Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day!
Hi Everyone! Indigenous Peoples Day is on Monday, 10/14/24. Yes, it’s not a federally recognized holiday, but efforts across the countries where states and cities have replaced and abolished Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. If this triggers you, deep down, ask yourself why? It’s no secret and people can’t be in denial or fall ignorant to their own beliefs, that the lands non-Indigenous peoples from these lands are on, are stolen. Decades of racism, stereotypes, violence, genocide, forced attempts of assimilation tactics, displacement, removal, land theft, disease, and a very consistent message that still exists today, that Indigenous Peoples do not matter, that we are “savage”, that we are only remembered for a day like this or for the month of November and tokenized. Rising Hearts believes that Indigenous Peoples thrive all around the world. Here in the U.S., our Indigenous communities are divided by colonial borders. Here in North, Central and South America, Indigenous Peoples thrive and exist. All of Eagle and Condor. Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Africa, Norway, and across the world. So for us, we celebrate all Indigenous Peoples, not just surviving, but thriving. Beating the odds of colonialism. We may be resilient, but we are continuing to fight for our existence, for safety, for a future, and for liberation.
Safety, Peace, Liberation:
As we have reached the 1 year remembrance of violence and genocide of what’s happening in Gaza and surrounding communities, Indigenous Peoples exist on those stolen lands. We believe in humanity and the right to exist as you are. We are against the unjust violence that is happening, taking children away from their parents, parents being taken away from their children, lives stolen. So if you get out and move this weekend for Indigenous Peoples Day, hold space for a Free Gaza, for the safety and future of the communities that are impacted by this violence.
However, we are more than all of this. We are Indigenous. We are not a monolith. We are resilient. We are beautiful. We are smart. We are caretakers. We are athletes. We are actors. We are writers. We are lawyers. We are teachers. We are healers.
There is so much to who we are, who are communities are, past - present - and future.
So learn from us. Invest in the heart work we do. Read books by Indigenous authors. Watch films by Indigenous storytellers. Donate to Indigenous led efforts. Uplift, support, protect, and celebrate Indigenous Peoples. If you have Indigenous friends, be sure to tell them something special, appreciate them, and pay for a coffee or treat.
Start a new tradition. Indigenous Peoples Day is every day of the year. But if we get this one day, make it fun, meaningful and a new learning experience.
Here’s a few ways to participate and support!
For those that sign up to register for the 5th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, join our virtual team, Running With Purpose for a chance to win a virtual gift card for a free pair of On running shoes!
- Rising Hearts
celebrate INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
Rising Hearts will be making a donation through this virtual run to Native Wellness Institute, Urban Indigenous Collective and Rising Hearts.
Native Wellness Institute promotes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health of North America’s Indigenous peoples is our labor of love. The goal of the Native Wellness Institute is to continue bringing about positive changes in the lifestyles, relationships, education, and overall wellness of Native Americans. As the Native Community’s leading social-services resource, our current and future objectives focus on the following main areas:
Healthy Relationships
Youth Leadership and Development
Adult Leadership and Development
Workplace Wellness and Staff Development
Strategic Planning and Program Development
Community Wellness Gatherings, Retreats, and Training
Urban Indigenous Collective supports access to culturally-tailored health and wellness services for self-identified Indigenous peoples in Lenapehoking and the greater NYC area (NY, NJ, CT, PA) through community-based participatory research, advocacy, community programming, and direct services. UIC envisions a world where the rights of Indigenous Peoples and sovereignty are acknowledged and respected with cultural humility. We will model continuous consent and free prior and informed consent and consultation as protocol in each of our programming areas. Working holistically with traditional knowledge keepers and western medicine will enhance the overall mental and physical well-being of our urban Indigenous Community. We see a world where Urban Natives are visible in all spaces and will have access to culturally appropriate resources to support, heal, and live healthy lives.
VIRTUAL INFORMATION:
+ Date: October 11-14, 2024
+ Distances: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon
+ Stickers to purchase!
+ Donate an entry!
+ Donate instead of register
+ Download digital BIB
+ Create a virtual team or join one
+ You can join - Rising Hearts virtual team!
+ Beneficiaries: Native Wellness Institute, Urban Indigenous Collective, and Rising Hearts
In 2023, Rising Hearts had 92 participants and 1 in person run/walks in Los Angeles, CA!
We be donated $1000 to ‘Āina Momona and $671.50 to Rising Hearts!
We are asking for your help and continuing support to bring awareness to the thriving Indigenous communities that are still here on these stolen lands.
Coming to Lenapehoking Lands!
Rising Hearts coming to Lenapehoking lands for the 2024 NYC Marathon!
We are excited to come to Lenapehoking Lands / New York City! Meet and welcome Goldstein Little Eagle (@glittleeagle ), Kali KO Mequinonoag Reis (@kali_ko_reis ), Yatika Starr Fields (@yatikafields ), and Jordan Marie Whetstone (@nativein_la ).
We are running with purpose and so excited to be getting to that start line with so many other Native runners from Native Strength Revolution, Native Women Running and many others participating that we may not know about.
To learn more about who we are, our why and purpose for coming together, visit www.risinghearts.org/rh-nycmarathon. Over the next month, we will be rolling out more spotlight content of our runners!
Tentative Schedule of Events:
+ 11/1: 12-1:30PM Meet and greet / blessing of runners with UIC before Opening Ceremonies!
+ 11/1: 4pm Parade of Nations | Opening Ceremonies for NYC Marathon (More details TBD)
+ 11/2: 8AM Native Strength Revolution shakeout run
10AM Native Strength Revolution meditation session
+ 11/3: Teaming up with the Native Strength Revolution team at these cheer spots: We will have 2 cheer stations (Williamsburg, Brooklyn between Mile 10-11, East Harlem Mile 19-20).
Special Announcement - You Are Loved Community Grant Program for loved ones and families:
Kali and Jordan have something more special and intentional to share, and will need your help in reaching their goal!
To learn more about who we are, our why and purpose for coming together, visit www.risinghearts.org/rh-nycmarathon. Over the next month, we will be rolling out more spotlight content of our runners!
DONATE TO CHARITY BIB RUNNERS
Funds Raised so Far 10/11/24: $1,225
Race: Javelina Jundred 2024
Fundraising Goal: $2,000
Deadline: October 12, 2024
Everyone, meet Scott Tom!! We are excited to be able to learn from and support as much as we can in their fundraising efforts for Rising Hearts. Scott is also a ReNew Earth Running #LegsForLandBack athlete advocate, which Rising Hearts is a founding member of and Jordan, is on the Board. Rising Hearts has opened up these opportunities to our community partner where we will donate half of what the RER athletes raise to ReNew Earth Running! We truly believe in supporting the heart work and this is a wonderful way to support those efforts.
Javalina 100M and 100k:
When: October 26-27, 2024
What does running with purpose mean to you?
Running with purpose means to challenge myself. Challenges force you to tap into your creativity with ways to overcome them. As you go through challenges, you become stronger. Challenges are an excellent opportunity for growth. They test your commitment to your goals & when you overcome them you develop emotional & mental strength. Awołíbee Ánít’i Yéego Ánít’i - Try Hard and Keep At It! (in Navajo Language)”
Why did you choose Rising Hearts to support?
For the Javelina Jundred, I've agreed to raise money to support RISING HEARTS. I am passionate about this campaign because it contributes to a greater cause, one that is deeply meaningful to me. I am an Ultra Runner and a part of the ReNew Earth Running team. The team of runners consist of indigenous men and women from all across the nation. Together, we run to protect and heal the environment by restoring stewardship of the land for Tribal Nations and Indigenous leadership. As runners, we intimately engage with the land every day, with each step. And, wherever we run, we carry the knowledge that we are running upon our homelands, the same territories that our ancestors occupied. The land belongs to indigenous people, and we share that message with everyone we encounter along our journey. ReNew Earth Running was created to go beyond land acknowledgement and move toward land reclamation. To learn more about this collaborative effort between Rising Hearts & ReNew Earth Running please visit their websites: https://www.risinghearts.org/ & https://www.renewearthrunning.org/
Donation Link: https://runsignup.com/runstrongah
SCOTT’S DONATION INCENTIVES - SEE BELOW! Reach out to Scott on IG: @rs._stgx
Funds Raised to Date (10/11/24): $2,440
Race: Javelina Jundred 2024
Fundraising Goal: $5,000
Deadline: October 12, 2024
”In October, I'm going to run 100 miles in the desert at the Javelina Jundred. I want to make this challenging endeavor mean more that just a run, so I plan on to raising $5000 to support Rising Hearts. I recognize that I live and run on Indigenous Lands, and Rising Hearts is an Indigenous led organization with a focus on movement and the outdoors. I can't think of a better partner in this mission. A donation of any amount will help me cross the finish line, so please help me get there!”
About Jesse:
My name is Jesse. I live and run in the lands of the Lenni Lenape, also known as Philadelphia. I appreciate the joy and discipline that running gives me, but I want to be able to use it for something more than that. I have helped start running groups to bring people together, I have helped organize running protests, I have posted endlessly on social media running fueled rants about all the things I care about. But I have never properly used running to raise money. Until now.
Visit link to learn more about Jesse’s reason and why!
You can support his fundraiser here: https://runsignup.com/Race/164816/Donate/T7sUA8xXswapcq1B
EVERY CHILD MATTERS UPDATE
Thank you so much for joining us this year!!
For 2024, we were able to donate $600 to the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and $600 to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society!
When representation is everything, it can make a difference and have a profound impact when community is included in spaces that lack inclusion and diversity. Know to Run features Yatika Starr Fields, an Indigenous runner, artist and advocate, and the recipient of GU Energy Labs + Rising Hearts – 2022 Western States Endurance Run (WSER) 100 Race Entry. The exclusive, prestigious, and mainly white race is a 100 mile long ultra marathon. Yatika is the vessel and Indigenous representative that helps bring a better understanding of the land and the peoples who first cared for and who still steward the lands. This film celebrates all the firsts (first land acknowledgement, first Indigenous made poster, first Indigenous runners panel) and continues this kinship into 2024. This was an opportunity The Know to Run discussion will hit on themes of “what are land acknowledgements” and what it means to go beyond, their importance, the inclusion of local Indigenous communities being part of the conversations, making the running and outdoor community a more accessible and equitable place, and what the consultation process looks like. The WSER is a shining example of how to create more pathways to cultivate community in meaningful and sustainable ways.
Carlisle 200 follows Native bikers Guarina Lopez (Pascua Yaqui) and Tsinnijinnie Russell (Diné) on a 200-mile prayer ride from Washington, D.C. to the cemetery at Carlisle Indian Boarding School in Carlisle, PA. Through rain and shine on the long gravel trail, Guarina, Tsinnijinnie, and fellow activist-bikers honor the 190+ children buried at Carlisle and raise awareness of the history and ongoing impact of the residential boarding school system on Indigenous communities.
Presented by Pacers Running and Brooks Running
The connection between Native people and Native land is unique. Our creation stories are grounded in our ecosystems and manifest in our prayers, ceremonies, and lifeways. Prayer running is one of the ways we honor ancestors, raise awareness, and bring messages. Runners become part of the prayer as they strengthen the communities they pass through. A new generation of delegates led mainly by Native women and youth are using the power of their bodies to carry our prayers forward.
Co-directors Hanad Ali and Guarina Lopez Creative
Producer: Guarina Lopez
Director of Photography: Hanad Ali
Composer: Olivia Komahcheet
Narrator: Dr. Gabrielle Tayac
Runners: Juanita Cabrera Lopez and Huayra Forster
“The run is not just the runner; the runner is the connection for communities of people” ~ Dr. Gabrielle Tayac
Lydia Jennings is a member of the Huichol (Wixaritari) and Pascua Yaqui (Yoeme) Nations and holds a doctorate in soil microbiology. Her work is dedicated to environmental science and the essential role of Indigenous communities in these spaces. Her hope is to create more inclusive academic and environmental landscapes. In place of her graduation, which was canceled as a result of the pandemic, Lydia instead celebrated by running 50 miles in honor of the Indigenous scientists and knowledge keepers who came before her. It’s a run to honor the past and present while looking towards the future.
A film by Devin Whetstone + Jordan Marie Whetstone
Editor: Jack Schlinkert, Dana Shaw
Story Editor: Lydia Jennings
Executive Producer: Alex Lowther, Monika McClure, Bianca Botta
Camera: Chess Pettengill, Kayla Windsor, Branden Paris
Sound: Nolan Vene
Photographer: Tomás Karmelo Amaya
Sound Design & Mix: Jonathan Buice
Colorist: Ayumi Ashley
Special thanks to Rising Hearts for making this film possible.
https://www.risinghearts.org
MUSIC Composers:
Stephanie Nicora & Bill Reynolds
Vocalist: Eden Fine Day
Evil Friends - Portugal. The Man
Fight For You - Raye Zaragoza
In The River - Raye Zaragoza
The Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico, must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive.
Watch on Netflix.
THE TERRITORY provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.