Episode 95: Erin: Raising Awareness, Advocacy and Becoming an Ally for Native Americans

Erin Mitchell is the founder of Nation Unsevered, an Indigenous Ally Organization and she serves as the Program Coordinator for House of the Moon, an Indigenous Women’s Empowerment and Self-Defense Training Program Responding to the “Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls” (MMIWG) Crisis in US and Canada. 

Erin has an inspiring life journey and her life has taken so many big turns that led her to the work she’s doing now. Erin has practiced Chinese Medicine as an Acupuncturist and Herbalist for over a decade and through her work, she began to recognize that the only way to fix the problems our world is currently facing is to get to the root of the problem.  

In May of 2018, Erin traveled to South Dakota and Wyoming to participate in a Native American cultural immersion program, to learn history through the lens of the Indigenous peoples. It was that program that opened her eyes to so many issues facing the Indigenous peoples and made her want to become an Ally and to do something. 

After learning directly from Indigenous peoples about their experiences, Erin began to connect the dots. Nation Unsevered was born to learn from and to stand with and for Tribal and First Nations peoples, as allies and human relatives. And then House of the Moon was founded to empower Indigenous Women and to lead an Empowerment and Self-Defense Training Program Responding to the “Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls” (MMIWG) Crisis in the U.S. and Canada.

Erin joins the 1 Girl Revolution podcast to share her inspiring life story and to discuss her experiences and her incredible work with Nation Unsevered and House of the Moon. In this episode, we discuss: 

• Erin’s inspiring life story. 
• The major turns in her life that led her to go back to school and learn to practice Chinese medicine and then to become an Ally for Native Americans.
• How she became aware of the issues facing the Indigenous peoples. 
• How Nation Unsevered came to be and more about their incredible work. 
• House of the Moon and more about their work to empower Indigenous women and girls.
• The crisis of “Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls” (MMIWG).
• The issues facing the Indigenous peoples including poverty, suicide, Covid-19, addiction, etc. 
• What we can all do to support the Indigenous peoples. 

For more information on Nation Unsevered, visit their website.

For more information on House of the Moon and their Self-Defense program, please visit their website. 

To support Nation Unsevered and their incredible work to empower Indigenous women and girls, please donate to their GoFundMe. 

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Joy Harjo

“There There” by Tommy Orange 

Vine Deloria

“The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Indian Country” by Sarah Deer

Red House Series Podcast – “Invisible No More”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann

Lisa Ling’s Our America – Trailer – “Life on the Rez”