Donald Trump’s immigration policies continue to ripple through Indigenous communities in the United States, where border enforcement and deportation systems often fail to recognise Indigenous identity, sovereignty, and whakapapa.
Human rights advocate Charlie Le Grice of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Cherokee, and African American descent is using storytelling as a powerful tool for Indigenous justice, drawing on lived experience, advocacy, and documentary film to spark global conversations about matriarchy and resilience.
Le Grice is involved in The Warrior Women, a long-running documentary project examining the status of Indigenous women through their own stories.
The project highlights how Indigenous women have long been at the forefront of social, political, and environmental movements, often without recognition.
“Donald Trump is 109 percent of my time,” Le Grice says. “We’re constantly filing litigation, constantly going at the government, because we operate predominantly with immigration.”
While much of her professional work focuses on legal advocacy, Le Grice says her Indigenous work is deeply personal.
“My Indigenous advocacy feels more like the mahi of my soul,” she says. “With everything in Minneapolis, this has actually come together, and for the first time, Human Rights First is helping out as much as they can within Native communities.”
She says reflecting on struggles at home in Aotearoa also shapes her outlook.
“Seeing the life we have back home, how far we’ve come, despite what’s happening right now with the Treaty,” she says.
“My cultural connections and values are very much with Ngāti Whātua and with our Māori principles and values.”
The Warrior Women project has been documenting Indigenous women’s lives for more than 25 years and is guided by a council of kaumātua wahine.
“The project is led by a council of, say, kaumātua wahine,” Le Grice says.
“We just record. They record every moment of their lives. We go up to Minneapolis, we sit and have coffee on the couch, and we’re mic’d up the whole time so every moment is captured.”
By centring women’s experiences, the project confronts the fractures of history and challenges dominant narratives. Le Grice says the backbone of the work lies in honouring those who came before, including legendary activist Madonna Thunder Hawk.
“Madonna was the first one to step onto Alcatraz and occupy it,” she says. “The women were at Wounded Knee, the Standing Rock pipeline, and a million other events. They were always there.”
The stories highlight Indigenous women fighting for rights in education, health, and the environment, often pushing back against systemic barriers to uplift their communities.
Le Grice believes collective leadership grounded in tikanga will be key to the future.
“I believe that iwi leaders will come together,” she says.
“Our tikanga Māori does resonate with us all. That’s the next step.”
She says it is her connection to her tūpuna that gives her the strength to continue the mahi.
“I’m very, very proud of being Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei,” Le Grice says. “My kuia was pushed up to Bastion Point and arrested.”
“On day 507, I always think about everything they went through so that we could have what we have now. We have a duty to keep doing the mahi, wherever you are.”
