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A smiling woman standing in a bright outdoor setting and wearing a red shirt with Indigenous jewelry
A man wearing a red frock standing in front of an outdoor billboard that reads "NO MVP SOUTH GATE EXTENSION"
A group of 10 protesters standing on a city sidewalk in front of a building, holding a sign that reads "Bank of America: Defund Climate Chaos, Defund Human Rights.."
a stylized number "7" logo with a dark outline and red and yellow accents
A group of people holding small signs, standing outside under and overcast sky.
A person with their back to the camera is speaking to a large crowd in an outdoor setting
A group of people are standing together outside, and holding a sign that reads "NO MVP"

7 Directions of Service

Haw River, NC

In 2021, Climate Nexus launched an Energy Equity Regranting Project to help resource organizations, tribes, and community leaders on the frontlines of climate change and the impactful work they are doing to fight the gas industry. The energy equity transition grants prioritize grassroots groups with an annual budget of $1 million or less to boost their efforts in racially, ethnically, gender, and culturally diverse communities across the United States and at the intersections of public health and energy justice.

In our second year running the program, 11 organizations received grants ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, including 7 Directions of Service, whose work is detailed below. 

Overview

Founded on Occaneechi-Saponi lands, the rural Piedmont region of North Carolina, 7 Directions of Service works to give a voice to “those who are voiceless,” as Director Crystal Cavalier puts it, “in the fight against climate change.” Their main calls to action are canceling the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and its Southgate Extension and advancing the Rights of Nature laws and policies. Within their community work, they have teachings for each of the Seven Directions: children, women, men, elders, the earth, the sky, and then the symbolic within – you.

Activities

Rights of Nature Campaign 

7 Directions of Service is committed to the Rights of Nature laws, an approach to conservation law rooted in Indigenous values that recognizes ecosystems and the human and natural communities that depend on them as having legally enforceable rights to exist, regenerate, flourish and be free from pollution.

  • Haw River Assembly
  • 7 Directions of Service led a canoe and kayak excursion down the Dan River to bring awareness and understanding to participants of how the river reacts to our behavior. 7 Directions’ goal is to change people’s mindset, so instead of seeing themselves as separate from nature, they begin to see that they are in the dominion of nature and that they are nature. 
  • The News & Observer covered 7 Direction’s totem pole prayer, helping spread the message of their teachings to a broader audience in North Carolina.

Mountain Valley Pipeline 

In January, 7 Directions erected billboards in Virginia and North Carolina to educate people about their work against the South Gate expansion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. 7 Directions of Service is also producing a documentary with a student from UNC Chapel Hill, called Speaks to the Media that will highlight Afro-Indigenous couples who are at risk of losing land to the pipeline. The documentary draws attention to how inequity in legal representation leaves Black and Indigenous communities more vulnerable to having their land taken by the fossil fuel industry. The couples featured in the documentary have not signed any easements and they don’t have attorneys, unlike most of the white property owners who have attorneys. 7 Directions of Service is also working to help the couples find affordable attorneys, so these couples can keep land which has been in their families for generations.

Lessons Learned

Crystal Cavalier, Co-Founder and Director of 7 Directions of Service, said, “One of the key lessons I learned is that you have to speak up and advocate for your organization, but you also have to be actively involved and get community buy-in. And you can’t let up. You actively have to keep working those relationships with people. 

“I’ve also learned that there are a lot of corporations that have created funds to cover up the dirty things that they’re doing in the communities. And so we have to actively watch out for that because we’ve seen many people like ExxonMobil come in and sponsor events. But they’re continuously stealing and doing dirty things to the community. So now we’re starting to question where does the money come from? You know, talking to people about the money that you’re putting into this bank is funding these pipelines. I keep telling people you have to hit them in their pocketbooks. I’m actively going to go into Bank of America to withdraw all my money and capture it on film, and take it to a local bank that does not support pipelines or extractive industries. I make that statement because until people see that, they won’t change.”

Future and Sustainability

7 Directions of Service is planning to build a small greenhouse powered by a windmill to grow food hydroponically year-round. In addition to enabling people to harvest food year-round, another key benefit of a greenhouse is that it is covered, protecting plants and crops inside from compressor station pollution. 

Crystal said, “Because I really feel that people are so busy trying to make ends meet they don’t have the money to pay rent or their mortgage or even keep food on the table. So we have to be able to provide our community with sustenance so they can be healthy but also help them just survive. And I mean, we only see the gap widening between people just getting poorer versus people getting more wealthy. We’re just trying to bring back more of a community focus and say, ‘You’re not alone.’”

Image of stacked billboards on the side of a road
A group of 10 protesters standing on a city sidewalk in front of a building, holding a sign that reads "Bank of America: Defund Climate Chaos, Defund Human Rights.."
A man wearing a red frock standing in front of an outdoor billboard that reads "NO MVP SOUTH GATE EXTENSION"
A group of people holding small signs, standing outside under and overcast sky.
A smiling woman standing in a bright outdoor setting and wearing a red shirt with Indigenous jewelry
A person with their back to the camera is speaking to a large crowd in an outdoor setting
A woman is speaking into a microphone while surrounded by a group of supporters
A group of people are standing together outside, and holding a sign that reads "NO MVP"
An illustration of a man, wearing a hat depicting homes, standing next to a woman, wearing a hat depicting a blue heron, and surrounded by the words "NO MVP SOUTH GATE EXTENSION."
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