Protecting indigenous land and communities through direct action, advocacy, and community building
-
Long before IPM existed, our peoples wove networks of care and resistance across Turtle Island. Indigenous relatives have defended the land and each other since time immemorial. On the unceded stolen Dakota Land of the Twin Cities, early urban relocation policies brought Ojibwe, Dakota, Ho-Chunk, and many other Nations into Minneapolis; yet the supports they’d relied on in home territories were left behind. During the 1960s and ’70s, the American Indian Movement rose up here, organizing survival schools, occupations, and protests to reclaim rights, visibility, and empower Indigenous peoples.
Our co-founders, grandchildren and nieces/nephews of those who built AIM and countless grassroots efforts, grew up hearing stories of the occupation at Wounded Knee, the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan, and of our ancestors who sacrificed for a better future. Inspired by that legacy, they saw a gap: no organization was formally structured as a 501(c)(3) to resource, scale, and sustain urban Indigenous-led advocacy and healing initiatives. IPM breathes life into that vision, honoring ancestral tactics while forging new pathways for today’s challenges.
-
In the winter of 2022-2023, IPM’s spark was struck amid the Roof Depot occupation in South Minneapolis; relatives uniting in subzero winds to reclaim space and assert our right to safety. From those early prayer walks and strategy sessions, we forged deep partnerships with other grassroots groups, listening and supporting wherever Indigenous-led safety was needed.
By 2023, that momentum carried us through the formal process of becoming a 501(c)(3). We opened our first office on Franklin Avenue, a central hub for planning, healing, and community organizing, and assembled an all-Indigenous staff that continues to grow. In 2024, Many Shields launched as our first organized patrol team, extending physical presence into neighborhoods.
Since then, IPM has mounted and won high-impact advocacy campaigns alongside our relatives: celebrating Leonard Peltier’s release after nearly five decades as the longest-held Indigenous political prisoner; helping shut down the long standing environmental pollutant Smith Foundry in Minneapolis; securing the rescission of the Magellan pipeline permit in Pipestone; and driving community oversight of policing agencies through our Unity Community Mediation Team partnership. We’ve championed justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives and pressed for policing agencies full accountability.
All the while, we deepen community ties through the Women’s Warrior Society and Many Shields, hosting smudge walks, marches, and protests that knit us together. In an era of unstable politics and rising threats, IPM’s victories and grassroots organizing light a path forward; demonstrating a new wave of Indigenous strength and solidarity in Minneapolis.
-
Looking ahead, IPM will build on our momentum by expanding our infrastructure, opening community houses and strengthening our presence in Minneapolis, while deepening our advocacy efforts. We’ll grow our staff and partnerships to support grassroots initiatives, respond quickly when our community calls for action, and nurture emerging leaders. At the same time, we’ll keep our cultural foundations strong through ceremonies, smudge walks, and wellness programs that bring relatives together across generations. By advancing these pillars of infrastructure, advocacy, capacity, and culture, IPM will remain a driving force for Indigenous empowerment and safety in the city.
