Indigenous Youths Reclaiming Waters and Rivers: Bioneers Photos by Robert Free 2026

Robert Free, Gary Farmer and Peter Coyote at Bioneers 2026

Bioneers Photos by Robert Free 

Photos by Robert Free, Censored News, April 3, 2026

Gary Farmer, actor and musician, tells Bioneers, “American society has never been able to overcome the paternal view that leads the nation. I often wonder in my senior years what kind of world we could have lived in if the invading empire had accepted Indigenous people as equals.”

Farmer describes how the Haudenosaunee shared their foods and methodologies of the natural world to survive -- instead of manipulating the mineral resources for profit.

Today, Robert Free shared his photos from Bioneers 2026. Robert was on the Trail of Broken Treaties, at the takeover of the BIA building in Washington, and at the Occupation of Wounded Knee. At the Occupation of Alcatraz, Robert's teepee was a monument to the struggle. Robert said, "In the early days the Sierra Club and environmental organizations didn't want input from Indigenous Peoples, in regards to national parks and monuments." Today, this is changing.

During Bioneers annual conference in Berkeley, Indigenous youths shared their struggles, from the Eastern Cherokee to the Klamath on the west coast, to Hawaii, as Native youths reclaim their waters and rivers, and rise to defend the natural world.

Peter Coyote, actor, narrator and screenwriter, greets Janine Savok and Jordan Saito, Na’ah Illahee Fund, at Bioneers 2026.

Bayou Youth Leadership, listen https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=976827504697179

ANIWA fosters global unity and spiritual growth in the celebration of Indigenous cultures.
https://www.aniwa.co/

Jeannette Armstrong, University of British Columbia Okanagan told Bioneers, “Many young people in my community have been separated from their language, ceremonies, and connection to the land — taught to see being in nature as something backward. But our bodies remember. They are nourished by the sounds, the smells, the presence of the land in a way nothing else can replace. And as that connection is lost, we see the impacts in our health, in our communities. This work is about returning to that relationship, because our bodies hunger for it.” 

Robert Free greets Mary Ulroan, Yupik high school history teacher from Chevak, Alaska, at Bioneers 2026.

Bioneers Videos: Highlights

https://www.facebook.com/Bioneers.org

Coley Kakols Miller, First Descent Youth Paddler told Bioneers, “Four out of the six dams on the Klamath River came down, but the two that are left are on my family’s territory. I know those final barriers will come down. It just takes time and awareness. Many people are saying that the Klamath is free, but it isn’t free just yet.”

A citizen of the Klamath Tribes, Coley is a Modoc and Klamath youth born and raised at the headwaters of the Klamath River watershed. She was among more than 30 young people who participated in the historic first descent of the Klamath River after the largest dam removal in history.

Listen https://www.facebook.com/reel/1658277325306813

At just 16, Jasmine Smith, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, shared that her community’s Rights of Nature resolution is already making waves — helping inspire a $12 million commitment to remove a dam and restore the Longperson (Oconaluftee River).

Bioneers said, "This is what it looks like when Indigenous knowledge, legal innovation, and youth leadership come together, not just to imagine a different future, but to start building it."

"Too often we are told to wait," Jasmine said, adding that youth are speaking up, and writing policy.

"We are still here, and we are always Cherokee."

Bioneers Speakers 2026

https://conference.bioneers.org/speakers/

Photos copyright Robert Free.

Apache Stronghold -- Confronting Evil with a Full Heart: Prayers at Oak Flat

Apache Stronghold -- Confronting Evil with a Full Heart: Prayers at Oak Flat

By Apache Stronghold, Censored News, April 2, 2026

“Moving as one across the blooming mesa, reminded of our higher purpose - to wish harm on no one, for hard times will find them soon enough; to walk with dignity and courage, gratitude and love for the gift of creation; to confront evil with a full heart, sharp eyes and a quiet mind, to know there is a price to be paid for glimpsing the gates of heaven that are right here on earth. May the people stay blessed and protected. Protect Sacred Oak Flat.” -- Charlotte Levinson, 3/29/26 Charlotte Levinson

Charlotte shared this prayer/poem after our prayer walk this last Sunday led by Apache Stronghold on the east rim of Oak Flat.

The fight is not over to protect Oak Flat and all of creation. Many gathered for ceremony at the original Holy Ground in San Carlos on Saturday and then on Sunday walked with prayers to Ga’an canyon on the East Rim of Oak Flat to pray not only for Oak Flat but for all people and all places that are suffering and dying because of the evil extractive and exploitive ways of Capitalism.

Vanessa Nosie, Apache Stronghold, shared —

“As all people came together and looked to the west to see Resolution Copper, we knew we were on the right side. Because for those people who chose profit and greed over what God has created, will come repercussions. Not because of us. But because of the decision they made. But with that, came hope. We saw the elders walk, and the youth right behind them. We will continue to exist. Nothing can take our spirit and the spirit of Oak Flat. What God has given to us at the very beginning is our spirit. And no corporation or government can ever take that. We pray for those that will suffer, because they choose not to see it, or they choose to look the other way.

These two days of prayer with all walks of life, we were one drum, one circle. one prayer, just as it was in the beginning.

And we will continue to fight.

We will continue to stay in prayer. And we will continue to protect Mother Earth.”

Apache Stronghold/Save Oak Flat

Charlotte Levinson

Apache Stronghold Holy Ground Ceremony March 28, 2026

Apache Stronghold Holy Ground Ceremony March 28, 2026

By Apache Stronghold, Censored News, March 28, 2026

On Saturday, March 28th at 8 am, a Holy Ground Ceremony will be held in San Carlos, Arizona, at the 7 mile Holy Ground. Those who do not know the location are welcome to camp at the Nosie’s Residence Friday night or meet there at 7 am to follow us to 7 mile Holy Ground. More information about Sunday March 29th will be available tomorrow. Announcements will be made in person at ceremony.

Apache Stronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'

Apache Stronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'

Statement from Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr.

Many of you have heard that on Friday, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the Government from giving Oak Flat to Resolution Copper for destruction. This is sad news. But we will never stop fighting to protect Oak Flat and each place that is sacred to our people. And we are still fighting—in the courts, in Congress, and, most importantly, spiritually.

In the courts, there are still four lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. All four cases are still going. And any one of these cases could still put a stop to the Government’s and Resolution’s plans to destroy Oak Flat:

• In Lopez v. United States, on the day after Friday’s ruling, seven brave Apache women filed an emergency appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to stop the mine and protect Oak Flat. The Supreme Court could rule on that appeal any day. The women in that case can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling in their case. The deadline to ask for reconsideration is April 27, 2026. That case focuses on religious freedom.
• In San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, the Tribe can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the Tribe’s rights, tribal consultation, and the inadequacy of the government’s decision-making process.
• In Arizona Mining Reform Coalition v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, several environmental groups and the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the government’s unfair appraisal of Oak Flat and inadequate environmental review.
• Apache Stronghold v. United States, which is our case, has been “stayed” (or temporarily put on hold) waiting for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which came on Friday. Now that the Ninth Circuit has ruled, our case will start again in the district court. We will continue making every possible legal claim to protect Oak Flat.

In Congress, on Tuesday, Representative Adelita Grijalva introduced legislation to preserve public lands in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District and fight back against the proposed mine. This bill is an important part of the fight to protect Oak Flat.

But even more than legally and politically, we are continuing to fight spiritually. This fight has never been primarily about law or politics. It is about who we are as human beings, religiously and spiritually. If we allow sacred places to be destroyed for profit, we are saying that nothing is truly sacred. We are losing something essential about our humanity—our ability to respect Mother Earth, to honor what is holy, and to live in balance with the world around us.

That is why we are calling on all people to continue raising their voices, in prayer and protest, to protect Oak Flat—to protect the sacred. We, the Apache Stronghold, invite you to an upcoming spiritual gathering on March 28-29, 2026 at Oak Flat.

The legal system may try to reduce our struggle to questions of ownership and profit. But our connection to Mother Earth predates those systems. It is something each one of us is born into, something we carry in our prayers, our songs, and our way of life. No matter what the courts rule, no matter what the government tries to do, we will never stop fighting to preserve our sacred places. We will not lose our connection to the Creator.

Mohawk Nation News 'liebensraum again'

Read the article at Mohawk Nation News

https://mohawknationnews.com/blog/