Red Star International is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization dedicated to building connections with Indigenous communities to expand mindsets, evolve practices and realize a collective vision of health and wellness. 

Indigenous Innovation. 

We create connections, build relationships and generate new ideas about what is possible.

Reclamation.

We believe in the power of Indigenous worldviews, values and relationships to heal and transform systems.

Connections.

We transcend boundaries to connect Indigenous communities in meaningful exchange.

Behind the Name ‘Red Star’

As they shine through the atmosphere, red stars tell us of seasonal changes, weather patterns, when to plant and when to harvest. Red stars are found in various Indigenous star knowledge systems as navigational tools used to determine where you are in relation to where you want to go, and to forecast changes coming over the horizon. When we incorporate red star knowledge into our work we are living in relationship with our environment, applying knowledge to make good decisions and contributing to the overall well-being of future generations.

Latest News & Events

 

Speakers for A Meeting of Sacred Waters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2023 CONTACT: Aleena Kawe, Chief Executive Officer (520) 777-9208info@redstarintl.org Red Star International Announces Speakers for ‘A Meeting of Sacred Waters’ 2023 TUCSON, Ariz. – Red Star International, Inc. is pleased to announce its speakers for the upcoming conference “A Meeting of Sacred Waters 2023” to be held at the Heard […]

Read More



Sacred Waters 2023 Event

A Meeting of Sacred Waters 2023

A Global Gathering of Indigenous Voices – February 16, 2023 from 10am to 4pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Join us for a conversation about the health and healing of our ancestral waters.

Read More



Press Release Sacred Waters

‘A Meeting of Sacred Waters’ Aspires for Critical Systemic Change

TUCSON, Ariz. – Red Star International, Inc. is pleased to announce its global gathering of Indigenous voices at A Meeting of Sacred Waters | 2023 to be held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona on February 16. According to Red Star’s founder and CEO, Aleena M. Kawe, A Meeting of Sacred Waters is a […]

Read More



Training: More Than the 5 A’s Virtual Training Commercial Tobacco Cessation Beyond the Clinic Visit – August 25, 2022

The Red Star team will be delivering this 3-hour training at the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board Virtual Training Summit. Tobacco has always been apart of tribal ways yet commercial tobacco companies have twisted it into an addictive and deadly product. Today, most people who are addicted to nicotine want to quit, but cannot stop […]

Read More



Special Event! From the Mountains to the Sea Film Screening – August 18, 2022

7:30pm @ The Loft Cinema (Tucson, AZ) Join us for a screening of our new short film, From the Mountains to the River, followed by a conversation about the health and healing of our rivers. “Kaua e kōrero mote Awa, me kōrero ki te Awa” “Do not merely speak of the River, speak instead to […]

Read More



Transforming Tribal Health Governance August 1, 2022

We are grateful to the Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals for the opportunity to share the Tribal Health Governance Transformation: A Resource to Strengthen Sovereignty through Public Health Authority this August! We will be delivering a 3-hour pre-conference training at the National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference in Saint Paul, Minnesota on August 29, 2022. […]

Read More



Canoe Dedication on July 24, 2022 (Aotearoa)

Red Star and Rehua Innovations are partnering to build a sailing outrigger canoe to revitalize mātangirua–dual powered sailing by wind and paddle. Through the vision of our canoe captain, Frank Te Mihinui Kawe, we received a grant from Creative New Zealand to build the sailing components of the canoe, which will be completed this month. […]

Read More



Revitalizing Inherent Alignment for Community Health – June 1, 2022

Red Star collaborated with four tribes and one tribal entity to work across sectors-health care, public health, social services and education-to strengthen communication, collaboration, and service coordination for their communities’ wellbeing. Red Star provided small grants and worked with the tribes to share their success stories with others. It was an honor to serve as […]

Read More



From the Mountains to the Sea – An American Indian Film Festival Selection November 2021

From the Mountains to the Sea: Concerns for the threatened Colorado River Basin drives Indigenous Leaders from Arizona on a remarkable journey to meet the Māori peoples of the Whanganui River. After winning a 175-year battle, the Whanganui River Tribes inspired the world when New Zealand law recognized their river as a living entity. A […]

Read More



SAVE THE DATE – NOV 18 (US) / NOV 19 (NZ), 2021

Add to Calendar Join us for a conversation about the health and healing of our rivers. Rivers are living entities. They embody a life force, spiritual power and authority unto themselves.  As Indigenous peoples, our relationship with rivers, springs, and oceans is ancestral.  Our ancestors have left it in our hands to be protectors, caretakers, […]

Read More



Press Release Sacred Waters

Aligning Systems for Health in Tribal Communities

(22 July 2021) Red Star and its partners from Seven Directions, A Center for Indigenous Public Health based at the University of Washington, are honored to work with five tribal nations to increase capacity and to deepen their understanding of systems – people, processes, and context. The launch of our new study, Indigenous Health Systems: […]

Read More



Press Release Sacred Waters

Red Star leads exploration of pathways to build climate and ecosystem resilience.

(31 Jan 2021) Indigenous communities are among those most adversely affected by climate change, despite contributing very little to its causes.  According to a recent United Nations, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report, biodiversity is declining less rapidly in lands that are traditionally owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous people. Colonial […]

Read More