Candace Ducheneaux

is a Lakota matriarch and great grandmother from the Itazipco and Oohenunpa bands domiciled on the Cheyenne River Reservation. In 2012, Candace founded Mní, Grassroots for Water Justice, to protect and restore sacred water on Indigenous homelands.

For over 40 years, Candace has been on the front line of many battles for indigenous rights to land, water and culture, including occupations at Yellow Thunder Camp, LaFramboise Island, Bear Butte and, recently, the Očeti Šakowin Camp on Standing Rock to fight the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Currently, along with her children and grandchildren, Candace is working to create a sustainable community for her extended family, the Tatanka Wakpala Tiospaye, and to serve as a model for all of Turtle Island. Under her guidance, they are implementing alternative buildin design, permaculture, traditional gardening, renewable energy, water restoration, and language revitalization.