TO LIVE IN KINSHIP WITH THE LANDS, IS TO LIVE IN KINSHIP WITH EACH OTHER.
This is a relationship, balance and sacred circle that must be restored so that we can ensure our next generations have a thriving future.
In a perfect world, there is no ownership of the lands. Many definitions today of public lands, parks, national parks, even purchasing land to build your homes and businesses on, include this word of ownership. That word, over history, has long roots connected to trauma, violence, racism, theft, and oppression. Our initiative, will help to shift our language, gain a new perspective, and rekindle a connection with the lands and the people, that we used to have.

The Running on Native Lands Initiative aims to make land acknowledgements and land blessings at trail AND road race events a common and inclusive practice and encourages those who become a partner to go the extra mile by giving back to the communities which the land is borrowed from. Over the last couple of years, it has gone beyond just land acknowledgements and bringing Indigenous runners to these spaces.

With a kinship, we will help facilitate to connect race and event directors (even brands and companies) with the local communities and encourage event attendees and coordinators to rethink the way we view trails, races, urban and rural areas, and our connection with the lands by recognizing the lands we are privileged to run on, ARE stolen. That’s the first re-education opportunity. We are about community building and creating better communication pathways between event directors and Indigenous communities so that attendees can be more respectful of the land they are on and learn how to best protect the areas they visit in ways unique to the land and sacred ecosystems, and to learn if there are lands or sites that should be avoided or require extra care, This initiative creates every opportunity for us, as people, to gain a new perspective, to show up, to learn, to support, and give visibility to the first peoples, and be one of the first of many questions we ask ourselves, in how else can we create a more inclusive, safe, visible, supportive, diverse, accessible, and affordable or ask the question, who else is missing?

First Collaboration: Connecting Indigenous voices with collaborators to adopt and develop land acknowledgement, bring these land acknowledgements into their public events, races, and spaces, while creating opportunity to increase representation of Indigenous runners and people at their events.

This initiative serves as an additional justice, diversity, equity and inclusion (JEDI) component and commitment to the heart work many are doing right now to rebuild a better, supportive and more inclusive future for everyone. This will help many runners, not just Indigenous peoples, feel more included and respected when coming into the running and outdoor spaces. Should you feel like this is the right path for you - it will begin by partnering with Rising Hearts when organizing your events. We are looking to partner with forward thinking race/event directors and coordinators, brands and companies, groups and individuals, who want to go the extra mile in supporting Native communities beyond a land acknowledgement - but to expand that support and advocacy in creating a running community and outdoor environment to be more supportive and inclusive for runners and bodies who are underrepresented across these platforms and coming from communities that should be visible!

Second Collaboration: As we continue to facilitate the first collaboration opportunity with a phase out of our involvement in curating those kinships and relations, we move to more meaningful collaborations in helping to create safe, supportive spaces, for everyone, for those who don’t see themselves in these spaces. This is accomplished through check in calls, hosting/organizing panels, host community events, and our overall goal, help close the gap of access, so that community can participate. This collaborative work, expands beyond just Indigenous involvement and something we really enjoy doing with community.

Together, we can help make the running community more accessible, supportive, inclusive and visible.

BY REQUEST WORKSHOPS + PANELS:

Our most popular workshop opportunity - film screening of Know To Run: Yatika which highlights Yatika’s 2022 Western States experience and all the historical firsts we were able to advocate for and put into action with GU Energy Labs, followed by a presentation on how to go beyond a land acknowledgement!
Our 2 education opportunities are available virtually and now, hoping to do more in person events. Please reach out to us if you’re interested!
Contact: info@rising-hearts.org

Our second most popular panel / workshop for 2024! We are hoping to make this a more virtual and traveling opportunity to highlight these voices and provide opportunity to have other voices join these conversations through meaningful collaborations!

Join us for an insightful discussion and workshop from organizational and athlete perspectives on what it takes to go beyond a one time opportunity, creating meaningful relationships rooted in reciprocity and spaces where we see ourselves. We will share how to engage with brands and companies to create safe, inclusive, diverse spaces, where athletes feel protected in who they are, and for the communities and causes they represent and support. We will brainstorm what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to branding/visibility and impact campaigns – giving back to community beyond a donation, storytelling/branded campaign opportunities in how to tell a meaningful and supportive story, run group culture, DEI commitments, product development and innovation for all bodies, elite athlete sponsorship vs. changemaker/athlete advocate sponsorship. Knowing the difference and having the infrastructure created to support that athlete and their communities they are representing will be explored, too.
Contact: info@rising-hearts.org

RISING HEARTS ENTRY TO WESTERN STATES ENDURANCE RUN 100

GU Energy Labs Kinship

Since 2022, we have been in kinship with GU Energy Labs as their GU Gives recipient! GU’s products are designed to fuel athletes of all levels and disciplines, catering to a wide range of active lifestyles. Whether you’re training for a half marathon, going on a bike ride, hitting the trails for a hike, or pushing your limits in the gym, we offer nutrition solutions to support your performance and enhance your endurance.

GU is a team of problem-solvers and makers guided by their purpose to nourish and inspire everyone to experience the joy of movement in whatever form they choose. Their hydration, energy, and recovery products are specifically formulated to empower you to challenge yourself and achieve your personal goals, while having the most fun possible!

And through this kinship, we have been able to secure 1 coveted entry to the Western States Endurance Run 100 that traverses the Wasiw and Nisenan lands (Tahoe to Auburn CA). This race, historically, has been exclusive, inaccessible, not affordable, and lacks diversity across multiple paths. Since our participation in this race, we have been able to co-sponsor an Indigenous runner to participate, with 3 short films made documenting their experiences and with Yatika’s, really documented all the monumental firsts that happened from the advocacy and consistent communication we as Rising Hearts and our community partners and friends, pushed for. It’s a long relationship we are still growing, and nurturing as we transition from this entry with GU to Rising Hearts getting its own entry as an official partner of WS100 for 2025 and 2026.

Our next Indigenous runner for the 2025 Western States Endurance Run 100 is Scott Flatlip!

2021 10th Annual - She Is Beautiful 5k & 10k Land Acknowledgement

MAKING A COMMITMENT

If you partner with us - you agree to commitment #1 AND #2 (non-negotiable), but all are encouraged.

land acknowledgement is a formal recognition, a sign of respect for the First Peoples of the land and their connection to it and protection of the lands. Through this first step - you will be able to show respect and hopefully, grow a deeper connection and appreciation of the lands. In this first step, Rising Hearts is here to facilitate communication between you and the local Tribes. Please anticipate compensation to Indigenous communities or Native organizations for their time and energy who provide the land acknowledgement. If someone from the local community is not available we will help find the right Indigenous person in the surrounding areas to give the land acknowledgement on their behalf. In the event that these options are not available - it is respectful to ask the voices or communities if they would like to provide a written land acknowledgement that can be read before the races/events begin. If there are Indigenous participants in your event that are attending - Rising Hearts can reach out to them to see if they are okay with reading / giving the land acknowledgement. As a last resort, if there is no one available, your organization can write a land acknowledgement and Rising Hearts will help review to ensure it is accurate, reflective of the communities, their culture, history, and presence on the lands.

This is an opportunity to learn the difference between a land acknowledgement and land blessing.

Krystal Abotossaway (Anishinaabe & runner), running at the Canada Running Series Toronto Marathon on October 17, 2021, on Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Mississaugas of the Credit lands.

Krystal giving land acknowledgement and blessing for the Portugal. The Man Toronto show on 4/17/22.

Krystal Abotossaway (Anishinaabe & runner), gives Land Acknowledgement at the Canada Running Series Toronto Marathon on October 17, 2021, on Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Mississaugas of the Credit lands.

A. Download the NativeLand App - this is a great resource.
B. Visit https://native-land.ca/.
C. Text your zip code to 907-312-5085 and the bot will respond the Indigenous Peoples/Tribes that are directly connected to those lands.
D. Use google: For example, “Indigenous Tribes of the Great Plains… or Indigenous/Native Tribes and peoples of Los Angeles”
E. Visit cultural centers (when it’s more safe and not during a pandemic) in the towns you visit - learn from Indigenous voices in your self-informed education of understanding the lands you are on and who have been protecting them since pre-contact.
F. Don’t be performative with your posts - a land acknowledgement is not a "check in the box.”
NOTE: All technological systems created to help identify the Indigenous lands, peoples, their
place names and Tribes you are on - are a work in progress and not always accurate.

This is a new addition to our initiative. After working with many Indigenous voices for multiple events, one of the best practices we’ve learned from them is, making sure that those who are seeking to bring land acknowledgements and land blessings to their spaces, need to create and adopt their own land acknowledgement.

What does this look like?
After multiple discussions, it will be the partners responsibility to continue their education in learning more about the Indigenous communities and lands they are organizing on. Then, they will write their own land acknowledgement that is reflective of their own re-education and commitment. Rising Hearts is here to help draft and/or review, but we feel, the knowledge is best learned, when put into practice. We will still help bring land acknowledgements to your event, especially if it’s possible to have it done in person by an Indigenous member of the community. We will always strive to make that happen, but also, sometimes it’s just not possible or there is too tight of a turn around to make it happen.

Partners will participate in 1 or 2 phases of this partnership:
1.) Create and adopt their own land acknowledgement
+Provide at least one or as many actionable commitments that you will make, to continue to make this a long term, sustainable practice, beyond the remaining commitments offered below. This could be many things like: partnering with local Indigenous community to sponsor their own events, bringing an Indigenous voice to the board, committees, organizing a panel, will participate in cultural sensitivity trainings, etc.
2.) Opportunity for next phase of collaboration: Meaningful collaborations between Rising Hearts and “entity” to help guide culture, community and work, to create safe spaces, to plan or co-organize events, and more!

By giving back to Indigenous communities, you help make the running community more supportive and inclusive. It’s an opportunity to expands these conversations on how we can transform the running and outdoor industries and communities - to reflect on how can we make these spaces more inclusive, diverse, supportive and uplifting for everyone to feel part of and welcomed. On your registration pages - please add an option for the runners to reach out to Rising Hearts and get their discount code or we can work with the local Tribe or Native organization to donate these entries/discount codes and promote within their community or networks.

Request our toolkit to learn more about the remaining 4 commitments you can or could make!

For more information, to view land acknowledgement examples and learn from the resources we’ve
included by meztli Projects.
We highly recommend create an annual budget line item for community engagement and building. This is an opportunity to meaningfully invest in your commitments to cultivating a more thriving, diverse, inclusive, and safe environment. If you’re sponsoring, endorsing, or supporting Athletes to participate in races or events, just comped entries are not enough. This opens the door for more financial access. Think critically of being able to provide stipends or scholarships that support them with a coach, nutritionist, Physical Therapy, running shoes and clothes, and travel/lodging funds. We are a small organization, and for our athletes and partners, we have provided anywhere from $300 to $1,900. We collaborate with coaches as well to make those coaching rates/packages more affordable or completely donated. This kind of support, goes a long way for them to feel seen, supported, heard, and invested in who they are for a successful run or time at the event.

1.) Memorandum of Understanding between you and Rising Hearts
to track commitments, action and progress together
2.) You will be proactive in your learning
3.) You will become a better ally to Indigenous Communities and those in need
4.) You will have a new perspective of the lands you have access to – and recognizing
that not everyone has this same privilege and sense of safety
5.) You will become more informed
6.) This initiative toolkit can be adapted to anything -
not just running races/events.
7.) We advocate for compensation for those we include in this
process, so be prepared with a budget to compensate/donate
to those part of this collaborative work.
8.) LONG LASTING KINSHIP!

We hope you team up with us!
Email us to request our toolkit for free and donations accepted to support the heart work of this initiative.

Want to make the commitment and partner with us?
Contact us at info@rising-hearts.org with “Running on Native Lands Initiative” in the subject line.
Or you can contact us via www.risinghearts.org "Contact" form and check the box "Running on Native Lands Initiative."

We look forward to hearing from you and beginning this partnership!