Indigenous Sovereignty

Call to action:

Advocate for the recognition, respect, and enfranchisement of Indigenous Peoples via direct agreements ensuring formal stewardship of their nations' ancestral territories, as crucial to effective climate action.

Indigenous Peoples across the world have been and continue to be displaced, murdered, and violated by the military, corporations, governments, and other parties. Climate change is displacing Indigenous communities at seven times the rate of the global population and disproportionately affecting biocultural practices. For non-Indigenous people, walking a path of decolonization and indigenization is the work of expanding and protecting the rights and territories of Indigenous nations, preventing any further erosion of their sovereignty and collective authority to engagement, and recognizing them as key climate agents. This entails supporting livelihoods through safeguarding essential Indigenous economic activities, strengthening measures to protect and restore Indigenous languages, cultures, spiritual practices, and sacred sites, as well as epistemic justice, resilient economic development, compliance with Indigenous sovereign nations, and regenerating reciprocal relationships between People and Mother Earth.

Action Items

Individuals

Learn more about the traditions, customs, and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples. Understanding the history and current issues surrounding Indigenous sovereignty is crucial. This includes learning about appropriate terminology, treaties, land rights, and the impact of colonialism. You can also build relationships with Indigenous Peoples where you live. Be patient and get out of your way to connect and learn. Relational work takes time, as Indigenous struggles are often marginalized or invisible.

If an Indigenous conference, STEM, Knowledge Exchange, powwow, rally, or similar event is being held in your area that is open to the public, make an effort to attend and build understanding and solidarity.
Go out of your way to authentically learn about Indigenous laws and issues, including the cultural and social politics of their sovereign nations and the dynamics with their host nation-states.
Invite friends and family to visit museums or cultural centers dedicated to Indigenous history.
Advocate for meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples instead of mere audience representation in different gathering spaces about them and/or related to their lifeways and territories.
Remember not to assume or pretend that one interaction with an Indigenous leader or spiritual experience can serve as Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for collaboration or qualify one as an “expert” about their culture.
Research Indigenous languages and support their revitalization.
An invitation is better than wandering into an Indigenous community. Having a guest demands a lot of resources, so having a clear intention can ease the burden.
Be aware of actors tokenizing Indigneity to gain notoriety, funding, bioprospecting, and bio-pirating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Biocultural Intellectual Property.

Find out if you live on traditionally Indigenous land and, if so, learn more about its original people. This interactive map can help you determine who the traditional stewards of the land are and provide information about native languages and relevant treaties. From there, research more about tribal members' activities.

Consult with local Indigenous communities for guidance involving formal and customary land acknowledgments, which can be offered at the start of public and private gatherings. The team at the Indigenous-led Native Land Digital organization that created the interactive map linked above has published resources and guidelines about acknowledging territory.
Indigenous Peoples Day local events can be a good place to learn about the ancestral territories and thriving communities.
Support Indigenous-led research and development projects like the Native Lands and National Trails Map, which is restoring thriving communities and their ancestral lands.

Contribute to Indigenous-led initiatives, including the defense of their territories and the land back and rematriation movements. Many Indigenous communities are at the front lines of struggles against large corporations who are logging, mining, and building pipelines on their land. You can participate directly in these actions or give money to Indigenous support services, including bail funds and legal fees. Learn more at the Land Protection Nexus.

The Land Back movement is a call for Indigenous Peoples to reclaim lands that were taken from them and to return to communal land ownership.
Rematriation is a collaborative, multitribal effort led by Indigenous women to restore traditional ecological knowledge and practices. It involves regenerating sacred relationships between Indigenous People and their ancestral land. Go to the Seeds Nexus for more information about how this pertains to food systems and seed saving.
Donate to Indigenous-led movements and organizations. See Key Players for a list to start with.
Indigenous Sovereignty, particularly tribal sovereignty, is a complex concept with historical, legal, and cultural significance. In the context of the US Constitution, sovereign tribal entities are recognized and don't require complete independence to exist., similar to many other nation-states such as Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, New Zealand, and Brazil. Sovereignty can coexist with shared power, as seen in the relationship between the US Federal Government, State governments, and Tribal governments. In this way, Indigenous sovereignty can be exercised along with external negotiation entities upholding its legal and historical significance within the governance system of the territory.

Advocate for policy changes. Support politicians from Indigenous backgrounds or who recognize and uphold Indigenous rights and campaign for the implementation of treaties, land rights, and self-governance agreements. Engage with organizations that promote Native American representation in government and with local and national representatives who promote Indigenous sovereignty. Ask them to adopt, follow through, and implement the protocols listed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Vote for politicians who understand the importance of preserving traditional ways of life. This could look like protecting forests (see Proforestation Nexus), creating co-managed marine sanctuaries (see Marine Protected Areas Nexus), ensuring conservation laws don’t get used to displace Indigenous People, and promoting quotas that help increase Indigenous representation.
Support Indigenous leaders (recognized as Cultural Lawyers and/or Translational Leaders) participating in Community Advisory Panel(s). Their meaningful participation depends on financial support to get a seat at the negotiation tables of emerging environmental, ecosystems, nature, and climate markets, designing a fair and just enfranchisement of intellectual property.

Challenge discrimination and stereotypes. Learn about linguistic imperialism and movements to “decolonize” contemporary institutions in order to reckon with imperial histories. Read the stories of Indigenous Peoples who were victims of genocide and slavery committed by numerous groups and nations. By studying imperialist crimes and reading about places and concepts such as Turtle Island, Taino Borikua, and Apya Yala, you can look into ways that colonialism is intertwined with your daily life and avoid colonizing language.

If you’re in the United States, question Thanksgiving narratives and learn the Thanksgiving story from Indigenous People. If you choose to participate in Thanksgiving, shift the narrative away from the colonizing one by finding ways to honor Indigenous cultures and acknowledge the Wampanoag tribe of present-day Massachusetts as well as the tribal lands that you are currently on. Consider beginning the tradition of reparations to tribes during colonization-based holidays.
Indigenous women have a higher-than-average likelihood of becoming the victims of crime—support organizations such as the Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women or Mending the Sacred Hoop.
Reclaiming Native Truth is a project that aims to dispel myths and misconceptions about native people in the United States.
Globally, the emergence of Pretendians, but also the convenient misuse of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determine (aka Conveniants), creates major issues that further deeper stereotypes, tokenism, and romanticism of Indigenous lifeways and sovereignty on the social consciousness. This can be present in some forms of practice related to shamanism and traditional medicines, for example.

Groups

Land Owners

Repatriate land back to Indigenous Peoples. If you have access to land and are interested in land repatriation to Indigenous People, begin building relationships with people and see if there is interest in local land returns. For those unable to make direct transfers, another move towards land repatriation is to sell land and give the proceeds to support ongoing Indigenous-led organizing or land return struggles. The Sustainable Economies Law Center offers legal reference resources on different land transfer methods.

Land reparations and Indigenous solidarity toolkit - examples of land, cash, and other returns.
Mashpee Wampanoag (Cape Cod, U.S.) is an example of a parcel of land donated to Native Land Conservancy (a Native-run conservation group) in 2012.
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is the decades-long campaign to designate the first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary, led by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) and allied organizations. It is expected to be completed by December 2024.

Investors and Philanthropists

Invest in Indigenous communities. Despite the vast territories they manage – notably, over a third of the world’s intact forests, including half of the Amazon – Indigenous communities receive a shockingly small portion of international climate financing.

Research shows that increased funding for Indigenous forest communities can significantly impact biodiversity and climate efforts.
Recoverable Grants spearheaded by Savimbo offer the opportunity to invest directly in the sustainable development of Indigenous communities.
See the Key Players list below for a number of important organizations to support.
Indigenous Innovation Lab is a shared governance initiative between Kinray Hub and Climate Collective. It opens a spatial justice space in nature tech and nature-based solutions prototyping for investors and philanthropists to play a more than funding role.

Lawyers

Offer pro bono representation for Indigenous claims. Attorneys who devote their time and skills to ensure the preservation of our nation’s Indigenous heritage are instrumental in the ongoing struggle for the recognition and protection of Native rights. Legal assistance is needed in Indigenous communities around economic development and project financing, natural resource and energy development, cultural preservation, traditional knowledge protection, and tribal governance.

Land titles can effectively protect Indigenous Peoples’ lands from invasion, with titled land experiencing a 66% decrease in deforestation. Legal land ownership enables Indigenous communities to defend their lands and hold illegal loggers and harmful industries accountable.
Training Indigenous legal professionals is a valuable way to support their causes. The Indian Law Resource Center is a nonproﬁt law and advocacy organization established and directed by American Indians that could offer pathways to getting involved.

Educators

Support Indigenous Youth and Education. Encourage and support Indigenous youth in their educational pursuits. This can involve mentoring, providing scholarships, or advocating for culturally relevant education that respects Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.

Grinding Stone Collective offers educational opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to learn from on-the-ground lessons.
Indigenous Rewilding provides opportunities to learn and get involved in restoration and land return to Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenuity Lab offers the opportunity to learn and participate in Indigenous studies, data sovereignty, digital sequence information (DSI) governance, AI for a social ecology future, biocultural intellectual property rights, and biocultural ethics research.
The Indigenous Guardians Toolkit supports Indigenous communities across Canada to share and learn about Indigenous Guardians programs.

Companies

Take responsibility for the oppression of native communities on land where you conduct business. Ensure the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples to ensure that their perspectives are taken into account and that corporate responsibility standards are set well in advance. Always obtain their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent related to development activities. More information on commonly used guiding principles is available.

Fund Indigenous communities to further environmental and climate goals. When donors make flexible contributions to community-led initiatives, this type of investment can have a measurable impact. Indigenous land and water stewardship practices typically promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration, both essential to addressing water and soil security in the global ecological crisis. Look within your local territory for grassroots groups in need of direct funding. Some worthy groups include:

Savimbo is a social enterprise by and for Indigenous Peoples to access climate markets.
Grinding Stone Collective is a non-profit creating events, workshops, classes, and databases for Indigenous communities.
Borikua Taino Foundation preserves its cultural identity through education, land preservation, and health programs.
Kinray Hub* focuses on Indigenous-led climate research and resiliency development.
Our Town Hall is a platform that empowers community organizations to address major societal challenges.

Governance

Initiate policies recognizing and respecting Indigenous nations' inherent right to govern themselves. Acknowledging tribes as sovereign entities with the right to self-govern and jurisdiction over their lands, waters, resources, and members is foundational. Support Indigenous efforts to reclaim ancestral territories and enshrine laws that protect their sacred sites and cultural heritage.

United Frontline Table developed a policy plank in collaboration with a number of Indigenous communities in the US with recommendations under the keywords “Protect, Repair, Invest, and Transform.” It outlines a pathway toward systemic change in Indigenous-related policymaking “to bring procedures and mechanisms for redress, restitution, and a Just Recovery of treaty violations and due recognition to Indigenous Peoples’ laws, traditions, customs, and land tenure systems—including those lands which were traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used and which were confiscated, taken, and damaged without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.”

Review, address, and restore broken responsibilities. Government agencies can conduct independent reviews to determine where environmental and social treaties have been violated. Steps can then be taken to make reparations by returning property, territories, and rights to the affected groups.

The federal government’s decision to return Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo took place after 90 years of efforts, generations after Teddy Roosevelt’s administration incorporated it into a National Forest in 1906. It is considered one of the first modern Land Back victories.

Invest in Indigenous communities. Fund green and efficient housing development, health care, renewable energy, job training programs, and education for tribal people. Develop toolkits that train and resource Indigenous groups to monitor, manage, and steward their lands and waters, such as this Guardians Network in Canada. Support the sharing of nature data in order to compensate land stewards appropriately, improve cross-sector collaboration, and generate new insights and knowledge.

The Intercultural Health Care approach is a model developed and adopted by multiple countries in Latin America.
Indigenous Clean Energy Renewable Energy Microgrids is a project supported by the government of Canada and led by Indigenous Peoples. See more on this at the Microgrids Nexus.
The Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report is an initiative of Indigenous scholars, practitioners, and leaders to communicate about climate action led by the Indigenous community, including conservation, mitigation, and adaptation.
Native American Solar Farm is a project led by Indigenous community members in the USA to regain sovereignty (see Solar Nexus).
Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance is an initiative led by and for Indigenous scholars to support Research, Policy, and Practice around Indigenous Data Sovereignty.

Support the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages. It is estimated that one Indigenous language is lost every two weeks. Support legislation that protects and promotes Indigenous languages, like the Indigenous Languages Act in Canada. Advocate for funding for language revitalization programs and include Indigenous language signage and services.

This article lists five organizations working to protect endangered languages via platforms to document native speakers and share data and resources such as lessons and videos.

Strengthen Nation-to-Nation Relationships. Governments should work to build respectful nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous tribes, consulting them and obtaining free, prior, and informed consent on issues affecting their communities.

Establish formal mechanisms for regular dialogue and collaboration, respecting Indigenous decision-making processes and governance structures. Multi-stakeholder groups such as the Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge and Leadership Network, comprised of Indigenous leaders, knowledge holders, experts, and individuals, can effectively build collaboration in global Indigenous movements.

Bad Actors

JBS S.A. is a Brazilian meatpacking corporation that is the world’s largest beef supplier, much of it raised on pastureland converted from tropical forests that are home to many Indigenous groups. It has been accused of abetting deforestation and violating forest protection laws. Pressure against JBS is working. In 2021, it committed to producing “deforestation-free” beef, though the corporation has repeatedly broken its promises. The CEO is Gilberto Tomazoni. His email is gilberto.tomazoni@jbs.com.br. His phone is 55 11 3144-7801.

Forest Products Association of Canada is an industry trade group representing wood, pulp, and paper producers and has spoken against Californian legislation that guarantees free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous communities and does not contribute to the deforestation of intact boreal forests. Derek Nighbör is the president and CEO. He can be contacted on X.

Cargill is the world’s largest grain trader, a major meat producer, and a mega-supplier of unsustainable palm oil globally. They have been named as one of the most destructive companies in the Amazon rainforest and have been specifically called out by Indigenous youth activists. They are the target of this STAND.earth campaign. The CEO is David MacLennan. His email is david_maclennan@cargill.com. His phone is (952) 742-4507.

Procter & Gamble is driving the devastation of Boreal forests to produce Charmin, one of the world’s major toilet paper brands, made out of 100 percent virgin forest fiber. In their Issue with Tissue report in 2019, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) called out Procter & Gamble for accelerating the devastation of Boreal forests and threatening Indigenous livelihoods. Procter & Gamble’s CEO is David S. Taylor. His email is taylor.ds@pg.com. His phone is +1 (513) 983-1100.

Resolute Forest Products is one of the largest logging companies in North America, and their logging activities span 50 million acres of public lands in Canada’s Boreal forests. The company has taken an aggressive posture toward the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and filed lawsuits against public interest groups aiming to call them out on their logging practices. Resolute Forest Products’ CEO is Remi G. Lalonde. His email is remi.lalonde@resolutefp.com. His phone is +1 (514) 875-2160.

Kimberly-Clark is the largest manufacturer of paper products, purchasing millions of metric tons of virgin fiber from logging companies annually. Since Greenpeace launched the Kleercut Campaign (2004–2009), which claimed that the company supports the clearcutting of Boreal forests in Canada and the United States, Kimberly-Clark adopted new procurement policies in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. They currently source the majority of their pulp from Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI)- and Canadian Standards Association (CSA)-certified logging operations. Although this shows great progress toward sustainability, Kimberly-Clark can still do a lot more to show true environmental leadership, including stepping up its commitment to protecting the rights of the communities impacted by its tissue supply chains. The company stops short of requiring suppliers to secure free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples before operating on their lands. Kimberly-Clark’s CEO is Michael D. Hsu. His email is michael.hsu@kcc.com. His phone is +1 (972) 281-1200.

Energy Transfer faced significant backlash for its role in the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project. The construction of the pipeline led to the destruction of culturally and spiritually significant sites for various tribes, highlighting a blatant disregard for Indigenous concerns and rights. Kelcy Warren is Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP and is responsible for a lawsuit against Greenpeace that may bankrupt the organization. His email is kelcy.warren@energytransfer.com.

Key Players

Native Owned Businesses

In the U.S.

In Australia

In Canada

In Ecuador

Organizations

International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (Global) focuses on defending Indigenous Peoples’ land rights, promoting inclusion in climate action, and participating in local and international decision-making processes.

Survival International (Global) partners with tribes to amplify their voices on the global stage and change the world in their favor.

Minority Rights (Global) works with minorities and Indigenous Peoples to secure their rights through participatory programs, media, legal support, training, and technical guidance.

Cultural Survival (Global) supports Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and the advocacy of their human rights.

Forest Peoples Programme (Global) was founded to support people who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods. FPP aims to create political space for them to secure their rights, control their lands, and decide their futures.

Indigenous Environmental Network (Global) is an alliance of Indigenous Peoples whose shared mission is to protect the sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination and exploitation.

Land Rights Now (Global) mobilizes and engages active citizens, media, communities, and organizations worldwide to promote and secure the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

World Rainforest Movement (Global South) is an international initiative that aims to contribute to the struggles, reflections, and political actions of forest-dependent peoples in the Global South.

True North Aid (Canada) provides supplies and support to remote Indigenous communities through various programs.

Center for World Indigenous Studies (U.S. / Turtle Island) is a leading Indigenous Peoples’ think tank ensuring that communities can safeguard their rights and resources.

NDN Collective (U.S. / Turtle Island) moves braided capital in service of defending, developing, and decolonizing Indigenous Peoples and Mother Earth.

Nature Rights Council (U.S. / Turtle Island) promotes a sustainable future through advocacy, education, and social change, emphasizing traditional ecological knowledge.

Indian Law Resource Center (U.S. / Turtle Island) provides legal assistance to Indigenous Peoples of the Americas to combat racism and oppression and to protect their lands and environment.

Amazon Frontlines (Amazon Rainforest) works with Kofan, Secoya, Siona, and Waorani Indigenous leaders to protect Amazonian lands and waters.

Saami Council (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia) maintains the cultural, political, economic, and social rights of the Saami in legislation and agreements between states and Saami representative organizations.

Adivasi Lives Matter (India) is a platform that works towards amplifying the Adivasi and Tribal voices of India.

Climate Justice Resilience Fund (Global) makes grants that support women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples to create and share their own solutions for climate resilience.

The Cultural Conservancy (U.S. / Turtle Island and the Pacific) is a Native-led organization focused on the direct application of traditional knowledge and practices on ancestral lands.

Amazon Watch (U.S. / Turtle Island / Amazon Rainforest) resists the destruction of the Amazon by challenging development projects that threaten Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral territories.

Native Movement (Alaska, U.S.) supports grassroots-led projects that endeavor to ensure social justice, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and the rights of Mother Earth.

Project Peoples (Global) researches, communicates and empowers the implementation of Indigenous solutions to address the global climate crisis.

Seeding Sovereignty is a multi-lens collective that radicalizes and disrupts colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation.