Kalle Benallie
ICT
ICT would like to recognize 11 Indigenous people who made headlines in 2024.
The individuals selected not only made a positive impact for their communities but also pushed the needle for Indian Country, whether it was a narrative change, having seats at the table, changing policies, or making historical changes. Their newsworthy efforts are being talked about from a community level and setting the direction for national conversations.
These 11 changemakers are opening doors and holding them open for future generations.
1. Lily Gladstone
Lily Gladstone, Siksikaitsitapii and Nimíipuu, began the year in the wake of her historic Academy Award nomination for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” She was attending award shows – winning a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award – and making strides in Native representation in Hollywood. Although Gladstone did not win the Oscar for best actress, she continued to give back to her tribe and community.
2. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing Te Pāti Māori, went viral this year for her haka against a controversial bill. Parliament became briefly suspended while she and members of the public did the Māori tradition.
The 22-year-old was suspended from Parliament for the day.
Māori haka is done as a welcome and for important events. But it also represents pride, strength and unity, done to invigorate warriors as they head into battle.
The Treaty Principles Bill was introduced by a small right-wing party that undermines Māori rights to land and protection of their self-interests from the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British Crown and 500 Indigenous Māori chiefs.
In the wake of the bill, Māori communities launched the Hīkoi, or communal march, to advocate for the treaty and Māori rights.
3. Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, made history in 2021 as the first Native person to serve in the president’s cabinet, becoming U.S. Secretary of the Interior. She was also one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make cabinet changes and plans to nominate Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary.
During Haaland’s tenure, she made significant contributions to Indian Country. She launched the federal investigation to investigate the abuse in boarding schools that Indigenous communities in the United States endured. Haaland embarked on a years-long journey to hear boarding school stories from survivors and their families.
In the same year Haaland banned the slur “squaw” from all federally owned lands and established the Missing and Murdered Unit under the Office of Justice Services at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 2023, she announced $25 million to be dedicated to bison conservation. She also helped to name two sacred sites for tribes to be designated as national monuments.
4. Nick Tilsen
President and CEO of NDN Collective Nick Tilsen, Oglala Lakota, has been an active leader in key events in South Dakota’s Indigenous communities.
NDN Collective, an Indigenous nonprofit, has organized and spoken about the alleged assault on a South Dakota youth, proposed legislative language to return federal lands in South Dakota’s Black Hills to Lakota people, alleged racism at a Rapid City hotel and advocated for the release of Leonard Peltier.
NDN Collective continues to be an important voice for Native people in South Dakota.
5 and 6. Rose Petoskey and PaaWee Rivera
On Oct. 25, President Joe Biden finally acknowledged the United States’ history of boarding schools and delivered an apology to Indigenous communities.
“After 150 years, the government eventually stopped the program (of boarding schools) but never formally apologized,” Biden told the crowd. “I formally apologize today as President of the United States of America for what we did. I apologize, apologize, apologize!”
PaaWee Rivera, Pueblo of Pojoaque, and Rose Petoskey, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indian, made significant contributions to Biden’s apology and overall the administration’s efforts for Native nations and peoples.
At the White House’s Native American Heritage Month celebration on Nov. 22, Tom Perez, senior advisor and assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, gave a shoutout to Petoskey and Rivera for their work the last few years.
“These two get it,” Perez said, referring to working for Indian Country. “We have more work to do because we are sprinting to the finish line here.”
Petoskey serves as the director of tribal affairs and senior advisor to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Rivera previously held Petoskey’s role before his current role as special assistant to the president and the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance Chief of Staff. He also helped relaunch the inaugural White House Tribal Nation Summit in 2021.
7. National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
2024 was a big year in addressing the boarding school issue. The second volume of the federal boarding school investigative report was released in July and President Biden formally apologized for the United States’ role in boarding schools.
This year, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition notably collaborated with the U.S. Department of the Interior to create an oral history project to record first-person narratives to document the systemic abuse endured in boarding schools.
The oral component adds to the database featuring an interactive map of school locations and a timeline of how long schools operated, according to archival records.
The coalition is the first and only national organization whose purpose is to advocate on behalf of Native peoples impacted by U.S. Indian boarding school policies.
8. Alissa Pili
In April Alissa Pili, Inupiaq and Samoan, was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the No. 8 pick in the WNBA draft in New York.
Pili was a star at the University of Utah and was invited to the WNBA draft.
“A lot of Indigenous and Polynesian girls don’t get to see that role model, and I’m so blessed that I get to be in that position for them,” she said to ESPN.
Then a few months later Pili signed an endorsement deal with Nike as a N7 athlete. The deal aims to provide Indigenous communities with inclusivity and equity both on and off the court.
9. Sydney Freeland
Director and writer Sydney Freeland, Navajo, was involved in two high-profile projects in 2024. She directed and co-wrote the Netflix film “Rez Ball” and directed and produced the Disney TV mini series “Echo.”
But Freeland is not a newcomer, she’s a veteran in the film industry. Her work includes the 2014 film “Drunktown’s Finest” and the Hulu series “Reservation Dogs.”
In “Rez Ball” Freeland tackled for the first time a sports story, telling it in a way that avoids the “White savior” trope. For “Echo” Freeland worked with the Choctaw Nation to tell the story of a deaf Marvel character.
Both projects were well received by critics.
10. Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis
Four major leaders in the U.S. government all visited the Gila River Indian Community in 2024. It was because of Governor Stephen Roe Lewis’ leadership that the President of the United States Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland all gathered in Arizona.
Harris and Walz visited during their presidential campaign tour. Biden and Haaland visited when he apologized for boarding schools. It was Biden’s first visit to tribal lands as president.
“Each of us understands the solemn nature of this day, this moment, this historical time and place that we are all a part of,” Lewis said, praising the Biden administration’s work with tribal communities. “Today’s words will be carried forward by all of us here. This is a day built on respect and honor.”
Lewis has been highly involved in government to government relations with the United States. A significant achievement was navigating the water crisis across the seven-state Colorado River basin. He helped build the tribe to have casinos, hotels, a theme park and various businesses on the reservation and in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
11. Barry McCovey Jr.
Director of Yurok Tribal Fisheries Barry McCovey Jr. was instrumental in getting the Klamath dams removed in Oregon and California. He has been persistently advocating for its removal and river restoration.
In October it was announced four Klamath Dams were fully removed. Work will continue to restore the 2,200 acres of the formally submerged lands.
It’s been a fight for the Yurok, Karuk and Klamath Tribes for over 20 years.
“I’m most excited for our relations up the river. … They haven’t had anadromous fish up there in a long, long time — over 100 years,” McCovey said. “And that’s the definition of cultural revitalization — bringing back something so important to river people,” McCovey, Yurok, said.
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