In July, Wakinyan graduated from the United Nations Indigenous Fellowship Programme (IFP). The United Nations program in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the world’s most prestigious Indigenous human rights programs in the world.

During his fellowship, Wakinyan was able to learn alongside and build relationships with Indigenous people from around the world. He met Indigenous human rights defenders from Brazil, Canada, Greenland, Uganda, Guatemala, Columbia, South Africa, Tunisia, Australia, Russia, Papua New Guinea, and more countries. Fellows received a comprehensive training on human rights, policy, and organizing strategies geared towards Indigenous Peoples.

The fellowship culminated in attending UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). There, Wakinyan provided rights statements/interventions on the protection of the Lakota peoples’ sacred Black Hills against multinational mining corporations.

The United Nations is a historical site of convergence for the Iroquois, Lakota, Maori, Indigenous Peoples, and the American Indian Movement who launched a global movement for treaty rights an Indigenous human rights. Ultimately, their advocacy culminated in high level global Indigenous forums, organizations, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.