Indigenous Peoples Day: Organizations Leading the Way

Indigenous Peoples Day: Organizations Leading the Way

On October 13th, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to honor the resilience, wisdom, and contributions of Native communities across Turtle Island and beyond. It's also a day to recognize the incredible organizations doing the work. They are protecting land, amplifying voices, and creating space for Indigenous people to thrive on their own terms.

We rounded up a few organizations we follow, admire, and support in their fight for Indigenous sovereignty, wellness, and representation.

Native Women's Wilderness

Native Women's Wilderness was created to bring Native women together to share their stories, support each other, and learn from one another as they endeavor to explore and celebrate the wilderness and our native lands. They promote women of color in the mainstream advertising campaigns of outdoor retailers, encourage the celebration of exploration of the outdoors, provide education of Ancestral Lands and their People, and inspire women to get outside and enjoy the outdoor realm.  

Indigenous Women Rising

Indigenous Women Rising fights for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy in Indigenous communities. They provide abortion access, birth support, and menstrual equity while centering traditional knowledge and cultural practices. IWR is led by and for Indigenous people, ensuring that Native women, girls, and two-spirit folks have the resources and support they deserve.

Indigenous Women Hike

Getting outside shouldn't be a luxury—it should be a birthright. Indigenous Women Hike creates healing spaces for Native women and girls through outdoor adventure, cultural connection, and community building. They organize hikes, outdoor education programs, and mentorship opportunities that honor the sacred relationship Indigenous peoples have with the land.

Natives Outdoors

Natives Outdoors is smashing stereotypes and reclaiming outdoor spaces for Indigenous communities. Through storytelling, advocacy, and adventure, they're proving that Native people aren't just part of outdoor culture—they ARE outdoor culture. From camping trips to conservation efforts, Natives Outdoors is making sure Indigenous voices lead the conversation about public lands and environmental stewardship.

Indigenous Women Outdoors

Indigenous Women Outdoors brings together Native women and girls for outdoor adventures that honor ancestral connections to the land. Through paddling, hiking, camping, and traditional skills workshops, they're creating a supportive community where Indigenous women can heal, learn, and lead.

'Āina Momona

Based in Hawai'i, 'Āina Momona is restoring food sovereignty and traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices. They work with communities to bring back ancient farming systems, native plant species, and sustainable food production—proving that Indigenous knowledge holds the answers to modern environmental challenges. 'Āina Momona is cultivating abundance while protecting cultural heritage for future generations.

NDN Girls Book Club

Representation matters, and NDN Girls Book Club is making sure Native kids see themselves in the stories they read. This organization promotes literacy and celebrates Indigenous authors by getting books by and about Native people into the hands of Indigenous youth. It's about more than reading—it's about identity, pride, and knowing your story matters.

These organizations and the people behind them are doing the real work, protecting rights, honoring traditions, and building futures where Indigenous communities don't just survive, they thrive. This Indigenous Peoples Day, consider supporting their efforts. Learn their names. Follow their work. Sign up for their emails. Give them a follow.

Because Indigenous resistance isn't history. It's happening right now.