Our Team

Crow Bellecourt

Executive Director

Bad River Chippewa Tribe

Little Crow Bellecourt is an enrolled member of the Bad River Chippewa Tribe of northern Wisconsin, born and raised in Minneapolis’s Little Earth community. From his early years at Heart of the Earth Survival School, an alternative school founded by the American Indian Movement, to his graduation from the Flandreau Indian School boarding program in South Dakota, Little Crow’s life has been grounded in Indigenous culture, community and resistance. Grounded by the drum and by the history of the American Indian Movement, he carries forward a legacy of resilience and solidarity.

Today, as Executive Director of the Indigenous Protector Movement, Little Crow works tirelessly in the very neighborhoods that shaped him. He oversees IPM’s community safety relationships, healing initiatives and advocacy campaigns with the vision that our people can—and must—protect ourselves when systems fail. His deep roots in the community he serves drive every decision, ensuring IPM’s work remains both culturally grounded and committed to urban Indigenous safety and sovereignty.

Rachel Dionne-Thunder

Vice President

Big Stone Cree Nation (Treaty 8)

Rachel is a nehiyaw iskwew (Plains Cree woman) from Big Stone Cree Nation, a community organizer, environmental scientist, and advocate for Indigenous sovereignty and justice. With extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, strategic planning, and grant management, Rachel brings a powerful blend of grassroots advocacy and institutional expertise to her role as Vice President of IPM.

As a co-founder of IPM, she has helped guide the organization’s growth with a focus on sustainable funding, program development, and deep-rooted community engagement. Her work centers Indigenous-led responses to the ongoing crises of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR), environmental injustice, and public safety reform.

Rachel holds a Master of Science in Forest and Natural Resource Sciences and has led federally funded research and culturally significant organizing efforts, including the "Leonard Peltier Walk to Justice". Her dedication to healing and protecting Indigenous communities is reflected in her vision for the future of IPM and urban Indigenous communities.

Meet the Board

  • Jolene Jones

    Ojibwe, White Earth, and LCO

  • Vincent Dionne

    Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa

  • Dava Beaulieu

    Red Lake Nation

  • Nick Estes

    Lower Brule Sioux Tribe