Crushing Colonialism

What Crushing Colonialism does

Crushing Colonialism is an Indigenous-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit media and arts organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with a 12-person team. Founded by Indigenous storytellers and active since at least 2016, the organization produces international reporting, arts programming, and advocacy campaigns designed to uplift Indigenous voices, increase compensation and employment for Indigenous media workers, and challenge colonial narratives in mainstream media. Its primary beneficiary populations are multiply-marginalized Indigenous communities, including 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and globally diverse Indigenous peoples across North America, Latin America, Oceania, and Africa.

The organization's core products include Crushing Colonialism: The Magazine — a bilingual (English/Spanish) quarterly publication edited and produced entirely by Indigenous creators, distributed free online and in print to digitally underserved Indigenous communities. Related sub-brands include La Revista (Spanish edition), Decolonized Beatz (an arts and music program anchored by the annual Indigenous World Pride event), Hire Indigenous (an online employment platform connecting Indigenous professionals with employers and professional development resources), and the HOPE collaborative music album. The underlying technology stack is a web-based publishing platform (WordPress) augmented by a six-channel social media ecosystem (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Bluesky), email newsletters, and community organizing tools for screenings and live events.

Crushing Colonialism operates a donation-based revenue model as a 501(c)(3) entity, with no disclosed commercial pricing or fee-for-service offerings. Revenue is derived from individual donations, grants, and charitable contributions, supplemented by event sponsorship arrangements (e.g., Cultural Survival, Southern Equality, Disability Culture Lab, Mid Atlantic Arts, New Disabled South) and community partnerships (e.g., Native Max, Baltimore Center Stage, Donkeysaddle Projects, Adalah Justice Project, New Disabled South). Its go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on earned media, organic social, cross-movement organizing, and event programming rather than traditional sales or paid acquisition channels.

Name

Crushing Colonialism

Legal name

Crushing Colonialism

Website

https://crushingcolonialism.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Indigenous-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization producing a bilingual English/Spanish quarterly magazine, arts programming (Decolonized Beatz), and an Indigenous employment platform (Hire Indigenous) for multiply-marginalized global Indigenous communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Indigenous Media Publishing

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations (BPAGAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Minority, Indigenous & Disability Rights (BPADAGAH), Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions (THAJADAK)

Keywords

• Indigenous media publishing
• Nonprofit journalism
• Cultural arts programming
• Community media advocacy
• Indigenous employment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Crushing Colonialism operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded primarily through individual donations, grants, and charitable contributions. The organization states that donations are essential to continuing their work of sharing Indigenous storytellers, artists, and journalists. The Magazine is entirely free online and print copies are free for Indigenous communities that cannot easily access content online.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Crushing Colonialism is an Indigenous-led nonprofit media and arts organization that publishes a bilingual (English/Spanish) quarterly magazine, produces arts and music programming including the annual Indigenous World Pride event, and operates the Hire Indigenous employment platform connecting Indigenous professionals with career opportunities. The organization funds this work through donations and grants to uplift Indigenous storytellers and challenge colonial narratives in media.

Product overview

Crushing Colonialism is an Indigenous-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization that operates as a multi-platform publishing and programming entity. Its core products include Crushing Colonialism: The Magazine (a quarterly publication available in English and Spanish as La Revista), Decolonized Beatz (arts and music programming featuring the annual Indigenous World Pride event), and Hire Indigenous (an employment platform). The organization also produces the HOPE collaborative album and operates a merchandise shop. Together, these offerings serve to uplift Indigenous storytelling, create professional opportunities, and advocate for the just funding and employment of Indigenous media workers, artists, and storytellers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Magazine: Crushing Colonialism: The Magazine - a quarterly publication edited and produced entirely by Indigenous creators, published both digitally and in print in English and Spanish. Features Indigenous journalists, artists, traditional storytellers, and content creators.
• La Revista
• Decolonized Beatz
• Decolonized Beatz Indigenous World Pride
• Hire Indigenous
• HOPE Album

Products and services

• Crushing Colonialism: The Magazine A quarterly publication edited and produced entirely by Indigenous creators, published both digitally and in print. The magazine amplifies Indigenous voices across languages, Nations, and disciplines, featuring Indigenous journalists, artists, traditional storytellers, and content creators from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Guinea-Bissau, and beyond.
• La Revista The Spanish-language edition of Crushing Colonialism's flagship publication, running in both English and Spanish to reach international Indigenous communities across borders and languages.
• Decolonized Beatz An arts and music programming initiative featuring events, performances, and cultural celebrations centered on Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ creativity and community building.
• Decolonized Beatz Indigenous World Pride (DBIWP) Annual event celebrating Indigenous LGBTQ+, Two Spirit, and Indigiqueer communities through live music, dance performances, film screenings, and community gatherings.
• Hire Indigenous Employment platform connecting Indigenous professionals with job opportunities, offering professional development resources, career guidance, and submission opportunities for employers to post positions.
• HOPE Album A collaborative music album produced by Crushing Colonialism featuring Indigenous and Indigiqueer musicians, with contributions from Two Spirit performers.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Baltimore Center StagemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025Baltimore Center Stage hosted Crushing Colonialism: The Magazine's second anniversary celebration on December 4, 2025, through the theater's Shared Space Initiative which uplifts accessible and inclusive gatherings for underrepresented communities. The venue provided a fully accessible space designed to welcome Deaf, disabled, chronically ill, and multiply marginalized Indigenous participants.
• Donkeysaddle ProjectsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2025Crushing Colonialism partnered with Donkeysaddle Projects for the Severed film campaign launch on October 5, 2025. Mohamad Saleh, protagonist and co-producer of Severed, is a Donkeysaddle Projects intern. Donkeysaddle Projects is a nonprofit supporting young people in creating social change through media.
• Native MaxmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 August 2025Crushing Colonialism and Native Max, the trailblazing Indigenous fashion magazine, announced a collaborative campaign for Indigenous New York Fashion Week (INYFW 2025), taking place September 11-15, 2025. The partnership highlights Indigenous designers, amplifies authentic storytelling, and celebrates the intersection of fashion, identity, and storytelling. Activities include in-person coverage, designer testimonials, social media storytelling (reels, stories, co-branded posts), editorial features (co-published webseries with photo essays and designer spotlights), and visual collaboration (photographic coverage of runway shows and backstage).
• Cultural SurvivalminorOthersCultural Survival sponsored the second anniversary celebration of The Magazine at Baltimore Center Stage. Their quarterly magazine was distributed alongside Crushing Colonialism's publications at the event.
• Southern EqualityminorOthersSouthern Equality sponsored Crushing Colonialism's second anniversary event. Jen Deerinwater is noted as having joined a global campaign linking Palestine and disability justice in partnership with Southern Equality and other organizations.
• Disability Culture LabminorOthersDisability Culture Lab sponsored Crushing Colonialism's second anniversary event at Baltimore Center Stage.
• Mid Atlantic ArtsminorOthersMid Atlantic Arts sponsored Crushing Colonialism's second anniversary celebration event.
• New Disabled SouthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Disabled South sponsored Crushing Colonialism's event and is a key partner in organizing. Jen Deerinwater joined a panel discussion on Severed documentary alongside Dom Kelly (Executive Director, New Disabled South) as part of the Palestine and disability justice campaign.
• Indigenous New York Fashion Week (INYFW)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerCrushing Colonialism partnered with Indigenous New York Fashion Week 2025 (September 11-15, 2025) through collaboration with Native Max, providing in-person coverage, designer testimonials, social media storytelling, and editorial features.
• MICA Graphic Design's Decolonizing Design CourseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudents from MICA Graphic Design's Decolonizing Design course participated in Crushing Colonialism's second anniversary celebration, adding to the night's energy of learning, community exchange, and creative solidarity.
• Adalah Justice ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSandra Tamari, Executive Director of Adalah Justice Project, participated as a panelist alongside Jen Deerinwater in the October 5 Severed campaign launch virtual screening and panel discussion.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Native Max: Native Max is an Indigenous fashion and lifestyle magazine that partnered with Crushing Colonialism on Indigenous New York Fashion Week 2025. It competes for the same Indigenous creative contributor base and sponsorship dollars in adjacent editorial categories.
• Last Real Indians: Last Real Indians is an independent Indigenous-led media platform covering news, arts, and culture. It overlaps with Crushing Colonialism in audience, contributor talent, and the independent Indigenous media fundraising ecosystem.
• Native News Online: Native News Online is a nonprofit Indigenous news outlet providing daily journalism on tribal communities. It competes directly with Crushing Colonialism for readership, contributors, and foundation funding in the Indigenous media space.
• Indian Country Today: Indian Country Today is a major independent Indigenous news outlet covering Native communities across the U.S. It competes directly with Crushing Colonialism's The Magazine for Indigenous audiences, contributors, and donor support, and operates a similar editorial-plus-events model.
• Cultural Survival: Cultural Survival is an Indigenous-led nonprofit that publishes a quarterly magazine, supports Indigenous media, and operates as a sponsor/partner of Crushing Colonialism (sponsoring its anniversary event). It is directly comparable as an Indigenous rights and cultural-heritage publisher.
• High Country News: High Country News is an independent nonprofit news organization covering the Western U.S. with significant Indigenous affairs reporting. It overlaps with Crushing Colonialism's journalism, contributor pool, and nonprofit funding sources, and competes for foundation grants in Indigenous and environmental coverage.

Emerging players

• Powwows.com: Powwows.com is an Indigenous community platform covering events, news, and culture. It is comparable in grassroots audience and event-driven content, though narrower in editorial scope than Crushing Colonialism's bilingual magazine.
• Walking Eagle News: Walking Eagle News is an emerging Indigenous-focused digital news outlet with overlapping editorial coverage of tribal affairs and culture. It is a smaller-scale comparable in the same independent Indigenous publishing niche.

Broad incumbents

• Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN): APTN is a Canadian-funded Indigenous broadcaster operating across TV, digital, and events. It is a much larger incumbent with broader scope but covers Indigenous storytelling, journalism, and cultural programming in a directly comparable way to Crushing Colonialism.
• IllumiNative: IllumiNative is a large Indigenous advocacy and narrative-change nonprofit that funds Indigenous storytelling and media. It is comparable as a nonprofit advocacy/media ecosystem player, with broader programmatic scope but overlapping funder and movement relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crshcolonialism
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBc1BJUFG-F8dVx6f41GX_g
• Facebookfacebook.com/ircc.resist
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crushing-colonialism
• Instagraminstagram.com/crushingcolonialism
• TikToktiktok.com/@crushingcolonialism

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crushing Colonialism