SHUT Down DAPL- Join us in pushing the Biden Administration to SHUT DOWN  the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) during the Lame Duck period! From  November until inauguration day, we will hold President Biden and his Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to STOP DAPL. Stand with us in solidarity to advocate for the protection of the Standing Rock (SRST) and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes (CRST) against the Black Snake. Click here to read "What's Next: Indigenous Youth and STOP DAPL, and grab a few graphics to amplify this call to action on your social media feeds. We anticipate there will be updates and more to share with your networks as the days fly by before January 20, 2025 - so stay up to date on our social platforms, newsletters, and website. (Links found below)

Tipi Building and Fungi Foray - Back in Bemidji, Minnesota at IEN HQ, the Indigenous Environmental Network and Watermark Art Center co-sponsored a tipi-building workshop at the Rail River Folk School during the week of November 18-23. Rory Wakemup (Anishinaabe), a multidisciplinary artist led local community members in a workshop of constructing life-sized canvas tipis. During this time, Wakemup also showcased his mixed media show Smart Wars– Fighting for Gaa-miinigoowiziyang– “What We Were Given” in the Miikanan Gallery at the Watermark Art Center. 

 

A few weeks prior, our lead gardener for the IEN teaching garden, Kaylee Carnahan, held a few hands-on inoculation workshops, engaging students from the local area on how to cultivate several mushroom species using three different methods. Kaylee and our local staff inoculated logs with chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, and blue oysters and they also inoculated straw with wine cap mushrooms. Participants left with mushroom spawn to continue their cultivation at home. 

 

In the Southwest, IEN’s Indigenous Just Transition Lead Coordinator, Loren White Jr. (Arikara, Hidatsa, Mandan) and KIITG Co-lead Coordinator and Mining Organizer, Talia Boyd (Diné) attended the Energy Democracy Meeting which convened 48 people from 31 organizations to talk strategically about energy democracy. Part of the convening’s goals included building a people-powered energy model beyond what is outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act, designed for our communities.  Moreover, the convening also hosted discussions around creating a decentralized energy model as the pathway to energy justice for disadvantaged and frontline communities, and for successfully addressing the climate crisis. IEN staff and other attendees raised the importance of rooting the work in decolonial and Indigenous values and practices. They warned that renewable energy, too, had a potential to be a false solution-- especially given the impact on critical and rare earth mineral mining that has outsized impacts on Indigenous communities and lands. 

 

Across the world in Busan South Korea, IEN joined the Just Transition Alliance, Society of Native Nations, and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus for the Fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastics to demand the halt of plastic production and the divestment from the petrochemical industry to move towards an Indigenous-led Just Transition. 

 

In Cali, Colombia, IEN sent a large delegation from Turtle Island (U.S and Canada), Brazil, and Colombia, to the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. At COP16 our delegation tracked, advocated, and intervened on multiple issues on the Conference agenda, and participated in various panel discussions, events and was active in the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB). IEN joined many other Indigenous Peoples and local communities to advocate for the establishment of a Subsidiary Body on the Implementation of Article 8(j), which marked a pivotal achievement for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) at COP16. This historic mechanism provides Indigenous Peoples with a formalized platform to influence the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's goals and targets. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes four overarching goals aimed at halting biodiversity loss by 2050, such as increasing ecosystem resilience, equitable benefit-sharing, and sustainable resource use. It also outlines 23 targets for 2030, including conserving 30% of global land and waters (30x30), restoring degraded ecosystems, and reducing harmful subsidies.

 

While this represents significant progress toward amplifying Indigenous voices and safeguarding Traditional Knowledge, vigilance is required to ensure it is not misused to commodify Indigenous knowledge or perpetuate harmful initiatives such as biodiversity offsets. Additionally, COP16 officially recognized the contributions of African Descendants to biodiversity conservation, expanding the scope of IPLC representation among the 196 participating nations. These outcomes underscore both the opportunities and challenges ahead in protecting Indigenous rights and biodiversity.

 

From South America to the Middle East, our climate justice program led our IEN delegation to  attend the 29th Conference of Parties for the United Nations Framework on the Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. IEN sent an eight-member delegation to the climate conference and there they participated in several panel discussions, sat in on negotiations, and participated in formulating the positions of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC). In addition, IEN delegates actively participated in the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform Annual Gathering of Knowledge Holders, where two of our delegates, Mary Lyons and Priscilla Settee were recognized as esteemed Knowledge Holders. 

 

Outcomes of COP29 included the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) and the expansion of global carbon markets under Article 6 highlighted deep inequities for Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable communities. While developed countries pledged $300 billion by 2035, this commitment pales in comparison to the $7 trillion annual fossil fuel subsidies, with no assurance the funds will be direct, accessible, or grant-based, further creating issues of access for Indigenous Peoples, small island countries and countries in the Global South affected by climate change. Instead, the reliance on carbon markets perpetuates a system of exploitation, risking Indigenous lands for fossil fuel extraction, critical mineral mining, and carbon offsets under the guise of renewable energy and biodiversity credits. COP29 reinforced the entrenched colonialism and capitalism that prioritize profit over people and ecosystems, marking a grim setback for climate justice and Indigenous sovereignty. Listen to Native America Calling’s show, featuring IEN’s Executive Director, Tom BK Goldtooth where he shared his reflections about the outcomes of COP29 and its relevance for Indigenous Peoples. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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