Water Protectors committed to shutting down oil pipelines across Turtle Island, tribal culture carriers renewing sovereignty through traditional foods, Indigenous advocates for the wildlife relatives who embody our totems and enable our ceremonial practices – these are all examples of how Anishinaabek and other tribal nations are taking responsibility at the time of the 7th Fire. This presentation will focus on how the instructions found in ancestral stories and original languages provide the basis for activism and actions aimed at changing systems of exploitation and extraction into sites of reparation and restoration. From my perspective as a tribal citizen committed to political engagement on local, State and Federal levels, this presentation will explore how traditional understandings exist in tension with status quo incrementalism in political spheres that are nevertheless essential to the recovery of biodiverse ecosystems.