{"id":39868,"date":"2026-02-26T23:10:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/jesse-jackson-was-a-powerful-ally-to-indigenous-people\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T23:10:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:10:55","slug":"jesse-jackson-was-a-powerful-ally-to-indigenous-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/jesse-jackson-was-a-powerful-ally-to-indigenous-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Jackson was a \u2018powerful ally\u2019 to Indigenous people"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Susana<\/a><\/p>\n

Susana Sandoval, human rights commissioner at the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples, (left), Jesse Jackson and Nick Tilsen (right) after getting off the plane together in Bismarck, North Dakota in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Nick Tilsen)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Civil Rights activist and activist for Indigenous people Jesse Jackson died on Feb. 17. He was remembered for his close relationship with Martin Luther King Jr. and a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesse Jackson was a strong and powerful ally between the Black community and the Indigenous people on this land. I thought that it was very helpful to us to have a powerful ally,\u201d founder and CEO of NDN Collective Nick Tilsen said.<\/p>\n

Jackson, who was also a reverend, said he had Cherokee ancestry.<\/p>\n

He aligned himself with several Indigenous groups and causes like the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance to protect a sacred site from nuclear waste dumping. He supported the Cherokee Nation to have a non-voting delegate in Congress, advocated for the release of Leonard Peltier and was at the frontlines of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016.<\/p>\n

Jackson, 75 years old at the time, said when he visited North Dakota, he was willing to go to jail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith promises broken, land stolen, and sacred lands desecrated, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is standing up for their right to clean water. They have lost land for settlers to farm, more land for gold in the Black Hills, and then again even more land for the dam that was built for flood control and hydro power. When will the taking stop? When will we start treating the first peoples of this lands with the respect and honor they deserve?\u201d Jackson said in a press release at the time.<\/p>\n

Tilsen, Oglala Lakota, said he remembers flying with Jesse Jackson from Chicago to Bismarck, North Dakota to protest against the pipeline. Tilsen said Jackson asked him to explain the entire political history of the Lakota people during the flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were getting ready to get off the plane, he was putting his pea coat on and he had his scarf. He kind of started punching the air like how a boxer does when he gets ready. He started saying, \u2018Hey, brother Nick we don\u2019t need no pipelines. We need lifelines. All kinds of lifelines and no kind of pipelines,\u2019\u201d Tilsen said.<\/p>\n

After shaking everybody\u2019s hand, Jackson immediately wanted to go to the frontlines.<\/p>\n

Actor Mark Ruffalo posted on social media that Jackson \u201cstopped a wave of violence from the militias on the hill at Standing Rock the day the camp got word they were going to move in with a violent crackdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never felt such hatred focused on another group of people as those men armed with weapons of war staring out of their cold eyes to the peaceful water protectors. It burned my soul,\u201d Ruffalo said. \u201cJesse Jackson showed up and with him a sense of peace and calm. We will miss this man. Rest in power!\u201d<\/p>\n

Fredricka Hunter, who said she was a Native American outreach coordinator for presidential candidate<\/p>\n

John Kerry in 2004, met Jackson a couple of times. She said she was heartbroken to hear of Jackson\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

She recalled Jackson sitting next to Hillary and Chelsea Clinton at the Democrat National Convention in 2004 where Obama made his keynote address.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I watched and listened to Obama\u2019s historic speech, I could feel the passing of the torch for Jesse Jackson to Barack Obama. Those feelings still give me the chills,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n

Jackson alongside Indigenous rapper Litefoot called for Hip Hop duo OutKast to apologize for their 46th Annual GRAMMY performance that depicted Indigenous clothing and tipis.<\/p>\n

Litefoot said Jackson agreed to appear as his guest at the Gathering of Nations in 2004 and mutually invite OutKast to speak on stage.<\/p>\n

Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation Principal Chief, released a statement about how Jackson was a friend to the Cherokee people and how he reached out to the Cherokee Nation six years ago to discuss issues and visited leaders in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis message to Cherokee Nation was always one of interest in our history and issues and one of encouragement for Black people and Native Americans to find common cause in the name of peace, justice, equality and prosperity,\u201d Hoskin said.<\/p>\n

Kalle Benallie
\n<\/strong>Kalle Benallie, Navajo, is a Multimedia Journalist, based out of ICT\u2019s Southwest Bureau. Have any stories ideas, reach out to her at kalle@ictnews.org. More by Kalle Benallie<\/p>\n

The post Jesse Jackson was a \u2018powerful ally\u2019 to Indigenous people<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Susana Sandoval, human rights commissioner at the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples, (left), Jesse Jackson and Nick Tilsen (right) after getting off the plane together in Bismarck, North Dakota in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Nick Tilsen) Civil Rights activist and activist for Indigenous people Jesse Jackson died on <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> February 26, 2026<\/p>\n

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