A federal judge in South Dakota ruled in our favor that the state has repeatedly violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The judgment in this case, in which Lakota Law is a plaintiff, is a giant step forward in the battle to make sure Native voices are properly heard at the ballot box — especially in a state where Native Peoples make up nine percent of the population.

Indigenous people are doing amazing things in the world, and we’re spotlighting Indigenous high school and college athletes, educators, community heroes, and everyday all-stars. This is a place to raise up the actions and accomplishments of people in our communities! If you’d like to nominate a special individual from Lakota country or beyond who more people should know about, please head to our Action Center by clicking below.

Tribal input is finally asked for by U.S. government officials.

Justices are expected to hear arguments on whether to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act this fall.

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns this critical law, it could be the first domino in a series of events that ultimately threaten tribal sovereignty.

Along with the Rosebud and Oglala Nations, we're suing South Dakota over its failures to abide by the National Voting Rights Act.

It's time to examine the real U.S. history and take steps toward truth and healing!

The 35th-generation New Mexican makes history as the first Indigenous Cabinet secretary U.S. history. Finally, a Native person will oversee the federal government's relationships with tribal nations and stewardship of public lands.

President Biden revokes the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, fulfilling his campaign promise and taking an important step with respect to Native nations and climate responsibility.

LPLP partners with Standing Rock Nation to get out the vote on the rez and in battleground states amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Associated Press and Center for Public Integrity are on the story.

You can send a message of solidarity and congratulations to the tribe!

The Lakota People's Law Project opens a new foster home at Standing Rock to provide Native-run kinship care for kids in need.

LPLP attends the North Dakota Public Service Commission public hearing to oppose DAPL expansion. Over the past two months, LPLP and tens of thousands of supporters have joined the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Oglala Sioux nations in demanding the hearing and asking that the Commission deny the dangerous plan to double DAPL's oil capacity.

LPLP is overjoyed to join the Oglala and Standing Rock Nations in welcoming teenaged Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to Lakota Country. LPLP, Red Cloud Indian School, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe host a climate panel at Pine Ridge with Greta and Tokata Iron Eyes. The two also lead a panel at Standing Rock and a march in Rapid City.

Muffie Mousseau and Felipa De Leon lead the charge for LGTBQ2S-positive change to the Pine Ridge Reservation. LPLP helps document and publicize their tireless efforts to convince the Oglala Nation Tribal Council to pass a landmark marriage equality statute on Pine Ridge and South Dakota's first anti-hate legislation.

LPLP joins Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner's D.C. delegation to meet with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) about Keystone XL, the climate crisis, and the Green New Deal.

From April to June 2019, in the wake of massive flooding, LPLP provides organizing and media support to facilitate flood relief for the Pine Ridge Reservation. This work culminates in two landmark disaster declarations and badly needed aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

North Dakota implements a restrictive voter ID law meant to disenfranchise Native voters. The Lakota People’s Law Project, Four Directions, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe fight back with a ground campaign to enroll tribal citizens and get them to the polls on election day. Standing Rock issues 727 new IDs and more than doubles its turnout from the prior midterm election.

After LPLP's legal team begins deposing law enforcement personnel, North Dakota prosecutors drop both serious charges against Chase Iron Eyes—alleged criminal trespass and incitement of a riot. Many thanks to all the kind and generous supporters who made this victory possible!

Citing Nestle's unethical business practices, LPLP launches the #NestlePledge and joins the movement to #BoycottNestle and its products. #WaterIsLife

LPLP's Phyllis Young spearheads the campaign for energy independence on Standing Rock. Sustainable solutions, new statewide renewable standards, and incentives for green projects can move the Dakotas, which still rely on coal for 70 percent of their energy, away from dependence on fossil fuels.

Leaked documents reveal that a private security firm hired by DAPL parent company Energy Transfer Partners targeted, surveilled, and provoked the peaceful and prayerful water protectors at Standing Rock. LPLP's campaign—which ultimately gathers over 55,000 signatures—calls on the state of North Dakota to drop the charges of water protectors arrested during #NoDAPL.

After militarized police raid the newly-established Last Child Camp and arrest Chase Iron Eyes, LPLP Chief Counsel Daniel Sheehan steps in to organize Chase's defense. LPLP also provides litigation support to several tribes’ fights in Washington, D.C. against DAPL.

In the spring, members of the LPLP team—including lead counsel Chase Iron Eyes and tribal liaison Madonna Thunder Hawk—join the resistance camps on Oceti Sakowin treaty land to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. In addition to providing organizing, logistical, and media support, LPLP petitions to prevent the pipeline from violating Lakota treaty rights and threatening Standing Rock‘s water supply.

LPLP’s “Native Lives Matter” report details the unequal treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. criminal justice system. It also exposes some disturbing facts: a higher percentage of Native Americans are jailed and killed than any other ethnic community.

LPLP and the Coalition of Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Directors send reports to Congress confirming the charges of pharmaceutical drug overuse in South Dakota Foster Care, as featured on NPR. In May, the Standing Rock and Oglala Sioux Tribes join with LPLP to host the historic BIA Great Plains ICWA Summit addressing Lakota foster care concerns. The state refuses to attend.

In 2004, a group of Lakota grandmothers asks the Romero Institute to investigate dangers to Native children in their homelands. Systematically removed from their families by South Dakota Social Services, drugged in foster care, and prone to suicide, these children are the latest victims in the slow-genocide of the Lakota people and their culture.