Black and Indigenous organizers unveil Bill of Essential Rights focused on the next 250 years

Day One Movement launches in South Dakota, calling for land back and reparations

By Regan Duceman | Jun. 29, 2026

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Black and Indigenous community organizers gathered June 29 at Camp Mni Luzahan to announce the launch of the Day One Movement, a coalition focused on land back and reparations with a stated goal of building a nation that works for all over the next 250 years.

“In order for us to build a path forward, we have to acknowledge the past,” said Nick Tilsen, a community organizer in the He Sapa.

Organizers described the movement as a response to what they called a false narrative dividing poor, working class, Indigenous, Black and immigrant communities. They said they will not be celebrating July 3 or July 4, instead focusing on the changes they say need to happen starting July 5 and over the next 250 years.

“We know that there has been a division, a perpetuated false narrative between poor folks, between working class folks, between Indigenous folks, Black folks, and immigrants,” said Brenda Pérez, an immigrant labor rights organizer. “And we know that our struggles are one, but we know that those in power continuously work towards pushing us apart.”

Organizers also framed the movement as an act of resistance and vision-building.

“So we’re here to build something new. So, as we resist the rise of authoritarianism and fascism in the United States and around the world, we’re also here out of love, to radically envision a nation that would work for everybody,” Tilsen said.

Alongside the movement’s launch, organizers unveiled a bill of essential rights, citing what they described as serious flaws and intentional gaps in the existing U.S. Bill of Rights.

“For generations we have lived by the U.S. Bill of Rights, a document that provides some foundation of essential rights and freedoms for all people, but contains serious flaws and intentional gaps,” said Jacy Bowles, a community organizer and climate justice activist.

The bill includes the following rights:

• Right to land back
• Right to reparations
• Right to self-determination and sovereignty
• Right to consent
• Right to basic needs
• Right to religion and culture
• Right to dignity and bodily autonomy
• Right to safety
• Right to move freely and belong
• Right to regenerative food systems and a protected planet

Although the movement is launching in South Dakota, organizers nationwide will showcase artwork confronting America’s legacy of Indigenous dispossession and Black enslavement over the coming days.

“So we are here to say that we are going to organize, we are going to heal, we’re gonna coordinate, and we are going to build a better future together,” Pérez said.

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For more information, visit dayonemovement.org.

YOUTUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/@Dayonemvmt