Matt Aguiar

The Christensen Fund Details Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Pledge Commitments

by Matt Aguiar

Native Americans In Philanthropy Launches Historic Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge

Fifteen funders have committed over $100 million over the next five years to support Tribal-led biodiversity restoration and conservation

Washington, D.C. – Native Americans in Philanthropy and Biodiversity Funders Group, in partnership with 15 leading funders, announced the launch of the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge today at the White House Conservation in Action Summit. To date, funders have committed $102.5 million over the next five years to support Tribal-led conservation work. The pledge calls on foundations and philanthropists to allocate a self-determined percentage or amount of funding to support the biodiversity and conservation efforts of Tribes, inter-Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia.

The Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge demonstrates an important commitment to a new way of thinking about conservation that centers the people who are most impacted by climate and biodiversity crises but also hold the knowledge on how to best steward our lands and water. Indigenous people, especially in the United States, have been impacted by a changing environment that has upended traditional hunting and fishing practices, as well as livelihoods.

“Conservation is not just about safeguarding land. It’s about prioritizing people, especially those who hold the traditional knowledge on how to combat our climate and biodiversity crisis, and recognizing that they can chart a path forward,” said Erik Stegman, CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy. “Through the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge, Tribal Nations can continue to lead the way on the conservation of our lands and waterways, our agricultural systems, and our planet. We are grateful to our funders who are part of this turning point in the environmental space and understand the impact of grounding this work in Indigenous values and sustainability. ”

Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Biodiversity Funders Group are committed to educating and organizing funders around Tribal-led conservation opportunities, growing total commitment dollars, and changing how we address climate change. The leading funders that have already joined the Pledge and committed to supporting Tribal-led conservation are: The Alaska Conservation Foundation, The Christensen Fund, The Decolonizing Wealth Project, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Grousemont Foundation, The JM Kaplan Fund, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Resources Legacy Fund, Re:wild, The Walton Family Foundation, The Water Foundation, The Wilburforce Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The Wyss Foundation. The list will continue to grow as more funders commit to the Pledge.

“Biodiversity Funders Group (BFG) and our members are honored to lift up the importance of funding the conservation strategies and priorities of Tribal Nations, the original stewards of our environment,” said Lisa Pawlek Jaguzny, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Biodiversity Funders Group. “This pledge is just the beginning of our partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy to expand the circle of funders who are committed to a new, people-centered vision for conservation that is rooted in the leadership, knowledge, and traditions of Tribes.”

The collaboration of these funders represents a shift in philanthropic support for Tribal-led solutions in conservation work. Historically, less than 0.5% of philanthropic dollars have been allocated to Native communities, and fewer of those dollars have gone towards Native-led conservation. This Pledge is a turning point in climate funding that recognizes and supports Native communities who have long been leaders in this work.

“The Christensen Fund is a proud supporter and seed funder of this initiative which promotes and recognizes the self-determination and sovereignty of Tribes across the United States,” said Carla Fredericks, CEO of The Christensen Fund. “Since time immemorial, Native American Tribes and communities have lived out their commitment to our Mother Earth, in deep cosmological relationship with these landscapes and ecosystems. By providing funding at scale to Tribes to ensure generational protection of their homelands, we are investing in both Indigenous knowledge and the planet as a whole - a true win-win."

The Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge will be critical in ensuring that the U.S. meets the minimum goals of the 30 x 30 Initiative, a global effort to conserve 30% of the terrestrial and marine habitat by 2030. Tribal-led conservation methods are already focused on protecting and preserving biodiversity, and the pledge will help accelerate progress towards the global goal over the next seven years. 

Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Biodiversity Funders Group encourage foundations to increase funding of Tribal-led biodiversity protection and preservation by pledging a percentage of their annual programmatic dollars to these efforts or by donating directly to the fund.

For more information, visit www.tribes.native philanthropy.org.

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About Native Americans in Philanthropy

For over thirty years, Native Americans in Philanthropy has promoted equitable and effective philanthropy in Native communities. They do this through leadership development, education, research, and strategic partnerships with funders and philanthropic organizations. The cornerstone of their work is their relatives and their networks.

NAP supports several communities of stakeholders that work together to build knowledge, community, priorities, and power in the sector. These networks include Native professionals in philanthropy, elected Tribal leaders, Native youth leaders, Native philanthropic executives and board members, and Native nonprofit leaders.

About Biodiversity Funders Group

The Biodiversity Funders Group (BFG) is a professional association of environmental, conservation, and climate and energy grantmakers. We were founded in 1987 as the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity by a group of foundations and federal agencies to encourage funders to work together and leverage their resources. Today, approximately 75 funding institutions, predominantly private foundations, are formal members, while more than 200 other grantmaking institutions benefit from our activities as program partners.

by Matt Aguiar

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.

by Matt Aguiar

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.

by Matt Aguiar

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.

by Matt Aguiar

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.

by Matt Aguiar