Vision:
A socially-, economically-, and environmentally-just world where all who inhabit her are safe and empowered to thrive while realizing our collective potential.

Mission:
Rising Hearts is an Indigenous led grassroots group devoted to elevating Indigenous voices and promoting intersectional collaborative efforts across all forms of movements with the goals of racial, social, climate, and economic justice. Our Primary focuses are to inform, elevate, mobilize, and organize through strategic and targeted advocacy, establishing collaborative partnerships to help create a better and safer future and environment for all of our relatives who inhabit this planet, past, present and future.

We have a new logo, made by Diné graphics artist, Vernan Kee!! And check out the new website for Rising Hearts at www.risinghearts.org.

Rising Hearts is committed to dismantling white supremacy and racism while elevating Indigenous, Black, Brown, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Immigrant, Two Spirits, LGBTQ+, & Non-binary relatives and Relatives with disabilities voices.

As the Founder, Executive Director and organizer, I heard the call from our relatives in Standing Rock, asking me to do something more. I wanted to hold myself more accountable and be a better relative. I began showing up with my signs and trying to speak with anyone on the Hill that would listen and it grew from there. Founded on Piscataway lands and now based on Tovangaar lands (Los Angeles) - the work is done throughout Turtle Island (North America). In 2016, I saw the solidarity and support for my relatives and friends in Standing Rock as they were fighting to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline - but in DC, I saw the lack of involvement and presence of Native people. So I began inserting myself onto those platforms asking the questions: where are the Native voices to speak to this lived experience, where are the Native organizers, where is the land acknowledgment and more. As my friends began to join me, as we all were enraged at the violence we were seeing in Standing Rock - we met more Native relatives, more Native organizers and we began to collaborate. What began as a way to create a platform that is centered on Indigenous people and uplifting Indigenous voices - has now grown to include the same visibility and support within capacity for our Black, Brown, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Immigrant, Two Spirit, LGBTQ+ Nonbinary and People with disabilities communities (with lots of learning to happen) as we are all fighting for a just and equitable future, dismantling white supremacy - racism and systemic oppression. We are committed to bringing our communities together, calling for Transformational change and unity, and fighting for our next seven generations. And with that - some good news!

RH is finally fiscally sponsored after four years of out-of-pocket expenses, community fundraising, micro grants support and donations! Please consider donating if you can to support the heart work below.

CURRENT PROJECTS:
1. No More Stolen Relatives Initiative: Advocacy, organizing, and supporting all efforts for missing and murdered Indigenous Womxn, girls, Two Spirits, and relatives and our stolen relatives due to Boarding and Residential schools
2. Running On Native Lands Initiative
3. Running with Purpose Collective: Supporting 36 Athlete advocates, intersecting advocacy with their passion of running and movement.
4. Consulting with companies - organizations - institutions - on justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, access, safety, and visibility for POC, 2SLGBT+, Nonbinary and Disability, underrepresented communities
5. Rising Hearts Stories: Production of storytelling through filmmaking and advising on film projects or donating towards projects through Narrative Shift Agency + Productions
6. NotYourMascot/ChangeTheName
7. Community Fundraising: Organizing virtual runs to transform the running community to gain new knowledge about topics, issues, advocacy and more that are themed within the run and registration page, to fundraise and support community led organizations and groups doing heart work across our communities. Through our virtual runs and in person runs, we have raised over $300k through registrations that we have donated to nearly 20 organizations, families and advocates across our movement spaces. We all were part of that!

PAST CONTRIBUTIONS & SUPPORT: We helped organize and/or lead in these gatherings - Water is Life rally 2016, OccupyInauguration, Native Nations Rise March and Rally, co-founded DC ReInvest Coalition (get DC to divest from Wells Fargo and reinvest in the community through Public Banking), served on the National and local steering committee and helped organize the Peoples Climate March 2017, March for Racial Justice, Prayer Vigil for Savanna LaFontaine Greywind 2017, #MeToo rally, Environmental Justice Panel with California for Progress, No More Stolen Sisters educational forum 2018, May 5th National Day of awareness for MMIW prayer run and community gathering 2019, advocacy on the Hill and meetings with Congressional members to discuss the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and missing and murdered Indigenous womxn and girls initiatives, 2019 Youth Climate Strike, 2020 Fire Drill Fridays -Los Angeles, 2020 International Womxn’s Day Rally in Los Angeles and honoring Aleyah Toscano (MMIW) and her family, produced a Change The Name video campaign to support the IllumiNatives/NDN Collective/Native Organizers Alliance campaign, and more.