In June 2018 IllumiNative was born from unprecedented research that showed invisibility is the modern form of racism against Native peoples and a primary threat to Native lives and livelihood. We were founded to build power for Native peoples to dismantle invisibility and the racism it fuels by amplifying Native voices, stories, and issues across popular culture, media, and other key sectors of society.
In just three years, IllumiNative has re-educated millions of Americans about who Native peoples are today and sparked a national conversation about the systemic racism we face. We have:
- Reached more than 144 million people across social media;
- Placed 291 articles and interviews in major media outlets, from the New York Times and Washington Post to People Magazine, Teen Vogue, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Lifetime, and more.
- Partnered with 18 major entertainment and media companies to increase pathways for Native talent and representation.
With our partners across Indian Country and by tapping into powerful grassroots networks and telling our stories, we have played a leading role in achieving groundbreaking victories, including:
- Pressuring the Washington Football and Cleveland Baseball Teams to change their racist names;
- Mobilizing a record number of Native voters in the 2020 election;
- Advocating for the successful confirmation of Deb Haaland to Secretary of the Interior;
- Educating our communities and sounding the alarm for policymakers about the dangers of COVID-19 in Indian Country; and
- Successfully taking on CNN, one of the world’s leading media companies, for their erasure of and racism against Native peoples.
- By bringing together Indian Country and allies and coalescing the profound energy of people committed to justice, IllumiNative is changing the culture that props up a false story of who we are and changing the future so our peoples and children can thrive.
To learn more, go to: https://illuminatives.org
Native Education for All: https://illuminatives.org/nefa/
