A bold illustration shows the Lakota Chief Sitting Bull looking stoic in braids, suit and tie, ready for a briefcase battle in the fight for tribal sovereignty. The lettering in this Ryan Red Corn piece reads: “The Indian Wars Never Ended.’’

The Internet version of this Native American Rights Fund public service announcement leads the viewer to a video in which a team of modern-day Native rights lawyers join forces with (pause) hip-hop artists. If this seems an unlikely alliance, well, the pairing actually works.

NARF, the country’s oldest legal advocacy organization for Native issues, has been unfolding its first-ever public service announcements — whether they have a shelf life is yet to be seen — where the nonprofit group shares the stage with hip hop.

Virginia Cross, a tribal councilwoman for the Muckleshoot Tribe in Washington, saw the spring launch of NARF’s public service announcement while attending this year’s National Indian Gaming Association’s annual trade show.

Cross viewed “The Indian Wars Never Ended’’ PSA in Phoenix. She watched and remembered the day when the Muckleshoot Tribe owned a single acre of land in 1971.

“We didn’t even own a tribal building,’’ said Cross. The tribe needed to fight one of the most powerful energy companies in the Puget Sound area, but had no money to wage a lawsuit that would protect the tribe’s treaty-related fishing and water rights.

Muckleshoot leaders turned to the Native American Rights Fund, based in Boulder, Colo., to take them to battle. Today the tribe is a co-manager of the King County watershed in the most populous county in Washington. And their one-acre land claim now exceeds 1,100 acres. The tribe now also operates a thriving casino in the Seattle area.

Seeing the NARF announcement prompted Cross, who has been on the tribal council for nearly 30 years, to go back to her tribe in Auburn, Wash., and ask them to consider making a cash contribution to NARF.

Last week, the Native American Rights Fund’s executive director met Muckleshoot leaders in Washington, where they presented him with a $100,000 check. “I thought they did so much for us when we had absolutely nothing for the tribe,’’ said Cross. “I thought we should do something for them.’’

The 67-year-old also said she understood NARF’s move to imbue their public service message with a hip-hop theme.

“I thought it was pretty good,’’ she said. “You have to deal with the culture the way it is today.’’ Fifty percent of Muckleshoot tribal citizens are below age 21. “That’s the age group you need to be dealing with,’’ said Cross.

Crystal Echo Hawk, NARF’s assistant development director, led the effort to include a hip-hop theme as a way to reach across generations. After all, NARF’s mission affects the young and old. During the last 36 years, NARF lawyers have battled states and the U.S. government over land claims, religious freedom, tribal termination and water rights.

Echo Hawk turned to a 20- to 30-something group of artists to come up with a final product that reflects a trendy blend of mass media pop culture. They knew what they needed to do. They started their work with a basic question: “How do we indigenize that?’’