Dear Relatives,


Loss. Loss is the most difficult aspect of our lives; something every human being will eventually deal with. Recently, IEN experienced a most profound loss with the sudden, unexpected passing of our Director of Operations Simone Senogles, who also served as the IEN Feminisms Lead.


Simone Margaret Senogles was welcomed to Mother Earth, into the Migizi (Eagle) clan, and the arms of her Red Lake Nation mother and family on October 27, 1970. With quiet strength and fierce purpose, she lived the names Chinoodinikwè and Miskomakwakwe, dedicating her life to the well-being of her people and the land of over 10,000 lakes with its naturally grown medicine food, Manoomin, more widely known as wild rice. For more than 25 years, she worked in many capacities for the Indigenous Environmental Network. Devoted to protecting Mother Earth and supporting frontline communities, she was an educator on the local impact of toxic chemicals.


A lifelong activist, as a teenager Simone worked for a political artist group, the Northland Poster Collective in South Minneapolis, Minn. A creative writer and skilled artist of diverse media, she wrote and directed “Regaining Food Sovereignty,” a documentary that explored the food systems of Northern Minnesota Indigenous communities, featuring her people of the Red Lake Ojibway Nation. A fierce advocate for land stewardship and a passionate beekeeper, she went on to spearhead IEN’s food sovereignty work.


Simone turned the grief and strength of Indigenous Peoples into social justice movement work.  Passionate about uplifting the voices of Indigenous women, protecting sacred lands and confronting environmental injustice, Simone poured herself into educating others about the connection between violence and exploitation of our bodies and violence and exploitation of the land and the natural world. She was a founding member of MMIW 218, one of many grassroots groups addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Women throughout the region where she lived and worked. 


Expanding her work nationally and globally, Simone served as treasurer on the governing board of Grassroots Global Justice, an alliance of organizations of working poor people and communities of color. She went on to create the first Indigenous Feminist Organizing School in the US and its international counterpart.  


Simone was a prolific Anishinaabe traditional artisan whose skills included sewing and weaving, bead and quillwork, and items of birchbark. Among her master works were a deer brain-tanned, smoked deer hide, a birchbark canoe, traditional woven cedar mats and Leonard Peltier’s moccasins he wore upon his release from incarceration. She was endlessly curious and eager to master new skills. She was insightful in dealing with others, generous with her skills and inspired many to connect with Anishinaabe life ways and local ecosystems. Forever, we will remember her wry humor, adventurous spirit, her laughter.


Simone welcomed everyone into her circle with warmth and care, hosting relatives, nurturing young leaders and mentoring generations of activists and feminists. Her impact was personal and global. She was a steadfast source of comfort, always ready to listen and offer support. 


To the communities who looked to her for leadership, she was a stalwart strategist and a dedicated organizer. She was a steady presence, a protector and a leader who always showed up for those in need. Working to develop policies of accountability to communities, she was a leader in organizational management, human resources and financial management. 


As we move forward through the emotional and spiritual process of dealing with the loss of our beloved Simone, we are forever grateful for her service and commitment to IEN. We will honor her by carrying forward the work she championed: Protecting Mother Earth, Defending Indigenous RIghts and Nurturing Community



GeoEngineering
 

By Tom BK Goldtooth 
Originally published by the CBD Alliance
 
Indigenous Peoples' sacred animal relatives such as jaguars, whales, and elephants are being used as carbon and biodiversity offsets and extractive industries’ greenwash, a grave affront to our traditional knowledge systems and spiritual lifeways. Click here to read more : [link removed].
 

 

Once again, IEN staff and a delegation of allies and front-line grassroots leadership representatives will attend the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP). As we move closer to the events, we offer the following perspectives on the most pressing of challenges we all face. Stay up to date by following our social media, monthly Newswire, press releases, and our website : [link removed] for the latest updates and content you can share with your outreach efforts.



The Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club have filed to dismiss litigation : [link removed] challenging the environmental review process for a proposed massive data center at STAMP.
 
Why? Because we won.
STAMP developer GCEDC voluntarily retracted the approvals for the data center, an unprecedented outcome in the long history of opposition to industrial development at STAMP and one that shows the power of our movement. Read our full press release here : [link removed]. 
Now, let’s protect that victory and strategize the next steps in our campaign to Rethink STAMP. Here’s how:
Sign on to our letter : [link removed] telling Stream US Data Centers and corporate parent Apollo Global Management to GO AWAY and not come back. Deadline is October 28 at 5pm. Join our next campaign call : [link removed], TOMORROW, Tuesday October 28 at 6:30pm on zoom. We’ll talk about the litigation and our strategy moving forward and tell you how you can get more involved in the campaign. RSVP for our victory rally : [link removed]! Saturday, November 8 from 12-1pm in Batavia. Follow our social media for all the details. So, sign our letter, join our call, and come to our rally. It's time to Rethink STAMP!
In solidarity, 
Allies of TSN 
 
PS - Are you in the Rochester area? Come to our screening and discussion : [link removed] of Unheard Voices: The Fight for Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s Way of Life on November 3 at 6:30pm at the Parma Library.



Tech corporations are marketing data center projects as “progress,” but the reality is that tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta are quietly draining the South - economically and environmentally. Click here to watch the Muscogee Creek webinar on the encroachment of data centers on Indigenous Communities : [link removed].



Endorse the renewed Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Manifesto against geoengineering by November 11th! 🌍✋🏽
 
The HOME Alliance is a diverse alliance of civil society groups, including Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, frontline communities, and climate justice groups fighting against all forms of geoengineering. 🛑 ✋🏽 Geoengineering is not a solution—it’s a risky delusion! ✋🏽🛑 🚨 With recent news that Stardust Solutions, an Israeli–U.S. startup, raised $60 million to push Solar Radiation Manipulation, our collective action is more urgent than ever. By endorsing, you stand with movements worldwide demanding real, transformative, rights-based, and gender-just climate solutions—not risky climate scams that gamble with our home.
👉 Read the updated Manifesto:[link removed]: [link removed]
🖋️ Endorse by November 11th:[link removed]: [link removed]
🌐 Find the Manifesto in other languages: (PT, FR, SPA, AR, Hindi, Russian, Tagalog):[link removed]: [link removed]

🌎✋🏽 Together we say: Hands Off Mother Earth! ✋🏽🌎
 
 
NO to TFFF, YES to Forest Rights 
Statement from Civil Society Organizations on the Launch of the Fund for Tropical Forests Forever ---Brazilian, Amazonian, Asian, African and international civil society organizations, gathered on the occasion of COP 30, express their deep concern and rejection of the launch of the Fund for Tropical Forests Forever (TFFF), announced by the Conference Presidency - Click to learn more : [link removed] of the deep concerns and reasons to reject the TFFF. 
 
Sign the statement to STOP the TFFF now!
Far from protecting forests and their communities, this new market-based initiative will actually reinforce a capitalist, racist, colonialist and patriarchal worldview that only deepens current manifold crises and injustices. Click here to learn more : [link removed].



Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
The new amount is roughly half the $667 million that a jury had awarded to the pipeline company that brought the claims, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access. Click here to learn more : [link removed].

Trump's nuclear testing plan sends shockwaves across the West
President Donald Trump wants the Department of Defense (DOD) to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately. He instructed DOD to “immediately begin” nuclear weapons testing last week. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, that’s sending shockwaves around the West. [link removed] Native Organizations and Federal Contracting
The federal government is rewriting the rules for how it issues federal contracts. Some Alaska Native organizations – which depend on federal contracts to pay benefits to shareholders – say the changes could hurt their business, as the Alaska Desk's Alena Naiden reports. Click here to learn more : [link removed].
 

Climate change puts pressure on reindeer populations, both wild & domestic herds
Due to climate change, a recent study published in Science Advances estimates the global reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) population could decline by more than 50% by 2100, with the steepest declines expected in North America at 84%. Best-case scenarios predict a 42% decline on the continent, while some models suggest increases in population on Russia’s Taymyr Peninsula. Click here to learn more : [link removed].

Indigenous Slavery across the Americas
Native Bound Unbound is a digital initiative that recovers and connects every documented instance of Indigenous slavery across the Americas—through archival documents, art, artifacts, and architecture. The project seeks to illuminate where it took place, when it occurred, whom it impacted, and the profound meaning embedded in its legacy for both Indigenous communities and the descendants of the enslaved.
Click here to explore : [link removed] this living archive through four pathways: People, Places, Archives, and Stories. 
 

In Alaska, a graphite mine races toward approval without the required tribal consent
A project in western Alaska is being fast-tracked in a process that has not yet included legally required consultations with Inupiaq communities. Click here to learn more : [link removed]. 

UN plastics treaty chair to step down with process in turmoil
In August, global talks at the UN headquarters in Geneva to agree on a treaty to deal with accelerating plastic pollution collapsed after three years of negotiations. There is currently no deal and the future of the agreement is unclear. The chair’s sudden resignation leaves the plastic treaty in an even more uncertain position, and raises questions around the governance of the process. Click here to learn more : [link removed].

Hegseth’s decision on Wounded Knee medals sparks outrage in Native American communities
Native American communities that had long wanted the removal of military honors for the soldiers involved in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre had their hopes dashed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his effort to root out what he calls a “woke culture” in the armed forces. Click here to learn more : [link removed].



On #IndigenousPeoplesDay : [link removed], the world celebrates our culture but what’s often unseen is the daily work to protect, revitalize, and honor in today's busy society. Each day, Indigenous peoples step into our role as caretakers of the land, defending our waters, air, and territories while carrying forward the knowledge of balance and responsibility. We continue to dismantle the systems that threaten our sovereignty and restore that sacred relationship. Click here to watch the video : [link removed]. 
Indigenous Peoples Defend the CBD’s 2007 Moratorium on Genetically Engineered TreesPress Conference Organized by Global Justice Ecology Project and Indigenous Environmental NetworkClick here to read : [link removed].



As we traverse the challenges from out of control corporate power and work to collaborate and engage across Mother Earth it's even more important now to share this Newswire with a friend or family member. They can subscribe to receive their own copy every month. You can also "Forward to a Friend : [link removed]" and let them know to look for the "Subscribe : [link removed]" link in the footer.
 

Share these on your social media timelines by using the URL when you read using "View as Web Page : [link removed]" in the header and footer of every edition.
 
Keep up with what's happening across Turtle Island and beyond by following our social media channels: 
 
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 You make it possible for us to do what we do by sharing our newsletters, webpages, and social media posts - keep up the good ways of being and we'll see you on the trail!

IEN Staff & Management



The Indigenous Environmental Network - PO Box 485 - Bemidji - MN - 56619

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