About Us

Group of Indigenous people walking outdoors advocating for Indigenous rights and sacred land protection.

7 Directions of Service (7DS) was founded by frontline activists Crystal Cavalier-Keck and Jason Campos Crazy Bear Keck on Crystal's ancestral Occaneechi-Saponi lands in the rural Piedmont region of North Carolina.

Initially, 7DS began as a culture class and youth program, evolving into a regional grassroots mobilization platform that emphasizes cultural revitalization, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.

Everything changed in 2018 when Crystal and Jason discovered that the MVP Southgate fracked gas pipeline was set to pass through Crystal's hometown and tribal grounds. This prompted them to dedicate their lives to resisting the pipeline and supporting the working-class and farming families along the route. Thanks to our coordinated opposition, MVP Southgate has never progressed, and 7DS continues to organize against it and other fossil fuel infrastructure proposals.

7DS also prioritizes fostering Indigenous leadership and youth empowerment, cultural and land reclamation, and advancing the Rights of Nature, which seeks to enshrine in law the inherent rights of rivers and ecosystems to thrive. Through media campaigns and public events, such as our annual “Truthsgiving” and the Southeastern Indigenous Coalition Environmental Conference, 7DS stands as a leading force in engaging our region in transformative cultural and community-building experiences that inspire paradigm shifts.

"The destructive force of racial capitalist economies continues to harm all life and sacred kinship systems, starting with our beloved earth and extending into our intimate family relationships. We find ourselves in uncertain times; however, this moment brims with opportunities for radical change. Now it is crucial to look to the leadership, wisdom, and experience of those who are on the frontlines."

-Crystal and Jason

CORE INITIATIVES

Protect Sacred Places from Polluters

Despite the urgent necessity to transition to clean energy sources, the Southeast is facing an onslaught of methane gas expansion projects, including the Transco SSEP, Enbridge's T-15, MVP Southgate, and Buc-ee’s 120-pump gas station. To combat these developments, 7DS is fostering grassroots mobilization among impacted community members, crossing racial and class lines, to advocate for Indigenous rights and promote cultural revitalization. This leader-full movement aims to stop these disastrous projects from moving forward.

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Advance Rights of Nature Laws and Policies

We are leading a long-haul effort to bring the Indigenous-led Rights of Nature Movement to NC. Our initial focus will be on advancing Rights of Nature legislation for the Haw River in the NC General Assembly and at the municipal level. Through grassroots mobilization and fostering a cultural revitalization that honors Indigenous rights and Earth-focused values, we will engage in advocacy, outreach, media campaigns, and education. We believe this approach will build the necessary foundation to achieve our goals.

Visit our Rights of Nature page to learn more and get involved.

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Nurture Yesa Culture

Throughout the year, 7DS offers youth programs, rites of passage, and Yesa culture classes to our community members, fostering cultural revitalization. Our developing community hub at YESA Farm serves as a space for re-establishing Indigenous agricultural and cultural practices and teaching, while also providing opportunities for youth healing and leadership development, all rooted in grassroots mobilization.

Our relational, cultural, and land work are intertwined with environmental justice and addressing the climate crisis, as the solutions we seek largely exist within the foundation of Indigenous cultures. To allow these practices to thrive once more, we must prioritize Indigenous rights and commit to putting LandBack into Indigenous hands.

Support YESA Farm + Rematriation

The 7 Directions Teachings

The 7 Directions teachings are central to every campaign, community project, education program, and partnership we choose to nurture, fostering cultural revitalization. These teachings, which carry diverse interpretations across Indigenous cultures, emphasize the sanctity and vitality of each direction: children, women, men, elders, the earth, the sky (symbolic of culture and the mind), and the direction within ourselves. While we reference the binary of 'women' and 'men', we acknowledge the spectrum of gender—a recognition well-known to our ancestors—and honor the sacredness of our nonbinary and 2-spirit kin. Through grassroots mobilization, we advocate for Indigenous rights and the acknowledgment of every individual's place within this holistic framework.