Supporting Indigenous Practitioners: Reparations in Action

BY NICOLE LAU

Respecting closed practices isn't enough. Not appropriating isn't enough. If you've benefited from colonialism—and if you're of European descent living on stolen Indigenous land, you have—you owe reparations. Not as charity. Not as guilt. As justice. As accountability for what your ancestors took and what you continue to benefit from.

This article is about action. Concrete, specific ways to support Indigenous practitioners, communities, and sovereignty. How to give back financially, amplify voices, advocate for justice, and make ongoing reparations. Because words without action are empty. And if you're serious about decolonization, you need to put your money, time, and privilege where your mouth is.

Understanding Reparations

What It Means

Reparations are:

• Making amends for historical and ongoing harm
• Redistributing wealth and resources stolen through colonialism
• Supporting communities your ancestors harmed
• Justice, not charity
• Ongoing commitment, not one-time gesture

Why you owe reparations:

• You live on stolen Indigenous land
• You benefit from wealth built on genocide and theft
• You have privilege from colonial systems
• Indigenous communities still suffer consequences of colonization
• This is about justice, not guilt

What Reparations Look Like

Financial:

• Giving money to Indigenous-led organizations
• Buying from Indigenous artisans and businesses
• Paying Indigenous teachers and practitioners
• Supporting Indigenous causes

Platform:

• Amplifying Indigenous voices
• Giving Indigenous people your platform
• Centering their expertise and authority
• Stepping back so they can lead

Advocacy:

• Supporting land back movements
• Advocating for Indigenous rights
• Opposing projects that harm Indigenous communities
• Using your privilege for justice

Ongoing:

• Not one-time donation
• Sustained commitment
• Regular giving and support
• Lifelong accountability

Financial Reparations

Where to Give Money

Indigenous-led organizations:

• NDN Collective
• Indigenous Environmental Network
• Native American Rights Fund
• Sovereign Bodies Institute
• IllumiNative
• Local Indigenous organizations in your area

Land back initiatives:

• Sogorea Te' Land Trust (California)
• LANDBACK Manifesto supporters
• Local land back movements
• Indigenous land trusts

Indigenous youth and education:

• American Indian College Fund
• Native American Youth and Family Center
• Indigenous education programs
• Scholarship funds

How much to give:

• More than feels comfortable
• Regular monthly donations, not just one-time
• Percentage of your income (suggest 1-10%)
• Consider what you've inherited from colonialism

Buying from Indigenous Artisans

What to buy:

• Art, jewelry, crafts from Indigenous artists
• Books by Indigenous authors
• Products from Indigenous-owned businesses
• Support their economic sovereignty

Where to buy:

• Directly from artists when possible
• Indigenous-owned shops and galleries
• Native-owned online platforms
• Avoid non-Native companies selling "Native-inspired" items

How to buy ethically:

• Pay full price, don't haggle
• Tip generously
• Share their work with others
• Build ongoing relationship, not one-time purchase

Amplifying Indigenous Voices

Platform and Visibility

On social media:

• Share Indigenous educators, activists, artists
• Amplify their messages without adding your commentary
• Give them credit always
• Don't speak over or for them

In your spaces:

• Invite Indigenous speakers to events
• Pay them well (more than you'd pay white speakers)
• Give them platform without controlling their message
• Step back and let them lead

In conversations:

• Cite Indigenous sources
• Direct people to Indigenous voices
• Don't claim their knowledge as your own
• Center their expertise

Indigenous voices to follow (examples):

• Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux)
• Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe)
• Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa/Yurok/Karuk)
• Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo)
• Local Indigenous activists and educators in your area

Advocacy and Action

Using Your Privilege for Justice

Support land back:

• Advocate for returning stolen land to Indigenous nations
• Support local land back initiatives
• Acknowledge whose land you're on
• Work toward actual land return, not just acknowledgment

Oppose harmful projects:

• Pipelines on Indigenous land (DAPL, Line 3, etc.)
• Mining and extraction projects
• Development on sacred sites
• Show up to protests and actions

Support treaty rights:

• Learn about treaties in your area
• Advocate for honoring treaties
• Support Indigenous sovereignty
• Oppose treaty violations

Vote for Indigenous interests:

• Support Indigenous candidates
• Vote for policies that benefit Indigenous communities
• Oppose policies that harm them
• Use your vote for justice

Challenge appropriation:

• Call out appropriation when you see it
• Educate other non-Natives
• Don't let appropriation slide
• Do this work in white spaces

Supporting Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners

Specific to Spiritual Communities

If you practice spirituality:

• Don't appropriate Indigenous practices
• Support Indigenous spiritual leaders and teachers
• Donate to Indigenous spiritual communities
• Respect their sovereignty over their practices

If you teach or lead:

• Don't teach Indigenous practices
• Invite Indigenous teachers instead
• Pay them generously
• Give them full control of their teaching
• Use your platform to amplify them

If you run a shop or business:

• Don't sell white sage or appropriated items
• Carry products from Indigenous artisans
• Educate customers about appropriation
• Donate portion of profits to Indigenous causes

What Not to Do

Avoiding Performative Allyship

Don't center yourself:

• Don't post about your donations for praise
• Don't make it about your feelings
• Don't expect gratitude or recognition
• Do the work quietly

Don't expect education:

• Don't ask Indigenous people to educate you
• Don't demand their time and emotional labor
• Educate yourself
• Pay for education when offered

Don't be performative:

• Don't just post land acknowledgments without action
• Don't virtue signal
• Don't do it for social media clout
• Actually do the work

Don't expect perfection from Indigenous people:

• Don't hold them to impossible standards
• Don't police their activism or expression
• Don't tone police
• Support them as they are

Don't give up when it's hard:

• Don't quit when you make mistakes
• Don't stop when it's uncomfortable
• Don't abandon the work
• Stay committed

Crystals for Reparations Work

Action and Accountability

Taking action:

• Carnelian: Courage to act, not just talk
• Citrine: Generosity, giving freely
• Tiger's eye: Willpower to follow through

Justice and Grounding

• Hematite: Grounding in justice work
• Obsidian: Truth, facing responsibility
• Smoky quartz: Grounding, sustained commitment

How to Use

• Hold when making donations
• Carry during advocacy work
• Keep on altar as reminder of commitment
• Use to stay grounded in ongoing work

Making It Sustainable

Ongoing Commitment

Monthly practices:

• Set up recurring donations
• Buy from Indigenous businesses regularly
• Share Indigenous voices consistently
• Check in on your commitments

Annual practices:

• Increase donations yearly
• Evaluate your impact
• Learn about new Indigenous-led initiatives
• Deepen your commitment

Lifelong practices:

• This is forever work, not temporary
• Pass commitment to your children
• Make it part of your values
• Never stop

Specific Action Steps

Start Today

This week:

1. Set up monthly donation to Indigenous organization
2. Buy something from Indigenous artisan
3. Follow 5 Indigenous activists/educators on social media
4. Learn whose land you're on (native-land.ca)

This month:

1. Attend Indigenous-led event or action
2. Read book by Indigenous author
3. Support local Indigenous cause
4. Educate yourself about local Indigenous history

This year:

1. Make reparations regular part of budget
2. Advocate for Indigenous rights consistently
3. Build relationships with Indigenous community
4. Use your privilege for justice

For Different Situations

Tailored Approaches

If you have money:

• Donate generously and regularly
• Fund Indigenous-led initiatives
• Buy from Indigenous businesses
• Support Indigenous artists and teachers

If you have platform:

• Amplify Indigenous voices
• Give them your platform
• Use your reach for their causes
• Step back and let them lead

If you have time:

• Volunteer for Indigenous-led organizations
• Show up to actions and protests
• Do the work in white spaces
• Educate other non-Natives

If you have skills:

• Offer pro bono work to Indigenous organizations
• Use your skills for their causes
• Don't expect credit or control
• Follow their lead

Integration: Action, Not Words

Supporting Indigenous practitioners and communities isn't optional if you're serious about decolonization. It's not charity—it's justice. It's reparations for what was stolen and what you continue to benefit from.

Give money. Amplify voices. Advocate for rights. Support sovereignty. Do this regularly, not once. Do it quietly, not for praise. Do it because it's right, not because it makes you feel good.

This is what accountability looks like. This is reparations in action. Not just respecting boundaries, but actively supporting the communities whose boundaries you're respecting.

Stop talking. Start doing. Give back. That's what justice requires.

Next in this series: The Difference Between Syncretism and Appropriation

As you ground this lifelong commitment in action, may the clarity of Void Whisper Audio help you release old patterns of performative guilt, while the steady resolve of Emotional Filter Ritual Kit supports you in filtering out distraction and staying focused on justice work, and the courageous energy of Sacred Space Cleanse keeps your intention and your space aligned with the truth of ongoing accountability.