The Advancing Communities Foundation supports American Indian / Alaska Native communities through Educational Attainment, Environmental Stewardship, Public Health and Leadership Development. Their vision is to bridge the gap between local traditional environmental knowledge and credentialed professionals in order to achieve community goals through community participation.
Alaska Community Action on Toxics has been advocating for environmental health and justice issues locally with communities, statewide, nationally, and internationally. We provide communities the scientific tools and training needed to advocate for their health and wellbeing. In Seward Alaska, we coordinated the Bucket Brigade which utilizes air quality monitoring by local citizens to prove impacts from coal loading activities
ALASKA’S BIG VILLAGE NETWORK’S (ABVN) MISSION IS TO CREATE COMMUNITIES OF INCLUSION OF INDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FOR THE HEALTH OF ALL PEOPLES’ MENTAL, SOCIAL, PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING APPLYING ANCESTRAL WISDOM OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ HONOR, RESPECT AND DIGNITY OF THE WHOLE LIVING AND NON-LIVING UNIVERSE.
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for Appalachia is a regional coalition of grassroots, non-profit organizations with the goals of ending mountaintop removal, putting a halt to destructive coal technologies, and creating a sustainable, just Appalachia. They believe their campaign to abolish mountaintop removal mining is an important element of the national effort for progressive, systemic change in our nation’s economic, energy, and environmental policies.
The Amah Mutsun Land Trust was developed in 2012 to help the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band access ancestral lands, protect sacred sites, and regain the role as environmental stewards of their traditional territory. The Amah Mutsun Land Trust uses traditional knowledge, conservation fieldwork, and tribally-led ecological research to restore indigenous stewardship, protect natural and cultural resources, and educate the public about the history, perspectives, and stewardship priorities of their people. They work with a powerful array of conservation, government, and university partners to achieve shared conservation goals within traditional territory.
Amigos Bravos is a nationally recognized statewide river conservation organization guided by social justice principles and dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological and cultural integrity of New Mexico’s rivers and watersheds. Our mission is to return New Mexico’s rivers to drinkable quality wherever possible; to see that natural flows are maintained and that artificial flows are regulated to protect and reclaim river ecosystems; to preserve and restore native riparian biodiversity; to support environmentally sound and sustainable traditional ways of life; and to ensure that environmental and social justice go hand-in-hand.
Amnesty International works to protect the rights of individuals and communities threatened by the operations of multinational corporations. The organization calls for the prevention of abuses, accountability of companies, remedies for those who have been abused, and protection of rights across borders when companies operate internationally.
Apache Stronghold is working to protect religious freedom and sacred sites at Apache Leap and Oak Flat from Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper Project. Walk to Save Oak Flat was founded in 2015 to raise awareness and opposition to the proposal.
The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center is a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice in the coalfields by representing coal miners and their families on issues of black lung and mine safety and by working with grassroots groups and individuals to protect the land and people from misuse and degradation caused by extractive industries. The Law Center handles individual cases and engages in strategic litigation, organizing, and policy work in the areas of environmental protection, sustainable energy, and mine safety and health.
Barriere Lake Solidarity has been working with the Algonquins of Barriere Lake since 2008. The Algonquins of Barriere Lake are a First Nation who hunt, fish, trap, and harvest on more than 10,000 square kilometers in Quebec. Barriere Lake Solidarity acts in support of efforts that are led by community members in the protection of their territory and the well-being of their community. They assist the community in opposing mining on their territory, as well as in asserting a decisive role in determining what forestry takes place. They also have assisted the community in recent years in resisting government intervention in the community’s governance process.
Black Mesa Water Coalition is dedicated to preserving and protecting Mother Earth and the integrity of Indigenous Peoples’ cultures, with the vision of building sustainable and healthy communities. BMWC was formed in 2001 by a group of young inter-tribal, inter-ethnic people dedicated to addressing issues of water depletion, natural resource exploitation, and health promotion within Navajo and Hopi communities. Over our past 10 years BMWC has transformed from a small student group to a well-established organization that is a recognized leader in energy and environmental justice issues across the southwest and the country.
The Canary Research Institute for Mining, Environment, and Health promotes the advancement of education and the reduction of poverty in Canada and elsewhere relating to and resulting from the impacts of mineral development on the physical, cultural, social and emotional health of humans and human communities, and on the health of terrestrial and aquatic environments by undertaking scientific and social research; publishing, promoting and distributing the results of the Institute’s research; and providing seminars and workshops.
The Chilkat Indian Village is a federally recognized tribal government. The people of Klukwan live in a small, ancient, Alaska Native village positioned on the banks of the Chilkat River in Southeast Alaska. Klukwan is located twenty-two miles north of Haines, Alaska and is on the Haines Highway with connections to Haines, Haines Junction, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Canada, and the Continental United States. The name Klukwan is taken from the Tlingit phrase “Tlakw Aan” which literally means “Ancient Village.” As of the census of 2000, there were 139 people, 44 households, and 31 families.
Children of the Taku Society (COTTS) is a volunteer non-profit society based out of the Yukon. Many of the members live in the heart of Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) traditional territory, in or near Atlin, B.C. Children of the Taku have joined with Taku River Tlingit First Nation to restore and protect the culture, traditions and heritage of the TRTFN in traditional territory. COTTS works with TRTFN leadership and citizens to protect the benefits, health, productivity and integrity of their traditional territory for future generations.
Clayoquot Action is a Tofino-based conservation society committed to protecting the biocultural diversity of Clayoquot Sound. Their goals are accomplished through public education, citizen research and monitoring, and advocacy. Clayoquot Action stands for democratic rights, indigenous rights and the rights of Mother Earth. Their vision is to keep Clayoquot Sound clean and green for future generations, to preserve the diversity and integrity of the ecosystems, and to maintain and develop community and cultural richness.
The Clearfork Community Institute (CCI) was founded in 1997 by local women who sought to provide meaningful engagement for their families and community. CCI is still led by local women and facilitates community participation in social change work and functions as a space for cultural events and community organizing. The main goal of CCI is to support coalfield residents in bringing themselves out of poverty, away from mono-industrial practices and into a flourishing state of wellbeing with one another and our Earth.
Coal River Mountain Watch works in communities impacted by the irresponsible practices of the coal industry in southern West Virginia, combining local knowledge with technical expertise. Their mission is to stop the destruction of communities and the environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in their area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities.
The Committee for Future Generations was founded in 2011 by a group of citizens concerned that northern Saskatchewan communities are being aggressively targeted by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to store Canada’s nuclear waste.
Concerned Citizens & Retired Miners is a grassroots group of citizens who reside in Superior, AZ or are affiliated with relatives who are residents; are retired hard-rock miners who previously worked in the now non-operational mine in Superior, AZ and were displaced; or are individuals concerned that important public and is being conveyed to a foreign mining company for private use. Specifically, the organization opposes the federal exchange land bill that would give Oak Flat campground to Rio Tinto and BHP regardless of the findings of the NEPA analyses.
Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake (CCQL) was founded in 2015 in response to the environmental tailings pond disaster and ongoing discharge of mine waste from the Mount Polley Mine into Quesnel Lake. CCQL seeks to make the British Columbia Government and the Mining Industry responsible and accountable.
The purpose of the Council for Responsible Mining is to provide an organization through which various scientists, attorneys and interested public can work to bring environmental responsibility to various activities of mining that would impact the health and wellness of the environment and the living beings of the planet.
Deebege Newe was founded in 2013 to support the land and indigenous people of the Great Basin. Deebege Newe has traditional Western Shoshone leadership that focus on nuclear issues as a priority. Deebege Newe has conducted two Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues with one of these being a youth forum at the University of Nevada Las Vegas Boyd Law School.
The Dena Kayeh Institute was established in 2004 as a charitable foundation to act on behalf of the Kaska Dena, to facilitate education programs, to develop protocols, policies and practices in regards to traditional knowledge, cultural preservation and land management, and to advocate for conservation of special sites and areas within the Kaska Territory.
Dine’ Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (Dine’ CARE) is a grassroot all Navajo organization that came together in 1988 as a result of plans to build a Toxic Waste Plant in their community of Dilkon, Arizona. For 24 years Dine’ CARE worked with communities in the 4-Corners Region on issues that impacted their way of life, their environment, such as uranium mining, over-cutting of trees on the Chuskas, Oil/Gas drilling, coal mining, pollution from Coal Burning Power Plants, Navajo Nation water issue. We empower the people to speak for themselves to fight their battles, while we teach them the tools through training sessions and strategic planning.
Fair Mining Collaborative joins with First Nations people and local communities in British Columbia in the quest to shape the future for families, land, water, and wildlife. They provide technical and practical assistance around the issues and impacts of mining. They spend time in communities to provide two-way knowledge sharing for strengthening local capacity to manage the full spectrum of mining concerns: mapping traditional resource inventories and raising awareness of social impacts; staking, permitting, exploration; and operation, closure and reclamation.
Forest Protection Allies, which is based in the Quesnel River Watershed, takes action to protect land, forests, water, air and life for future generations. Their mission is the transformation of corporate industrial fibre, mineral, wildlife and cultural mining in BC. Since it’s inception the Imperial Metals Mt. Polley mine has disrupted and tainted their mission.
KAIROS, founded in 2001, is a grassroots organization based in Toronto and made up of eleven national churches and church organizations, twenty three international partner organizations, and Indigenous partner organizations in Canada. KAIROS works for Indigenous rights, ecological and social justice, and human rights in Canada and globally, relying on our strong international partnerships.
Guided by both indigenous Elders’ Traditional Knowledge and western science, the Keepers of the Athabasca (2006) are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, environmental groups, and watershed citizens working together for the protection of water, land, air, and all living things today and tomorrow in the Athabasca River watershed. Their mission is to unite the peoples of the Athabasca River and Lake Watershed to secure and protect water and watershed lands for ecological, social, cultural and community health and well being.
Luutkudziiwus’ vision is the same as it has been for millennia: the land, animals, fish, plants, and people all have spirit, value, and must be shown respect in all decisions. Luutkudziiwus established cultural infrastructure on their ancestral Madii Lii territory, which is located in the Suskwa Valley, 20 km east of Hazelton, BC to stop any unauthorized government or industry activity on Madii Lii territory.
Menīkānaehkem a grassroots community organization based on the Menominee Reservation, in Northeast Wisconsin working to revitalize their communities. They have initiatives in Food Sovereignty, Culture Revitalization, Environmental Justice (Protectors of Menominee River), Youth, and Sustainability. Some of their work includes Back 40 mine resistance.
MACE is rooted in the experiences of uranium-impacted communities of the southwestern U.S. We are communities working to restore and protect the natural and cultural environment through respectfully promoting intercultural engagement among communities and institutions for the benefit of all life and future generations.
Native American Educational Technologies, Inc. began in the mid-1980’s during the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa verses Exxon battle over metallic sulfide mining in the Ceded Territory of northern Wisconsin. Since 2001, they have faced many tribal preservation struggles and partnered with many tribes, non-tribal environmental groups, and rural poor to help preserve the clean air, water, land, and traditional way of life for their treaty rights protected hunting/fishing and gathering.
The Native Justice Coalition was formed in 2016 with the intent of being a platform for healing, social, and racial justice for all Native American people. They seek to provide a safe and nurturing platform for Native people based in an anti-oppression framework, and to collaborate, first and foremost, with tribal governments, Native American non-profits, and other Native American-led community organizations. Their goal is to bring resources, initiatives, and programming into tribal communities that are creative, engaging, and transformative.
Native Youth Movement was founded in 1990 in Annishinabe Territory (Winnipeg, Manitoba). Originally organized as an alternative to gang violence, the group expanded to a network of native youth throughout Canada and the US. Over the years Native Youth Movement has organized walks, runs, gatherings, community events, protests, educational workshops, forums, and youth camps; built traditional homes and harvesting camps; started a school program-Raising Leaders; and published several magazines.
Neskantaga is an Indigenous Oji-Cree community of 400 members, (formerly known as Lansdowne House) on the Attawapiskat River, and has been without safe drinking water since 1995. They are facing outside pressures from development by Canadian mining companies for a massive chromite mining and smelting project in the James Bay lowlands of Northern Ontario. Neskantaga is signatory to Treaty 9. The people still continue practicing ceremonies and the traditional pursuits of living off the land.
The NMELC is the only legal organization in New Mexico that focuses exclusively on representing low-income communities and communities of color in environmental disputes. A large part of the work NMELC does is representing communities impacted by uranium mining and processing in their efforts to resist new uranium mining and force clean-up of legacy waste.
Established in 2016, the New Mexico Social Justice Equity Institute (NMSJEI) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to change systems that perpetuate environmental health disparities related to the impacts of institutional racism and multi-generational trauma. They build the capacity and empower participating communities within the county to impact equitable policy change. The NMSJEI works to create and sustain collaborative partnerships in the Northwest Region of New Mexico as well as support a vibrant, equitable community that respects and honors all individuals.
Ontarians for a Just Accountable Mining Strategy (OJAMS) want to see a mineral strategy that sustains the environment and the resources for future generations; protects the public from the risks associated with mining, smelting and refining; heals the damage already caused by the industry; captures a fair share of the revenues generated by the industry for Ontarians and First Nations; and respects the rights of First Nations to free, prior, informed consent to development on their lands
The mission of Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council is to promote the general welfare, enhance independence, encourage self-sufficiency/self-motivation, enhance quality of life, and preserve cultural and traditional values of the tribe, and to exercise tribal authority over resources through educational, economic, and social development opportunities.
Owe Aku,(“Bring Back the Way”) was founded in 1997 by Alex and Debra White Plume and their families. They are a grassroots social change organization dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of the Lakota Way of Life, Treaty Rights, and Human Rights. Owe Aku focuses on youth, Lakota and other Indigenous People grounded in their ancient identity and a healthy lifestyle, including leadership skills.
A project of Diné No Nukes, Nuclear Energy Information Service & Sloths Against Nuclear State, the Radiation Monitoring Project (RMP) aims to put radiation monitors into the hands of front-line communities affected by ionizing radiation and to provide professional training to accurately collect radiation readings in areas of concern.
The “Regroupement Vigilance Mines de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (REVIMAT)” was founded in 2015. They include six regional organizational members of REVIMAT, and multiple external partners with whom they collaborate, including Indigenous communities or organizations. REVIMAT is very concerned about the proliferation of mining projects, especially the new form of large-scale, low-grade projects close to inhabited and / or sensitive environments, including Indigenous communities. Their mission is to bring these issues to the public attention and to elected representatives.
RAVEN was founded in 2009, and is the only non-profit charitable organization in Canada that provides legal defense funds to Indigenous People to curtail unsustainable industrial development and drive systemic change. Through their public education programs, RAVEN collaborates with Indigenous Peoples to eliminate environmental racism and foster a greater understanding of indigenous rights and governance.
Through public awareness and education we strive to protect the Upper Peninsula from unsustainable development, degradation and dangerous contamination.
The Silver Valley Community Resource Center (SVCRC) was founded by a listening process of nontraditional leaders in the Silver Valley who included, church, union, social service groups, affected citizens, senior citizens who came together and decided to work with and accountability of the EPA for environmental cleanup of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. SVCRC’s Mission is to improve the quality of life for people of the Silver Valley, epicenter of the nations larges lead site, resolving 4 key goals; economic development, safe housing/ending homelessness, adequate health care and environmental justice.
The goal of this citizen-driven organization (SOS GLSR) is to raise public and political awareness, and to force the Provincial government to act in favor of their small community to stop a graphite mineral project, as well as to have the provincial laws changed so that this type of mining will no longer be possible in Quebec, Canada.
The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) is a consortium of 15 sovereign Tribal nations located in Southeast Alaska. Established in 2014, SEITC seeks to protect the vital and sacred rivers that sustain their communities and culture. The consortium also is working to change the dialog from how we can mine the Sacred Headwaters to should we mine the Sacred Headwaters by leveraging the unified voice of over 100,000 Tribal citizens to demand their rights under the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights.
The Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc is a geopolitical governance group of the Secwépemc Nation, situated in the Secwépemc Traditional Territory around Kamloops Lake, British Columbia (BC). The Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc includes and is principally comprised of Secwépemc persons who are members of the Skeetchestn Indian Band and the Tk’emlúps Indian Band and are referred to as “Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc” or “SSN”. In accordance with Secwépemc laws, customs, and traditions, members of the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc are the caretakers and stewards, who own, care for, and are responsible for the protection and management of that part of Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwepemcúl’ecw (Secwépemc Traditional Territory) that includes Pípsell and the land that surrounds it.
The Taku River Tlingit First Nation is located in Atlin, BC, a small remote community of approximately 400 people. The Taku River Tlingit are moving forward as the responsible decision makers of their land and waters within their Territory, which covers over 40,000 sq/km and includes what is now known as British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska/US. As responsible decision makers, they are embarking on a course necessary to ensure the preservation of their wildlife and fisheries to ensure the preservation of what is Tlingit.
The Native Conservancy was formed in 2003 and focused on purchasing conservation easements on the 12,000 acre Bering River Coalfields and Chugach Alaska Corporation’s (CAC) 73,000 Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act (ANCSA, 1971) inholdings in the adjacent Carbon Mountain Region so they will never be mined. The mission of the Native Conservancy Land Trust is to support Indigenous people’s efforts to preserve, repatriate and restore ancestral lands through the establishment of Indigenous land conservation trusts on sacred lands and waters that are inherent to the protection and perseverance of sovereignty, subsistence, spirituality and Native culture.
To Nizhoni Ani was founded in 2001. The organization was established in response to Peabody Coal Company’s excessive drawdown and waste of the only potable water source the Navajo people have on Black Mesa. To Nizhoni Ani works with organizations and local leadership in a number of campaigns to end Navajo Nations dependency on fossil fuel as well as promote sustainability and traditional lifestyle of Black Mesa. They organize through horse rides, non-violent actions and intense community education.
Tu k’eni Dene began in 2014 as the Dene Trappers Alliance when they organized and took action to block the road to industrial traffic that was inundating their traditional trapping areas to explore for uranium. Tu k’eni Dene is led by the Denesuline who are the primary people who have lived and loved the land and waterways for eons and who face the impacts that a uranium mine would place upon them.
The Upper Similkameen Indian Band is a First Nations band government, with overall membership at 213 members, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, whose head offices are located in town of Hedley in the Similkameen Country. In recent years, the Upper Similkameen has increasingly become involved in the business community and has become one of the largest employers in the area.
Utah Diné Bikéyah’s mission is to: “Preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources of ancestral Native American lands to benefit and bring healing to people and the Earth.”
Voices of the Sacred was founded in 2015 in response to the White House Generation Indigenous Youth Challenge. Founder, Krystal Two Bulls and partners from True Pride Music collaborated with youth from Pine Ridge, South Dakota and Lame Deer and Missoula, Montana to host a Gen-I Challenge event that would address issues that Native youth face on a daily basis both on and off the reservation.
WNPJ facilitates activities, cooperation and communication among Wisconsin organizations and individuals working toward the creation of a sustainable world, free from violence and injustice. We build coalitions, engage the public and wage campaigns through our Anti-Militarism, Immigrant Rights and Environment Work Groups, the last of which heads our anti-mining advocacy.
Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) is a federally recognized tribe with over 600 tribal members. WCA was formed in 1938 as part of the Indian Reorganization Act. WCA is determined to protect their natural resources from the potential disastrous effects of the mining at the headwaters of their rivers in S.E. Alaska.
Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government (formaerly known as Nemiah Valley Indian Band) is located 170 kilometres west of Williams Lake, British Columbia. The Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government will work towards self-governance through unity, respect, trust and pride of our Tsilhqot’in heritage, language and culture. They work to ensure a healthy environment to preserve their natural resources while becoming economically sustainable for generations to come.
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is an indigenous grassroots non-profit organization established in 1997. The YRITWC was created by Indigenous leaders who were concerned about safeguarding and cleaning-up the Yukon River Watershed (YRW). It is a coalition comprised of 74 Indigenous governments in Canada and Alaska with the 50-year vision ‘To be able to drink water directly from the Yukon River’. The YRITWC is an entity that coordinates efforts to protect, clean and maintain the health of the Yukon River and its diverse peoples.
“We are part of the land. The land is part of us.” Yunesit’in Government (YG) is an Indigenous government located about 105 km west of Williams Lake, BC, and is one of the six communities that comprise the Tsilhqot’in Nation. It is the governing and administrative body of the Yunesit’in community, which includes social, health, land, and housing departments, a school for kindergarten to grade 8, a youth centre, a daycare, solid waste management and economic development – its primary goal is to serve the community’s needs. YG works in collaboration with the neighbouring Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government (another Tsilhqot’in community) on the Dasiqox Tribal Park, an Indigenous-led conservation area for land, water and wildlife located in their shared caretaker areas.