Justice for the Lakota People

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

Photo by Aaron Huey
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Join Native Leaders Backing the Green New Deal

Take action and ensure that Indigenous voices lead on the Green New Deal to maximize environmental responsibility and climate justice.

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.

Washington, D.C., here we come!

On Friday, Jan. 18, the Lakota People's Law project will join in the first Indigenous People's March in Washington, D.C. While we're there, we'll meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and push for a Green New Deal including Native leadership. Stay tuned!

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.

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.

Defend Indigenous Women. Reform Alaskan Sex Crime Laws.

Stand in solidarity with Native women everywhere and with all survivors of sexual assault as we join together to inspire change. Please tell Alaska’s lawmakers that their state must stop protecting violent sex offenders and start safeguarding Native—and all—women.

Video: Legal Tools from Standing Rock

In our new video, our chief counsel Daniel Sheehan details how our legal blueprint and the evidence we collected for the Chase Iron Eyes trial can help other pipeline protesters understand and expose the tactics of police, the oil companies, and militarized security firms. Now, we’re compiling and making all of our legal tools available to everyone still on the front lines.

You Can Help Fund #GreenTheRez

Standing Rock has embraced renewable energy development in order to reduce fossil fuel consumption, work toward energy independence, and provide a blueprint for the Dakotas and tribal nations across the land. Lakota Law organizer and MIT Solve Fellow Phyllis Young is leading the charge. 20,000 of you have signed the petition to #GreenTheRez, and now you can help fund the work. Please continue to stand with Standing Rock as it works toward sustainable solutions.

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.

Press Release: All Serious Charges Dropped Against Iron Eyes

Read our press release detailing the most recent victory in our legal defense of Chase Iron Eyes. North Dakota prosecutors dropped all serious charges against Chase, including alleged criminal trespass and incitement of a riot. The state reduced all charges to a minor, Class B misdemeanor of disorderly conduct. Many thanks to all the kind and generous support that made this victory possible.

Protect Free Speech: Tell Trump, We Are Not Terrorists

Policies targeting 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

In three short videos, you can learn about critical developments that occurred during the Chase Iron Eyes #NoDAPL case. Despite constant obstruction by prosecutors and opposing counsel, the records created during our team's discovery process will live in the public record and be available to assist other water protectors whose trials remain. 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.

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.

Depositions Begin

In June, our legal team begins deposing law enforcement, private security, and oil company officials to gather evidence for the Chase Iron Eyes defense. Watch our video to learn more!

The Power of Partnership

Update: 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 this crucial hearing, Judge Lee Christofferson admonished the North Dakota state’s prosecutor for withholding evidence. The judge also granted Chase Iron Eyes' legal team authority to subpoena Tiger Swan, the private military security firm hired by Energy Transfer Partners. To learn more click below!

#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