Campaigns
Thriving Peoples. Thriving Places.
Honoring Indigenous peoples' day & International day of the world's indigenous peoples
In partnership with Amplifier design lab, Nia Tero launched the Thriving Peoples. Thriving Places. campaign in 2021 on International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, and expanded it on Indigenous Peoples' Day 2021, as a timely reflection and embodiment of the focus of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), when leadership from across the globe met with the purpose of collectively tackling climate change.
The Indigenous women activists, artists, and scholars at the heart of this campaign 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.
This global campaign includes twelve original portraits commissioned from Washington, D.C.-based artist and illustrator Tracie Ching, designed in collaboration with Cindy Chischilly (Diné).
This 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.
Learn more about International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Download the artwork
About the Icons
Learn about the Indigenous women leaders featured in THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES., and how you can support their work.
Pania Newton
Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Waikato, Ngati Mahuta
Pania Newton is a New Zealand lawyer and Māori land rights activist who organized the group Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL) to protest the development of land at Ihumātao in south Auckland. Watch Pania’s TEDxAuckland on Recognising Indigenous heritage.
Instagram: @panianewton | Twitter: @panianewton | Facebook: @pania.newton
Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone
Inupiaq, Kiowa
Majorie Kunaq Tahbone is an environmental activist whose artistic work focuses on revitalizing ancient skills such as hide tanning, making traditional regalia, and tool making.Watch Kunaq in a documentary series on Alaskan Natives.
Instagram: @kunaq
Gunn-Britt Retter
Saami
Gunn-Britt Retter is a professor, formerly part of the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat, and current Head of Arctic and Environmental Unit for the Saami Council. Listen to a podcast on Arctic Indigenous Communities and Cultures.
Instagram: @gunn_beretter | Twitter: @gunn_beretter
Deb Abrahamson
Spokane Tribe
Deb Abrahamson was an environmental activist and water protector who played a large part in the push to clean up the legacy of uranium mining on the Spokane Indian Reservation; Abrahamson died of cancer in January of 2020, attributing her illness to the very radioactive toxins that she had dedicated her life to saving others from. Support the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Twa-le Abrahamson-Swan
Spokane Tribe
Twa-le Abrahamson-Swan is an environmental activist and executive director, the River Warrior Society, a collective across the Coeur d’Alene, Colville, Kalispel, Nez Perce, and Spokane tribes; Abrahamson-Swan refocused the collective’s energies on providing pandemic and wildfire relief; daughter of Deb Abrahamson. Support the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Instagram: @innertribalbeat
Sônia Guajajara
Guajajara
Sônia Guajajara is an activist in Brazil and leader of Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB - Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), which brings together 305 ethnicities around the agenda of Indigenous rights in the region. Learn about the Indigenous struggle for land recognition.
Instagram: @guajajarasonia | Twitter: @GuajajaraSonia | Facebook: @GuajajaraSonia
Nara Baré
Baré
Nara Baré is a Brazillian activist who was the first woman to assume the general coordination the largest Indigenous organization in the country, the Coalition of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB). Learn about the Indigenous struggle for land recognition.
Instagram: @narasoaress
Célia Xakriabá
Xakriabá
Célia Xakriabá is a Brazilian activist leading a new generation of female Indigenous leaders in the battle against the destruction of Brazil’s forests both in the Amazon and the lesser known Cerrado, a savannah that covers a fifth of the country. Learn about the Indigenous struggle for land recognition.
Instagram: @celia.xakriaba | Facebook: @celia.xakriaba | Twitter: @celiaxakriaba
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz
Kankanaey Igorot
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz is an activist who not only helped organize the Igorot student movement in Manila in the 1970s and the Indigenous Peoples’ Movement in the Cordillera, but actively participated in the drafting, negotiations, and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Read her opinion on conserving nature and protecting human rights.
Twitter: @vtaulicorpuz
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Kānaka
Natalie Ball
Black, Modoc, Klamath
Natalie Ball (Black, Modoc, and Klamath) is a mixed-race Black, Modoc, and Klamath mama, artist, and land defender. She creates art influenced by the cultural objects from her Klamath homelands and showcases her work at art museums and galleries all over Turtle Island.
Instagram: @natalie_m_ball
Related stories about Indigenous Peoples' Day
Learn more about how you can honor and celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day and International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.
