Donations Instead Of Gifts: 12 Charities To Help This Holiday

CANNON BALL, ND – DECEMBER 04: Fireworks fill the night sky above Oceti Sakowin Camp as activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline near the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The US Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it will not grant an easement to the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under a lake on the Sioux Tribes Standing Rock reservation, ending a months-long standoff. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

2. Native American Rights Fund

Cause: Native American rights

Why Choose This Charity: Though the relatively recent protests at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota have brought attention to Native American rights, the struggle to defend indigenous peoples in the United States has been ongoing for centuries. Though there are now stronger legal protections and greater visibility for Native causes, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) was founded in 1971. Its board consists of thirteen Native Americans from different tribes throughout the United States, as well as fifteen staff attorneys. NARF attorneys typically work on an average of fifty major cases at any given time. Most of those cases focus on causes that would advance Native American rights and establish legal precedent for future litigation.

Starting in 2001, NARF established the Tribal Supreme Court Project in order to “strengthen tribal advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court by developing new litigation strategies and coordinating tribal legal resources.” The project is staffed by members of NARF as well as attorneys from the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). The Project offers assistance to attorney and tribes throughout the nation as they work with cases involving Native American rights.

Links to Send Gift Givers: Their donation page here.