Indigenous Rights of Rivers Oklahoma

Oklahoma has become a fossil-fuel dependent state, home to the world's largest convergence of aging oil and gas pipelines and thousands of manmade earthquakes owing to fracking/injection wells. The Ponca (and other tribes) cannot currently drink their own well water or grow organic food for miles. They hold funerals nearly every week from fossil fuel-related illnesses. Fossil fuel "man camps" bring drugs and violence and increases in missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). Most of the fossil fuel projects are placed on or near tribal communities. Some tribes welcome fossil fuel jobs and infrastructure as they face severe poverty, and information about economic alternatives is scarce. 

 “Politicians and Big Oil call it ‘economic progress’. The Ponca call it ‘environmental genocide’. We can do better for our communities without sacrificing the water.”  -- Ponca Chairman Oliver Littlecook upon the Business Council’s unanimous vote to pass the Inherent Rights of Rivers into tribal law (July 2022).  Tribal Nations have more autonomy to make and administer laws than non-tribal communities. The Ponca were the first US tribe to recognize the Rights of Nature and Climate in 2017, though Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Environmental Ambassador) and community members were initially skeptical—rights are a western legal construct, and every treaty with the US has been violated. The Ponca found that this resonated with their own traditions, understood that the path would be long, and feel it is a powerful statement to transform western law to reflect Indigenous understandings and confront the dominant notion of “property law” which legalizes destruction of the Earth for profit.  Though many tribes have followed, passing a tribal law is only a small step in the process.

Casey and Movement Rights brought learning delegations to visit Indigenous peoples of Ecuador, New Zealand and elsewhere. The Whanganui River was the first river in the world to "own itself" with legal guardians that shift how decisions are made based on the holistic health of the river and Maori cosmology. Globally, the Rights of Nature movement is Indigenous-led and far more than a legal strategy. Rather, it is a powerful force for system change led by Indigenous peoples and cosmology that recognizes that human laws and culture must realign with the laws of the natural world. 

In 2022 the Ponca passed the Rights of the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers, understanding that they could not act alone. There are over 78,000 miles of river that connect the 39 recognized tribes in Oklahoma, and only by building a coalition of intertribal River Rights protectors, an influx of independent water testing, rekindling of ceremony, implementing traditional ecological knowledge and economic just transition strategies can tribes come together to protect their traditional responsibilities to the waters from fossil fuel harms.  

Recognizing Rights of Nature/Rivers places obligations on humans to live within, rather than as owners of, the natural world, and to protect and replenish the ecosystems upon which our mutual well-being depends. Globally, Indigenous communities are leading this effort. 

Implementing Indigenous-led Rights of Rivers in Oklahoma is a huge undertaking, but building coalitions to protect traditional lifeways is not without precedent. Examples include the 1972 Wounded Knee occupation (of which Casey’s brother Carter Camp was a leader), the Cowboy & Indian Alliance that helped stop the KXL pipeline, Standing Rock and the rise of the Land Back movement are all examples of the power of Indigenous people coming together to protect water, land and future generations. 

In 2022 the Ponca passed the Rights of the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers understanding that they could not act alone. There are over 78,000 miles of river that connect the 39 recognized tribes in Oklahoma, and only by building a coalition of intertribal River Rights protectors, an influx of independent water testing, rekindling of ceremony, implementing traditional ecological knowledge and economic just transition strategies can tribes come together to protect their traditional responsibilities to the waters from fossil fuel harms. The strategy is in two parts:

• Defending and decolonizing Ponca territory and sacred waters against fossil fuels through an Indigenous-led Rights of Rivers model deeply rooted in tribal sovereignty, ceremony, and Original Instructions, guided by the tribe’s hereditary Women's Society, Pa'thata, keepers of the Waters since time immemorial.  
• Bringing together members of Oklahoma’s 39 recognized tribes (including tribes engaged in fossil fuels) to unite intertribally for water protection utilizing Indigenous sovereignty and regenerative approaches including LandBack, IJT, ceremony, Rights of Rivers, MMIW campaigns and more. This has begun through “the Convening of the Four Winds: Listening to the Waters Speak,” events hosted/led by different tribal groups in partnership with the Pa’thata.

The Ponca cannot stand alone against the state-sponsored fossil fuels. The Arkansas river alone runs 1500 miles through Oklahoma. “The rivers connect us all,” says Casey, Ponca Environmental Ambassador and Movement Rights project lead. “We’re calling all water protectors upstream and down to come together in ceremony and action—to learn from each other and listen to what the rivers have to teach us.” 

In 2022 the Ponca hosted the first Convening of the Four Winds—bringing tribal communities from OK (and Indigenous frontline leaders from beyond) for 2 days of ceremony, strategy and training. On April 22-23, 2023 Cherokee tribal members hosted the 2nd Convening on the Cherokee reservation. Over 150 people registered, representing 59 tribes. At least two other regional tribal gatherings are planned before convening a statewide symposium to create an intertribal coalition.   

While the Ponca continue to develop and implement their Rights of Rivers vision, simultaneously these gatherings mark the first step in convening a statewide coalition of Indigenous water protectors to confront Big Oil and stand for the Rights of Rivers. Watch the 6-minute video of the first Convening of the 4 Windsheld in Ponca territory.

The journey from the Ponca homelands to what would become Oklahoma took place in 1877. Program leader Casey Camp’s grandfather was eight years old when he was walked at the point of a bayonet from South Dakota with his parents and grandparents. Hundreds of tribes were forced to walk along many “Trails of Tears” nationwide and 36 tribes were forced to settle in Oklahoma where three tribes had already existed. 

The Ponca of Oklahoma includes about 2,000 tribal members, all descendants of the survivors of their Trail of Tears journey. The Ponca of Oklahoma chose the spot where their reservation remains because of the confluence of the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers, which reminded them of their homeland. The settler community that eventually moved to surround the tribe would eventually be named Ponca City (current population 24,400).  As Casey has said, “from the Arctic refuge to the Bayou, it is nothing new to Native peoples that so much oil and gas activities are placed on or near tribal land, contaminating soil, rivers, aquifers and air while adding to the climate crisis and directly impacting community health. We are considered ‘sacrifice communities’”.

Oklahoma is home to the 4th largest Native American population. The 39 federally recognized tribes constitute 8% of the state’s population, or approximately 317,000 people (not including the many more who are not counted through blood quantum of federally recognized tribes).  It goes without saying that beneficiaries of this project if successful at shifting how fossil fuels operate in Oklahoma and protect freshwater, that figure would include everyone upstream and downstream of the rivers, not just tribal populations, the target of this project. 

The fight for Indigenous rights has never been more important for all humanity. It is no coincidence that more than 80% of the world’s remaining intact forests and biodiversity is in Indigenous hands. They are global leaders of green movements, including the Rights of Nature, which provides legal standing for ecosystems in law, and creates the necessary space for other economic avenues to emerge that are sustainable for current and future generations. 

Oklahoma is home to the 4th largest Native American population. The 39 federally recognized tribes constitute 8% of the state’s population, or approximately 317,000 people (not including the many more who are not counted through blood quantum of federally recognized tribes).  It goes without saying that beneficiaries of this project if successful at shifting how fossil fuels operate in Oklahoma and protect freshwater, that figure would include everyone upstream and downstream of the rivers, not just tribal populations, the target of this project. 

As mentioned above, this project started on the Ponca reservation and while the tribe will implement solutions through their own Rights of Rivers law, the larger component is to bring together a coalition of tribal communities in Oklahoma. The Convenings of the 4 Winds each take place in different regions (representing the 4 Directions, north, south, west and east) are the first step toward creating that statewide Indigenous-led coalition. Together as a coalition, tribal members will begin to work together to provide education about fossil fuels among tribes where that is needed, and a variety of tribally based energy solutions. For example, wind energy would be a highly appropriate and available technology for this windy Plains state. Fixing wells, transitioning oil pipelines to clean water, reintroducing native species to promote riverbed health and other Indigenous just transition strategies are plentiful, available and profitable. But these solutions are not promoted by the state, and are therefore not very visible. Moving away from fossil fuels will be a daunting task, but Rights of Rivers offers a framework to begin moving in this direction, and bringing in experts and Indigenous practicioners will be an important part of this necessary transition. 

Movement Rights co-founders brought many years of experience working with Indigenous peoples and doing the work from the grassroots to the UN on the Rights of Nature. Beginning in 2015, working with our founding board member, and Ponca elder, Casey Camp Horinek, we began to formulate a strategic plan to elevate Indigenous-led Rights of Nature in North America by making a long-term commitment to the Ponca Nation and regional tribal communities. Our Indigenous and women-led team at Movement Rights follow Casey's (and regional tribal community) leadership in all of the activities we have undertaken in support of the Ponca Nation and Oklahoma tribes, including: 

• Movement Rights sponsored Casey at international speaking events and GARN Tribunals beginning in 2015. 
• A primary reason Casey sought to be elected to a single term on the Tribal Business Council in 2016 was to assist her community to become the first tribe in the US to recognize Rights of Nature on tribal land. 
• Since passing the Rights of Nature into tribal law in 2017, five tribes in US/Canada have recognized the Rights of Nature with many more interested in learning how this might work.
• We brought an Indigenous delegation including Casey to New Zealand in 2018 to learn from the Whanganui iwi (tribe) who were the first in the world to recognize the Rights of a river, using the guardianship model. 
• Movement Rights co-founder Shannon Biggs has worked with, learned from and supported Indigenous tribes and communities leading the Rights of Nature in Bolivia, Ecuador, New Zealand, Colombia, India and more. She led the President’s Panel on Rights of Nature at the 2010 Cochabamba Peoples’ Conference on Rights of Nature and Climate Change and was present as thousands of Indigenous people drafted the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth. As a GARN leader she has participated in numerous global Tribunals featuring Indigenous land and water defenders and was part of a 3-person delegation to TIPNIS Bolivia to investigate violations of the Rights of Nature in 2019, among many other activities. 
• We are also leaders in frontline and Indigenous fossil fuel spaces, including sitting on the steering committee of the People VS Fossil Fuels coalition, now 1200 organizations strong. We have presented at global symposia on fracking and fossil fuels. 
•  Ponca Nation on their territory, we held the first national Indigenous-led Frontline Oil and Gas (FOG) conference, showcasing the Rights of Nature as a strategy and learning from other grassroots BIPOC leaders on the frontlines of fossil fuel activities. 

The Convenings of the 4 Winds events each take place in a different Oklahoma tribal community, led by members of that community. They determine what the program looks like who is invited, what Indigenous experts will be needed, and provide outreach to community members. All of the activities we engage in have happened through the local leadership of  Oklahoma tribes exploring how they can apply their tribal sovereignty to protect the waters. 

Much like slaves were once considered property, and the nation’s economic engine was created on their backs, Rights of Nature seeks to transform legal and political systems rooted in property law. This will require a transformation every bit as powerful (and at the time unthinkable) as ending slavery and advancing civil rights in this country. The barriers are immense, and yet this movement continues to grow faster than any other environmental movement primarily because climate change is tangible, and radical change is now logical and practical. 

Transitioning from fossil fuel economy to models of justice and sustainability is equally daunting, and yet must be done if humans are to remain part of the system of life on Mother Earth. 

Neither of these massive challenges can be done on our own. Funding alone will not solve the problem, we must work with others to create an entirely different path. Indigenous people are the natural leaders of climate justice solutions, and our work is deeply rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge and ancient wisdom of living in balance with the Earth’s offerings. 

The work ahead is to make the Ponca Rights of Nature and their new Rights of Rivers’ law become a strong model that leverages and contributes to the power of the global movement for culture shift. We do not take lightly our undertaking or underestimate the need for solutions from every sector. We embrace the MIT solver initiative because it brings so many minds and experiences together for change. 

This is answered above. Casey is a member of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma and a respected Indigenous activist among tribes in her state (and beyond). 

Movement Rights staff/team is 80% Indigenous, and our Board (listed below) is 100% Indigenous. 

• Casey Camp Horinek, Ponca Environmental Ambassador, Ponca Nation of Oklahoma

• Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Occaneechi Band of Saponi Nation leading Indigenous efforts to stop Mountain Valley Pipeline and recognize Rights of the Haw River. 

• Michael Horse, Yaqui, Mescalero Apache, Zuni is a traditional ledger artist, actor and activist. 

• Tom BK Goldtooth, Dine and Dakota is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network

• Alison Ehara Brown, Mohawk and Seneca, grandmother of Idle No More SF Bay and the Refinery corridor healing walks. 

• Hiniwirangi Kohu Morgan, Maori (in the spirit world 2023). She was instrumental in helping bring Maori perspectives on the Rights of the Whanganui Rivers to our team, and led two Movement Rights Indigenous delegations to Aotearoa to learn from the Maori and share wisdom from Turtle Island. Ka whakahonore matou ia koe (we honor you).

Using an Indigenous world view, we do not think of people in terms of customers, but we do think in terms of redefining wealth as well-being. Our services are to provide the space, opportunity, expertise and conversations needed for tribal communities create change based on each tribe's traditions and culture, and how they can come together to act as a unified force to support the Rights of Rivers and a new economic way forward. 

As a non-profit, our work is funded by grants and gifts from individuals. The tribes however have many ways to generate income, including casinos, alternative energy and sustainable food systems. 

Our current budget is $500,000 from grants and Individuals. Some key philanthropic support comes from: 

Rockefeller Brothers Fund $150,000

LUSH cosmetics $25,000

Patagonia Environmental Grants $20,000

Equation Campaign $25,000

Wallace Global Fund $25,000

Anonymous Family Foundations $60,000