Send Krispy to Roller Derby World Cup with Indigenous Rising

ᎣᏏᏲ! Osiyo! Hello everyone! Kristina “Krispy” Glass, tribal citizen of Cherokee Nation located in northeastern Oklahoma and coach for Indigenous Rising Roller Derby, will represent her tribal nation and Cherokee community at the Roller Derby World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, July 3-6, 2025.

Kristina “Krispy” Glass is a member of Indigenous Rising Roller Derby, a flat track roller derby team featuring a collective of athletes and volunteers representing over 25 sovereign Indigenous Nations from across Native America, First Nations territories, and Polynesia. This will be Indigenous Rising’s second appearance at the Roller Derby World Cup, with their freshman debut at the previous Roller Derby World Cup in 2018 where Indigenous Rising was the first diasporic or “borderless” team in the sport of roller derby, paving the way for an entire community of borderless teams to follow in their footsteps who will also be competing at the 2025 Roller Derby World Cup.

More than just a sports team, Indigenous Rising Roller Derby embodies a movement for sovereignty, healing, cultural pride, land back, and community resilience. They strive to unite the Indigenous community through roller derby, representing the proud, once-borderless communities of their Ancestral Lands in so-called North America. Indigenous Rising’s mission is to make high-level roller derby training and competition more accessible to Native athletes who are often not provided the same opportunities to skate at the all-star international level as their non-Native counterparts.

As a member of this team, Krispy carries this mission forward both on and off the track. In addition to being a team coach and manager, Krispy is also currently the Chair of Indigenous Rising Roller Derby’s nonprofit Board of Directors. Prior to joining Indigenous Rising Roller Derby in 2019, Krispy has been and continues to be heavily involved in the local roller derby community. She co-founded the nonprofit RebelTown Rollers based in Lakewood and Lynwood, CA in 2015. Krispy got her start in roller derby in her hometown of Merced in the central valley of California around 2010 and this year is celebrating her 15th year of roller derby! Today, Krispy lives with her partner and their two dogs in Riverside, CA, and she’ll begin graduate school at University of California, Riverside this Fall 2025.

Like other members of the nonprofit, Indigenous Rising Roller Derby, Krispy is responsible for funding her own participation in the World Cup. To support her journey and the team’s participation, Krispy is accepting donations to help cover her cost of airfare, lodging and meals while in Austria.

Follow Krispy's adventures at the Roller Derby World Cup on Instagram @krispyglass

Watch a short 10-minute episode of OsiyoTV featuring Krispy and Indigenous Rising!

ᏩᏙ! Wado! Thank you so much for your support!