitment to Indigenous communities in their neighborhood and across Turtle Island.

Heartbeat of the Homelands Climate Justice Map

Upon attending the Greenpeace Data Activist Co-Op in late May, early June, we came away with the knowledge and tools to incorporate GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and mapping as an additional resource to highlight climate issues affecting Indigenous communities. In the initial planning phase of the project, we found that many similar projects are heavily science and data driven and lacked Indigenous Knowledge as their foundation. Working in Indigenous climate justice, we recognize that Indigenous Knowledge is the solution to climate change, and our approach with this project is to raise Indigenous voices as a tool for non-Indigenous organizations and the world to adopt Indigenous frameworks as a key element to climate change. This is a new and ongoing project that will grow as our network grows, and as we receive training requests from Indigenous communities dealing with the effects of climate change in their perspective regions.

International Indigenous Youth Council Art Action Mural

In collaboration with International Indigenous Youth Council Los Angeles Chapter, Meztli Projects, AF3FIRM, NDN Collective, Extinction Rebellion Youth LA, Extinction Rebellion LA, White People for Black Lives, and many individual artists, activists, and organizers, and in honor of Native American Heritage Month, IP3 was invited to take part in the art mural action, “Free the River, Heal the Land.” This Indigenous led art action mural was organized to bring immediate attention to the harm the city and county of so-called Los Angeles are doing to the water and the lands, with the goal to remind the city and its residents that the village of Yaanga has always been here. IP3 is honored to be invited into these spaces and in solitary with organizations and communities doing this important work and looks forward to future collaborations with IIYC through 2023 and beyond.

IP3 Finds New Home at Green Anchors PDX

After a series of challenges and break-ins at our offices downtown Portland, IP3 is excited to announce our relocation to a new headquarters at Green Anchors PDX, a 7 acre eco-industrial park with green and creative tendencies situated on the north shore of the Willamette River near the St. Johns Bridge. This is the location where we held our Kayaktivist Camp during the summer of 2022, and where activists gathered just 7 short years prior in an aerial and river blockade, putting themselves in the way of the Arctic-bound oil drilling ship, the Fennica. Our new building is tucked away securely near the back of the property, and offers parking, a green space, beautiful views of the St. Johns Bridge, and plenty of space for us to grow for years to come.

IP3 “Calling Our Spirits” Gathering & Retreat

To celebrate a successful year of work and community, IP3 gathered with our staff, board, trainers, and guests at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Occidental, California to cultivate a shared vision for IP3’s work in 2023. Our goals for this retreat were to offer space for healing, to hold space for grief, reconnection, ceremony, song, dance, and delicious food as a way to bring our people back together after a long absence through Covid-19. Besides just sharing good energy with amazing people, we participated in daily activities that included peacemaking, somatics, anti-oppressive facilitation and more, and are beyond grateful for all who shared their time and energy with us. We hope this time offered some much needed rest and relaxation for all who attended.

Looking Forward in 2023

Working through many challenges our communities and organization faced in 2022, Indigenous Peoples Power Project is excited and ready to work hard for The People in 2023. Despite these hardships, we are grateful for our ability to adapt, for the opportunity to be in community with those we serve, and to fight another day. We recognize that the change we seek takes an entire village and know that when we work together, we can achieve our ancestors greatest dreams. As we’ve grown, so too have the requests for training we’ve received from tribal nations all across Turtle Island and beyond. With your continued support, we are aligned to make a difference in these communities, to help heal Mother Earth, and support Indigenous communities taking action in defense of their homelands. We extend our gratitude for sharing space with us, and offer continued prayers for those in need. We look forward to building with you all in 2023.

In Solidarity,

Indigenous Peoples Power Project