Justice for the Lakota People

We partner with the Lakota to help renew Indigenous culture and secure Native autonomy and self-determination.

Photo by Aaron Huey
Write Your Representative

Take Action to Stop KXL

Tell the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to investigate Trump's continued fast-tracking of pipelines through Indian Country. Your voice can help stop the desecration of sacred land and water.

Ongoing Campaigns

Dedicated to reversing the slow genocide of the Lakota People and destruction of their culture, the Lakota People’s Law Project partners with Native communities to protect sacred lands, safeguard human rights, promote sustainability, reunite indigenous families, and much more.

Long-Term Partners

For over a decade we’ve been standing strong with the Lakota to end the long history of treaty violations and systemic corruption that has resulted in the loss of their most sacred lands and the epidemic of children being removed from their families and traditions.

Trump Declares Public Assistance Disaster for the Oglala Lakota Nation

We did it! In just one day, more than 1,100 of you sent a letter to President Trump telling him to declare a public assistance disaster for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The White House listened, and now the tribe will receive FEMA assistance that can help rebuild Pine Ridge.

Justice for Clarence Leading Fighter

On Apr. 14, a 32-year old Lakota man named Clarence Leading Fighter was shot twice and killed by a Rushville, Nebraska sheriff’s deputy in the doorway of a Catholic Church. Now, an eye witness has disputed police accounts of the shooting, saying that Leading Fighter was already incapacitated when he was shot. Sign onto our action demanding a federal investigation.

Santa Cruz Screening of Warrior Women

The Lakota People's Law Project proudly presents a Santa Cruz screening of the award-winning documentary, Warrior Women, with special guest Madonna Thunder Hawk on Mar. 15 at the Resource Center for Nonviolence.

LPLP and Nathan Phillips Respond to Flawed Investigative Report

The report seeks to minimize student culpability ahead of a lawsuit filing against the Washington Post. It fails to tell the whole story.

MSNBC and PRI Report on Native Voter Suppression in North Dakota and Our Work at Standing Rock

The Lakota People’s Law Project, Four Directions, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are mounting a ground campaign to enroll Native voters before the the election and to make sure they get to the polls on election day. In our new video, you’ll see our team on the ground, making a difference. As the election approaches, we’ll continue to increase our presence so we can make the biggest impact possible on Nov. 5.

Video and Resources: You CAN Vote in North Dakota

North Dakota’s new voter ID law means that many of North Dakota’s tribal residents need new identification in order to vote. This page can help you get a new ID, official papers, and a ride to the polls. You can vote this November. Click to see a video message from Standing Rock elder Phyllis Young and the number to call for voter assistance.

Video: Legal Tools from Standing Rock

In our new video, chief counsel Daniel Sheehan details how our legal strategy and the evidence we collected for the Chase Iron Eyes trial can help other pipeline protesters understand and expose the tactics of police, oil companies, and militarized security firms. We’re compiling and making these tools available to anyone arrested for protecting sacred land and water.

Press Release: All Serious Charges Dropped Against Iron Eyes

Read our press release detailing victory in our legal defense of Chase Iron Eyes. North Dakota prosecutors dropped both serious charges against Chase—alleged criminal trespass and incitement of a riot. Many thanks to all the kind and generous supporters who made this victory possible!

Protect Free Speech: Tell Trump, We Are Not Terrorists

Policies violating the constitutional rights of activists and Indigenous people must end. Tell the president and his allies to stop treating demonstrators like terrorists. Please watch our video and sign our letter to Trump—then share it with your networks to ensure our voices are heard loud and clear.

Milestones in Landmark Trial

Three short videos give you insight into critical developments occurring during the Chase Iron Eyes #NoDAPL case. Despite constant obstruction by prosecutors and opposing counsel, our team creates valuable records during discovery that will live in the public record to assist future water and land protectors. Chase's trial may be over, but we continue to stand in solidarity with activists everywhere. We'll never slow down in our mission to expose the truth.

Update: Standing Rock #GreenTheRez Campaign—12,000 petitions and counting!

Standing Rock is the third poorest community in the United States, and yet its people pay some of the highest electricity rates in the Dakotas. Watch this video to learn about progress in our campaign to #GreenTheRez and gain energy sovereignty for Standing Rock!

Protect Water, Take the #NestlePledge

Nestle, the world's largest food and beverage company, hoards water from sensitive ecosystems and makes billions in profit as disaster capitalists. Take our #NestlePledge and join the movement to #BoycottNestle and ALL its products. Signify to Nestle that #WaterIsLife. You can learn more about the history of Nestle’s unethical and predatory business practices here.

Power of Partnership

LPLP organizer Phyllis Young goes to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to network with luminaries who can help #GreenTheRez. Phyllis and Chase Iron Eyes discuss the power that partnerships with MIT, tribal leadership, and LPLP supporters like you give to the movement for energy sovereignty at Standing Rock.

State Must Hand Over Withheld Evidence in Iron Eyes Case

At a crucial hearing during the Chase Iron Eyes #NoDAPL trial, Judge Lee Christofferson admonishes the North Dakota state’s prosecutor for withholding evidence. The judge also grants Chase Iron Eyes' legal team authority to subpoena Tiger Swan, the private military security firm hired by Energy Transfer Partners. To learn more, watch the video below!

Sign the Petition to #GreenTheRez

Your voice supports energy independence for Standing Rock and sustainable solutions that can make the Dakotas greener and cleaner. Statewide renewable standards and incentives for green projects can move the Dakotas, which still rely on coal for 70 percent of their energy, away from dependence on fossil fuels. Renewable energy can deliver reasonable rates and local tribal control over the power supply to Standing Rock.

#DropDAPLCharges for Water Protectors

Leaked documents reveal that a private security firm hired by DAPL parent company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) targeted, surveilled, and provoked the peaceful and prayerful water protectors at Standing Rock. Sign the petition asking North Dakota to drop all charges against the peaceful and prayerful water protectors of Standing Rock.

Pipeline Battle Shifts to Courts

After militarized police raid the newly-established Last Child Camp and arrest Chase Iron Eyes, LPLP Chief Counsel Daniel Sheehan steps in to organize Chase's defense. LPLP also provides litigation support to several tribes’ fights in Washington, D.C. against DAPL.

#NoDAPL Fight Begins

In the spring, members of the LPLP team — including lead counsel Chase Iron Eyes and tribal liaison Madonna Thunder Hawk — become involved in resistance camps on 1851 Oceti Sakowin Treaty land formed to stop the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). LPLP provides media support on the ground and begins circulating petitions in opposition to DAPL, which violates Lakota treaty rights and threatens Standing Rock‘s water supply.

Lakota People's Law Project is Formed

"South Dakota is still trafficking our children, Lakota children, Indian children, and they get millions of federal dollars every year for their so-called 'child welfare services.'"

– Madonna Thunder Hawk