The Red Nation is an activist group based in Alburquerque, New Mexico that supports abolishing of all property laws, transferring lands back to native populations, and opposing totally all western governments and forms of governance. ^{1 2 3}

Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks against Israel, the Red Nation released a statement  claiming that “decolonization is the only form of justice for the crimes of settler colonialism” and that “those who advocate for decolonization in Palestine must also advocate for Native liberation from US occupation.” The statement encouraged all “Native people” to boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against the state of Israel.  ⁴

Background

Red Nation is based in Alburquerque, New Mexico. ⁵ It claims to be run entirely by volunteers and operates on donations. It is fiscally sponsored by its parent organization, Red Media. ^{6 7}

Activities

The Red Nation’s website lists an official 10-point “program” describing itself as a resistance movement against “colonizers and US domination around the world” and calls for “land back” (the transfer of all property to indigenous people), the abolition of police (whom it calls “Indian killers” and the “foot soldiers of US occupation, racism, and misogyny”), and for women and “gender-variant relatives” to “lead the revolution.” ⁸

In November 2020, the Red Nation’s X (formerly Twitter) page posted a series of “papers” listing its political positions. ⁹ These include its June 2020 “Statement of Solidarity” with the Black Lives Matter movement, in which it praised the “active uprisings as a direct response to the rampant police violence that has terrorized our Black and African relatives for centuries;” ¹⁰ an essay in praise of the Palestinian liberation movement, which it described as representative of “an Alternative Path for Native Nations” as well as the “moral barometer of Indigenous North America;” ¹¹ and its series “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth,” the first part of which is subtitled “End the Occupation.” ¹²

The “Red Deal” series, published in April 2021 as a book through Common Notions publishing house, is a response to Green New Deal proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). It called the Green New Deal “a step in the right direction to combat climate change and to hold corporate polluters responsible,” and said its own platform is not a “counter program to the GND” but a “call for action beyond the scope of the U.S. colonial state” and a demand for the “fulfillment of treaty rights, land restoration, sovereignty, selfdetermination, decolonization, and liberation” of Native Americans. It praised Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s participation in the Water Protector movement and in the Standing Rock protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline. ¹³

The Red Deal calls for “demilitarization, police and prison abolition, abolishing ICE, tearing down all border walls,” as well as for “free healthcare, free education, free housing, full citizenship, equal protection for undocumented relatives, a complete moratorium on oil, gas, coal, and carbon extraction and emissions,” and various other environmentalist policies including “denuclearization.” It also called for identity-related efforts, such as “Black selfdetermination and autonomy, gender and sexual equality, Two-Spirit, trans*, and queer liberation, and the restoration of sacred sites.” ¹⁴

Red Nation maintains a YouTube channel for its The Red Nation Podcast, which is hosted by Nick Estes and Jen Marley. The channel uploads interviews, talks, and documentaries on politics, culture, and history “from an Indigenous left perspective.” The channel was created in March 2015. ¹⁵ As of September 2024, videos included “Debrief from Venezuela: World Social Alternative,” “Jimmy Patino on the centrality of the Twin Cities to the fight against police brutality,” and ““I know Palestine will be free, now more than ever”/ Frances Hasso.” ¹⁶

Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks against Israel, Red Nation released a statement on its website claiming that “decolonization is the only form of justice for the crimes of settler colonialism.” The statement also encouraged all “Native people” to boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) movement targeting the State of Israel. ¹⁷

Funding

The Red Nation runs a Patreon account through which it collects donations from its supporters. It has three tiers of membership: “Ruggit Prole” for $2 per month, “Supporter” for $5 per month, and “Comrade” for $10 per month. ¹⁸

1. “The Red Nation.” X (Twitter) – Location in Bio. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://x.com/The_Red_Nation.
2. “The Red Nation Program.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/10-point-program/.
3. “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Red-Deal_Part-I_End-The-Occupation-1.pdf.
4. Editorial Council. “The Red Nation stands with Palestinians in their struggle for decolonization and land back.” The Red Nation, October 13, 2023. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/the-red-nation-stands-with-palestinians-in-their-struggle-for-decolonization-and-land-back/.
5. “The Red Nation.” X (Twitter) – Location in Bio. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://x.com/The_Red_Nation.
6. “Support.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/support/.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Red Media. 2022. Box I.
8. “The Red Nation Program.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/10-point-program/.
9.  “Post. X (Twitter) – The Red Nation, November 29, 2020. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://x.com/The_Red_Nation/status/1332923089227816962.
10. Editorial Council. “Statement of Solidarity With #BlackLivesMatter.” The Red Nation, June 15, 2020. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/statement-of-solidarity-with-blacklivesmatter/.
11. Estes, Nick. “The Liberation of Palestine Represents an Alternative Path for Native Nations.” The Red Nation, September 7, 2019. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/the-liberation-of-palestine-represents-an-alternative-path-for-native-nations/.
12. “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Red-Deal_Part-I_End-The-Occupation-1.pdf.
13. “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Red-Deal_Part-I_End-The-Occupation-1.pdf.
14. “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth.” Common Notions. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://www.commonnotions.org/the-red-deal.
15. “The Red Nation.” YouTube – @TheRedNation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLWlIHx5dZiPfCosHk0YqFQ.
16. “Videos.” YouTube – @TheRedNation. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/@TheRedNation/videos.
17. Editorial Council. “The Red Nation stands with Palestinians in their struggle for decolonization and land back.” The Red Nation, October 13, 2023. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://therednation.org/the-red-nation-stands-with-palestinians-in-their-struggle-for-decolonization-and-land-back/.
18. “Red Media.” Patreon. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr.