Urban Indigenous Collective (UIC)

UIC employed Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian protester Marianne Almero first as an intern and eventually as a Community Wellness Specialist. Almero was arrested twice for alleged involvement in the occupation of two buildings on Columbia’s campus during Palestinian nationalist protests in 2024 and 2025. ^{3 4 5}

Initiatives

The Urban Indigenous Collective’s (UIC) health and wellness services campaign provides and connects Native American communities in the greater New York City area with health care, housing, food, and other needs. UIC also operates an Indigenous community center for hosting events and has various mentorship and internship programs for Native American youth. ^{1 6 7 8}

UIC also conducts research to build an evidence base that supports its left-of-center stances on policy, particularly on increasing the sovereignty of Native American tribal nations in the political process. UIC has also supported legislation and ballot proposals in 17 states intended to increase awareness and prevention efforts for murdered and missing Indigenous persons. ²

UIC also engages in partnerships with other left-of-center groups such as Rising Hearts, with which it partnered with for the “You Are Loved Community Grant Program,” a grant program intended to connect Native American advocacy movements with financial resources. ⁹

Marianne Almero

In May 2025, the Washington Free Beacon reported that the Urban Indigenous Collective employed Columbia University student Marianne Almero, who had been arrested for occupying buildings in pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus. Almero was arrested in Spring 2024 for storming and occupying Hamilton Hall and again in May 2025 for storming and occupying the Butler Library on Columbia’s campus. Almero began as an intern at UIC and eventually worked for the Collective as a community wellness specialist, providing mental health counseling and advocacy services. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the Columbia University School of Social Work, where she earned a Master’s degree despite her arrests. Both the Free Beacon and X (Twitter) account @CampusJewHate, a prominent social media tracker of antisemitism, demanded to know why Columbia allowed Almero to graduate. ^{4 5 3}

Leadership

Sutton King is the co-founder and, as of 2025, the president and executive Director of the Urban Indigenous Collective (UIC). She holds a Master of Public Health from the New York University School of Global Public Health and has worked in health care, philanthropy, and technology to promote left-of-center change, particularly for indigenous communities. ¹⁰

Ariel Richer is a co-founder and as of 2025 was the director of research at UIC. She received a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Social Work at Columbia University School of Social Work and is a Licensed Master Social Worker. Richer was also an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah, College of Social Work. Previously, she worked as an Impact Evaluator at the Administration for Native Americans. ¹¹

As of 2025, Carolee Dodge Francis was a member of the board of directors at UIC. She holds a Doctorate in Education and was a professor at the School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison at the time. Dodge Francis has worked for over 35 years in the public health and Indigenous communities sectors. She is a published author and as of 2025 was a principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. ¹²

Financials

In 2022, the Urban Indigenous Collective (UIC) reported $529,633 in total revenue, $350,639 in total expenses, and $248,638 in total assets. That year, the UIC received $255,656 in government grants (48 percent of its funding). ¹³

In 2021, UIC reported only $247,050 in total revenue and received no income through government grants. ¹⁴