The positive role and the wisdom of grandmothers is revered among Indigenous Peoples. IEN Indigenous Water Ethics Organizer Mona Pollaca is a Havasupai, Hopi, and Tewa member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes from Arizona is an example of the kind of grandmother who is held in high esteem, even beyond her community and tribal nation. She is an activist, educator, author, and spiritual leader who, along with other Indigenous women elders, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. In 2004, out of concern for the future of Mother Earth and in response to visions, a grandmother sent invitations to other grandmothers to gather and talk about their concerns. 

Thirteen women from around the world, each respected in their own right, came together at the Dalai Lama’s Menla Retreat Center, in New York, to discuss the state of the world, the environment, spirituality, and even plant life. Among them were notable Western women like Gloria Steinman and Alice Walker and Indigenous women from Africa, Honduras, Nepal, and exiled Tibetan woman living in Canada. Others came from Alaska, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, and Mona, from Arizona.

At that initial meeting, Rita Pitka Blumenstein, a Yupik from Alaska, told the others that when she began having visions as a young girl, her great-grandmother had given her 13 stones and 13 eagle plumes. The grandmother told young Rita that someday she would join in council with other women and she was to share those stones and plumes with them. This was the founding of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. 

“We (Indigenous Peoples) look at it as the responsibility of grandmothers – we have the moral responsibility – to preserve and protect the survival of our people, whatever nation we come from. Our bloodlines give us that responsibility and nobody should stop us. No momma bear will allow anyone to come into our home and mess with it,” she said. “ If anyone has a warrior spirit it’s us. We’re here because we had women in our bloodline who made sure we are here now. Young women are looking to us.”  

October marks the 20th anniversary of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. A celebration, “We Are All Related: Unearthing the Roots of Our Shared Humanity,” was held October 24-27, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the group held its first official gathering. The celebratory event featured the group’s founding members with special guests Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne) and Dr. Vandana Shiva. Mann wrote the introduction of the first edition of the Grandmothers book, “Grandmothers’ Wisdom: Living Portrayals from the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.” Shiva authored the new foreword of the book.

Mona holds a Master of Social Work and a PhD (ABD) in Justice Studies with an emphasis on Indigenous Peoples Human Rights, both from Arizona State University. She travels Mother Earth representing IEN and Indigenous Peoples at international forums like the World Water Forum, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and other UN venues speaking on topics of human rights, climate change, protection of lands and waters, and Earth’s biodiversity. She is a member of the Notre Dame Law School, Religious Liberties Initiative Advisory Board.