Native Children’s Survival

Project Protect Awareness Campaign

NATIVE CHILDREN’S SURVIVAL (NCS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about critical issues facing Mother Earth, her children, and the seventh generation to come. Our mission is achieved through the international language of music and film, and sustainable product development.

Founded by Robby Romero in 1989, our first music video project, “Is It Too Late” was broadcast around the world from the Kremlin following President Gorbachev’s historical environmental speech at the 1990 Global Forum in Moscow. Since then, NCS has created award winning music, music videos, public service announcements, and rockumentary films, that have reached millions of people from all walks of life through broadcasts on MTV, VH1, Sundance Channel, CNN, SABC Africa, and many other networks around the world. NCS has also created and developed internationally successful products that have supported the traditional values and sustainable practices of Indigenous Peoples around the world.

In addition to raising awareness, NCS is dedicated to supporting children’s programs, and grassroots Indigenous organizations that are working on the front lines to protect and support Indigenous Peoples and the environment. Through our projects, we have successfully raised millions of dollars to aid these organizations.

HONORARY BOARD OF ADVISORS
Dennis Banks, American Indian Movement; Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; Adelard Blackman, Cold Lake, First Nations; Richard Moves Camp, Oglala Lakota Spiritual Leader; Ole Cassadore-Davis, Apache Survival Coalition (1924-2012); Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environment Network; Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Esq., American Indian Law Alliance; Sarah James, Gwich’in Steering Committee; Chairman Floyd “Buck” Jourdain, Red Lake Nation; Dune Lankard, Eyak Preservation Council; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Sioux Nation; Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper, Onondaga Nation; Audrey Shenandoah, Clan Mother, Onondaga Nation, (1926-2012); and Reuben A. Snake, Winnebago Nation, (1937-1993).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Irene Bedard, Rhoda Concha Hopper, Dakota Romero, Robby Romero

The success of NCS would not have been possible without the wisdom, guidance and support of our Board of Advisors. We appreciate your commitment and contributions.

Quyanaq (Thank You),
Native Children’s Survival Board


CURRENT PROJECTS

Project Protect Awareness Campaign

 

PROJECT PROTECT is an awareness campaign fighting for the rights of Mother Earth and all her children with the power of music and film to motivate and inspire the Global community into action.

WHO’S GONNA SAVE YOU Directed and produced by Eagle Thunder Entertainment (ETE) recording artist, Robby Romero and executive produced by ETE artist and PBS Native news magazine series host, Stacey Thunder, is a combination of music video and motion picture presenting an Indigenous perspective to a global crisis and calling for the restoration of life in balance. From the front lines of climate change, a teenage Apache Peace Warrior journeys on his skateboard through New Orleans, Louisiana five years post-Katrina. As he travels through the aftermath in the Ninth Ward and the nightlife of the French Quarter, visions of natural and man-made disasters and their powerful warnings fill his mind.

With profound insights from Hopi elder Thomas Banyacya and Onondaga Faithkeeper Chief Oren Lyons, the music picture honors the rights of Mother Earth and all her relations, and commemorates the United Nations General Assembly’s historic move proclaiming Earth Day (April 22) as a day of international recognition called “International Mother Earth Day.” It stars Romero and Apache Skateboards’ Tracy Polk Jr.; and features New Orleans’ first music family member, Aaron Neville Jr., Thunder, and ETE recording artist, Dakota Romero. Street artists Jules Muck, Douglas Miles, and Banksy are also featured.

“Who’s Gonna Save You” was shot on location in New Orleans. “We chose ‘Crescent City’ because this musically historic treasure has become symbolic to natural and manmade disasters, like Haiti in 2010 and Japan in 2011, and because the aftermath of corporate greed, corruption, relocation, and poverty associated with these catastrophic events is a profound warning and should be a great concern to us all,” said Romero and Thunder.

The song was written and produced by Romero and Grammy Award producer, engineer, and musician, Steve Addabbo. The music picture was conceived by Romero and acclaimed actor, Clifton Collins Jr. Funding was provided by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Coeur D’ Alene Tribe, Mille Lacs Band Of Ojibwe, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Red Lake Ojibwe Nation, and Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska.


THUNDERSTORM – A thirteen part film series bridging the gap between Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and the Environment. View the Brochure (PDF).


PEOPLES POWER – Public Service Awareness Campaign.
Click here to view all our NCS Campaign Clips.

ROBBY ROMERO & RED THUNDER – NATIVE CHILDREN’S SURVIVAL

Native Children's SurvivalIf not now, when? If not you, who? is an essential CD/DVD collection of music, music videos, rockumentary films and public service announcement campaigns about the critical need to permanently protect our last remaining wild places and bridge the gap between Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and the Environment.

FUNDERS


Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community

 

CDT
Coeur d’Alene Tribe

 

ORGANIZATIONS NCS SUPPORTS

AMERICAN INDIAN INSTITUTE

“Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth”

The Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth is composed of grassroots spiritual leaders from Indian nations throughout North America. Structured in the ancestral way, the Circle is open to all traditional Indian people. It serves as a living repository of indigenous wisdom and values. Its focus is exclusively on perpetuating traditional cultural and spiritual values.


AMERICAN INDIAN LAW ALLIANCE

“Let us put our minds together and see what kind of life we can make for our children.”

Founded by Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan) the American Indian Law Alliance is an indigenous, non-profit organization that works with Indigenous nations, communities and organizations in our struggle for sovereignty, human rights, and social justice for our peoples. We support our elders and leaders and are accountable to the communities we serve. We welcome our allies, while remaining committed to our original instructions handed down through generations of ancestors in order to preserve Indigenous traditions for our descendants.

The American Indian Law Alliance, is a Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The American Indian Law Alliance has earned the respect and support of Indigenous peoples worldwide in their over 20 years of experience working within the United Nations in defense of the rights of Indigenous peoples.


APACHE SURVIVAL COALITION

“Working to protect endangered Sacred Sites such as ‘DZIL NCHAA SI’ AN’ the Apache holy land known as Mount Graham and religious and cultural rights.”

Ola Cassadore Davis 89, passed into the spirit world November 25, 2012. Survived by her husband, Michael; one sister, two sons, four daughters and 14 grandchildren. Ola was the Chairperson for the Apache Survival Coalition. She was impassioned with a powerful voice. She used her voice and power to protect dzil-nchaa-si-an and the traditional ways of the Apache. Ola was truly one of the great warriors of our time.

Contact: Apache Survival Coalition
P.O. Box 1237 San Carlos, AZ 85550
520-475-2543 | Ole Cassadore-Davis, Chairperson (1924-2012)


BLACKFEET BEAR ROOTS ASSOCIATION

“As Indigenous People we must preserve and protect our traditional medicines and our way of life from extinction.”

The Blackfeet Bear Roots Association (BBRA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, Montana. The BBRA mission is to preserve traditional wisdom, values and culture and to improve the health and environment on the reservation.

The BBRA training program for Native Americans focuses on the skills, methods and sensitive cultural issues involved in Native plant horticulture and ecosystem restoration. Utilizing modern organic horticulture technology in conjunction with traditional Blackfeet horticulture, the BBRA works with spiritual leaders, elders and youth to grow and produce alternative food sources, medicinal herbs, plants and roots to help improve the quality of their community now and for the generations to come.

Contact:
Blackfeet Bear Roots Association
P.O. Box 1677 Browning, MT 59417


EYAK PRESERVATION COUNCIL

“Protect and Preserve Our Wild Places”

The Eyak Preservation Council’s mission is to protect the inherent rights of culture, heritage, language and ancestral lands needed to preserve and restore the Eyak tribe’s continued existence as an independently recognized Alaska tribal nation. An intact ecosystem is a living monument of proof, that we, as a human race, can coexist in harmony with the planet into the 21st century and beyond.


FREE NATIVE AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONER LEONARD PELTIER

Amnesty International


GWICH’IN STEERING COMMITTEE

“Permanent Protection Of The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Is Our Birthright”

The Gwich’in Steering Committee was established in1988 by consensus resolution of the leaders of the Gwich’in Nation. Gwich’in spokespeople from Alaska and Canada were selected to achieve the goal of permanent protection of the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit the Porcupine Caribou Herd’s calving and nursery grounds. For over 20,000 years the Porcupine Caribou Herd has been the basis of the culture for the Gwich’in comparable to the Plains Tribes and the buffalo. 100 tribes and inter-tribal organizations have passed resolutions of support including the National Congress of American Indians, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments.”

GWICH’IN NATION CALLS ON ALL SUPPORTERS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION NOW TO PROTECT ARCTIC REFUGE
The fate of the Arctic Refuge is the fate of the people of the Gwich’in Nation. The Arctic Refuge must not be sacrificed to meet the high energy consumption lifestyle of the U.S. The Gwich’in must not sacrifice our ancestral way of life it is our birthright and that of the future generations as we have had since time immemorial.


HAUDENOSAUNEE ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE

“We, the Haudenosaunee, bring our case to the United Nations to draw international to the environmental issues affecting the Indigenous communities in North America.”

The Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force is composed of Haudenosaunee leaders, environmental technicians, and scientists chosen by each of the Haudenosaunee Nations to identify environmental problems in their communities and find solutions to them.


INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK

“The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas have lived for over 500 years in confrontation with an immigrant society that holds an opposing world view. As a result we are now facing an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of all natural life.”

The Indigenous Environment Network is an alliance of grassroots Indigenous Peoples whose mission is to protect the sacredness of Mother Earth from contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining, and respecting traditional teachings and natural laws.


SEVENTH GENERATION FUND

“In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation.”

The Seventh Generation Fund is an Indigenous non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining the uniqueness of Native peoples throughout the Americas. We offer an integrated program of advocacy, small grants, training and technical assistance, media experience and fiscal management, lending our support and extensive expertise to Indigenous grassroots communities.

Our organization derives its name from a precept of the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) which mandates that chiefs consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation yet to come. Learn about us, the programs and services we provide, our grantmaking guidelines and giving philosophies, upcoming events, on line publications and so much more!

 

GLOBAL SUCCESS

Native Children’s Survival’s previous programs have enjoyed tremendous success and have reached millions of viewers around the world through television broadcasts on major networks including CNN, MTV, VH1, Sundance Channel, ORT Channel One Russia and ETV and SABC Africa. The following is a brief history of our success.

Our first music video campaign, Is It Too Late, was broadcast around the world from the Kremlin, on ORT Channel One Russia, following President Gorbachev’s historic environmental message at the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders in Moscow and screened at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. This endeavor earned NCS founder Robby Romero the title of United Nations Ambassador of Youth for the Environment and a certificate of appreciation from the United Nations Children and the Environment Pro- gramme.

As part of MTV’s Free Your Mind campaign, NCS created several stereotype breaking public service announcements. The PSAs were produced to introduce the music television generation to contemporary Native Peoples and to dispel myths and misconceptions about Native Peoples in pop culture. The PSAs generated a huge buzz and the Free Your Mind campaign won the industry’s prestigious CableACE Award.

Our VH1 World Alert rockumentary special, Makoce Wakan: Sacred Earth, was produced to help support legislation in Congress to protect Native Peoples Sacred Sites and Freedom of Religion. The World Alert Special first screened at a Press Conference in the U.S. Capitol at the Rotunda of the Senate Office Building. The legislation was successful and the VH1 broadcast gained 160,000 new subscribers from the heart of Indian Country for MTV Networks.

Our experimental indie short film, Hidden Medicine, was produced to support legislation then in Congress to protect the remaining four percent of America’s forests. Featuring a preface by Robert Redford, the short film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on Sundance Channel in the “Best of the Fest” series with a successful appeal that encouraged viewers to take immediate action regarding the Act to Save America’s Forests and the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act.

Our rockumentary film, America’s Last Frontier, was produced to help stop legislation in Congress that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. The film aired on SABC Africa’s hit program 50/50 during the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development. The television broadcast campaign was successful, the legislation was stopped and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was protected.

As part of our “r u 2 cool 2 care” public service announcement campaign, NCS created Native Wind a PSA featuring Chief Arvol Looking Horse celebrating alternative Native energy.

Native Wind had its debut at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, with some of the world’s most influential political and business leaders in attendance. Native Wind made its film festival premier at the American Indian Film Festival at the Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco, CA and went on to showcase at Festival De Cannes, Short Film Corner, in Cannes, France, the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival presented by Patagonia, Robert Redford’s Sundance Summit, and at the United Nations World Environment Day Global celebration.

In addition to the millions of positive comments from viewers, NCS has received numerous awards, such as television’s prestigious CableACE Award and music’s preeminent Gold and Platinum Record Awards. NCS has also received numerous Certificates of Acknowledgment from distinguished organizations including The National Congress Of American Indians, The United Nations Children and the Environment Programme, The United Nations Permanent Forum On Indigenous Issues, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, The Earth Day Network, SONY/BMG Music Entertainment and The Aveda Corporation.

However, the success of NCS’s projects is best stated by the press, Indigenous and international world leaders and the networks that aired our programs.

“Feedback has been more than positive: Congratulations on a very successful show that has generated more viewer calls than
any other show to date”
- MTV Networks

“Hidden Medicine is an experimental, mystical film that deals with the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the environment. The film beautifully weaves story, poetry, music and politics, creating an impending sense of our planet’s struggle to survive.”
- Sundance Channel

“It’s insightful for South Africans to hear the plight of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, and the United Nations World Summit provided 
the perfect platform for this screening.”
- SABC Africa

“We had amazing feedback from our viewers and they enjoyed the educational ride, the critical message so eloquently brought across with the beauty of Alaska and music that could become a hit in South Africa”. 
- SABC Africa

“We’re bringing a message to the world in celebration of the human rights instrument, the ’Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’,
because music does make a difference.” 

- Tonya Gonnella Frichner, American Indian Law Alliance,
North American Regional Representative to the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

“Robby Romero’s music and leadership in the Native America Community
will help commemorate the United Nations adoption of the
Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for years to come.”
- Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader United States House of Representatives

“A Powerful Plea For Mother Earth… This engaging hybrid music picture delivers an undeniable message…a powerful plea for Mother Earth, a compelling call to action and a heartfelt warning of im- pending doom if we fail to change our ways. The alter-native music and novel storyline with haunting imagery locks in your attention, empathy and interest.”
- Native Peoples Magazine

“Who’s Gonna Save You… This change in the weather will burn us, then we’ll freeze,” sings Robby Ro- mero, “there’s a point of no return; we’ve got to face reality.” Those are just some of the striking lyrics from “Who’s Gonna Save You… Thoughts from Hopi Elders, recording artists and street artists including the infamously artsy Brit vandal Banksy
are also featured in the flick.”
- Santa Fe Reporter

“A Voice on Climate Change From an Indigenous Perspective… Climate change is possibly the biggest challenge the world now faces. Romero tackles the tough topic of climate change from an Indigenous perspective.”
- Indian Gaming Magazine

“A highlight of the 2012 Colorado Environmental Film Festival… Who’s Gonna Save You”… a captivat- ing plea to the human conscious for love and respect of our Mother Earth and the life She sustains now threatened by climate change. A beautifully composed and choreographed film that one does not forget nor dismiss… a call to action by the
Indigenous Peoples of the world.”
- Colorado Environmental Film Festival

“Robby Romero and his band Red Thunder are changing the world
— and the world of music.”
- Los Angeles Times Magazine