Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Fawn Sharp
“Oftentimes, I think about my journey and my responsibility to the 3,000 people of the Quinault Nation...Holding public office means you have a sacred responsibility to honor the ones who spent their lifetimes and tremendous energy and resources to advance a nation."
- Fawn Sharp, Public Servant and Fierce Indigenous Rights Advocate
Fawn Sharp is one of four Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work in serving Indigenous communities as a public servant.
Born in Aberdeen, Washington, President Sharp is a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation, a "climate refugee" Tribe that is urgently relocating its ancestral coastal villages upland due to catastrophic flooding caused by sea level rise.
President Sharp currently serves as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. President Sharp is also the current Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after being a five-term past-President. As a former past-President, she fought for the Quinault Nation’s economic growth while upholding their traditions of civil rights activism, public advocacy, and environmental protection.
She has previously served as a human rights attorney and in several state appointments. In 2021, she became the first elected Tribal leader to officially represent the United States of America on the international stage at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26).
Her work positions her to advocate for policies that serve the interests of tribal governments and communities throughout the United States.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Andrea Ixchíu
“I would like us to start honoring the lives of people who are taking care of our land all while experiencing the effects of climate change and facing violence from governments [like Guatemala’s] and the extractive industries that are causing the climate crisis and perpetuating colonialist behaviors in our lands and territories.”
- Andrea Ixchíu, Storyteller for Human and Environmental Rights
Andrea Ixchíu is one of four global Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work as an environmental and human rights activist.
Andrea is an Indigenous Maya K’iche born in Totonicapán, Guatemala, where she is recognized as a land protector of Totonicapan’s ancestral forest and has also served as an Indigenous community government authority. Alongside ongoing digital attacks, she has survived physical attacks on her life in retaliation to her reporting of illegal loggers operating in the Totonicapán forest.
Andrea works as a filmmaker, journalist, and activist in collaboration with local and international media. In these roles, she has launched local campaigns and youth workshops to denounce gender violence against Indigenous women, starred in the 500 Years documentary, and earned a nomination to participate in the Nobel Women’s Initiative for her opinion column in the Guatemalan newspaper, El Periodico, as well as for her reporting for independent media in Latin America.
She is a coordinator at Hackeo Cultural, a community-based, global initiative that seeks to build and strengthen collective strategies, narratives, and technologies for defending Indigenous territories across Latin America. She also leads the Futuros Indígenas project, which aims to raise actions, not awareness, to face the climate emergency.
Her work continues to uplift Indigenous perspectives and leaders through the power of storytelling and radical activism.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Ole Kaunga Mali
“This is not only a victory for the El Molo, Turkana, Samburu, and Rendille communities that have been affected by the Lake Turkana Wind Project but one for all Kenyan communities that are facing serious threats of displacement and human rights abuses from large land-based investments.”
-Ole Kanuga Mali, Lobbyist and Champion for Indigenous rights, after land deeds for the Lake Turkana Wind Project were declared “irregular and unlawful”
Ole Kanuga Mali is one of four global Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for his proven track record of defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples locally and globally.
Ole is a Laikipia Maasai pastoralist from the northern region of Kenya. Ole’s primary focus includes protecting Indigenous land, lobbying, and advancing Indigenous rights.
Ole previously worked and consulted with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as an Indigenous peoples’ expert for its Africa Program on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. He also brought an international legal case against the British government for using Maasai and Samburu grazing lands in Kenya for military training and leaving live ordinances that maimed and killed scores of Maasai and Samburu. His other lobbying and advocacy efforts include protecting Indigenous people affected by megaprojects, such as the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project and the Isiolo Dam.
Currently, Ole serves as the founder and Director of IMPACT , a co-founder of Maasai Cultural Heritage, and an advisor for both Nia Tero and Conservation International. He also leads the PARAN Alliance, a movement that connects and promotes learning, agency, and voices among Indigenous People-led organizations in Kenya.
His fight to expand Indigenous movements and rights has and continues to have a significant positive impact on Indigenous communities globally.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Joan Carling
“Indigenous peoples are not the enemies. We are not against development. We are conserving our environment for the future of humanity. But we cannot do this alone. The global community, governments, companies and civil society must act in solidarity, and assume responsibility for realizing sustainable development for all.”
-Joan Carling, Environment and Indigenous Rights Defender
Joan Carling is one of four global Indigenous leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work as an Indigenous rights activist and environmental defender.
Born in the Philippines as a member of the Kankanaey Tribe, Joan has defended land and Indigenous rights for over 20 years, from grassroots to international levels. Her primary focus includes ensuring the sustainable development of natural resources, mitigating the climate crisis, and upholding the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Joan’s work has included active participation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and REDD+, serving twice as Secretary-General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact and as Chairperson of the Cordillera People’s Alliance. She was also appointed by the UN Economic and Social Council as an Indigenous expert and has been a member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In 2018, she received the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Environment Programme.
In February 2018, the Duerte regime labeled Joan a terrorist in her hometown of Cordillera, Philippines, for her work and activism to end “development projects” and mining that would harm the land and displace Indigenous people. She left her home after receiving this threat to her life and security.
Currently, Joan serves as the Global Director for Indigenous Peoples Rights International, an organization that works to end the criminalization of people defending Indigenous rights.
In her work, she continues to build alliances and strengthen networks while centering Indigenous voices and raising them in front of policymakers.