Biennial Encampments
Since October 2024 we have hosted Fall and Spring Encampments in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. This idea was born from our first occupation on Snell Hill. During that time, we gathered in circle and learned from each other. Though it was in duress, we found strong solidarity and intimacy in those circles. We wanted to continue that feeling and get urban Indigenous people back out on the land and back in communication with each other and Relatives of all walks of life. To have a ceremonial focus is the primary mission but also to enjoy the company of each other away from the constraints of this colonized capitalist society. These camps last 4 days and include daily sweat lodge ceremonies from various Elders. Speakers and Circles on topics including Land ReMatriation/ReUnification, Traditional Foods and Medicines, Language Learning, Arts and Crafts, Family and Foster Care Recovery as well as Allyship.
We invite those with a good heart to attend and please donate to our Fall Camp Gofundme if you can, to make this work possible.
Ceremony
One of the primary ways we function is through living a ceremonial life. In this way we can maintain a healthy state of mind and help each other heal from the traumas that modern society imposes. We as Relatives to all living things on the planet must come into right relationship. We can only do that when our focus is on the Creator and Creator’s Time. In doing so, we can feel more secure and even joyful in our actions, no matter how difficult. We need all our Relatives to heal. We honor and respect our Elders and we support and nurture our Children. We Laugh and heal through our togetherness.
We support ceremonial access throughout the region. In the last year we have built sweat lodges throughout the region including supplying materials to build a lodge for inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. We help supply Grandfathers and Firewood whenever called.
Mutual Aid
Over the last four years our focus has been on mutual aid at a very grasroots level. There are so many issues confronting native people. We want to provide that support, not only for those today but to support the gernerations that are to come!
To make that happen we have built Niskithe Prayer Camp to respond to those needs. We are mobile and flexible, much like our ancestors. We understand that all our needs are intertwined. We seek to build an intertribal network, including allies, to repair, strengthen, and restore indigenous lifeways.