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| Dear Relatives,
September kept the IEN Communications staff busy and on the road. Audio and Solar Technician Govinda Dalton departed the IEN Protecting Mother Earth gathering in Cherokee, NC, for the main IEN office in Bemidji, MN, delivering for storage IEN’s portable solar power equipment that enabled the audio and video recording of PME 2024 plenaries and workshops. It also powered the gathering’s sound equipment.
From Bemidji, Govinda headed south to Bvlbancha, commonly known as New Orleans, Louisiana, to assist an IEN community partner, Bvlbancha Radio, with continued maintenance and upgrade of its emergency communications program. Upgrades were made just in time for Govinda to depart before the most recent Hurricane Francine, landed in Terrebonne Parish, La., on September 11, 2024, leaving more than 400,000 people without electricity.
Leaving Bvlbancha, Govinda made his way to the Muscogee Nation and the Deere Family Foundation Roundhouse in the heart of what is now the state of Oklahoma, where 39 federally recognized Tribal Nations maintain headquarters.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – Today, the last day of September, is widely known as #OrangeShirtDay.
Initiated by the Canadian Parliament in 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation established the atrocities and lasting impacts of Residential Schools and to honor the Survivors and little ones who never returned home. Residential and Boarding schools across Turtle Island were part of an intentionally violent assimilation agenda waged against Indigenous Peoples, aimed at erasing cultures, languages, and identities. Our communities are still grappling with the deep inter-generational trauma left in the wake of this systemic violence, as it fractured families, disrupted traditional ways of life, and inflicted lasting harm on mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Yet, despite these devastating efforts, Indigenous Peoples continue to resist, reclaim, and revitalize our cultures, standing strong in the face of colonial oppression. Today, we commit to truth, healing, and justice for those who endured these injustices and to building a future where Indigenous rights and voices are fully respected and protected. |
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Convening of the Four Winds
The Roundhouse was the site of Movement Rights’ third Convening of the Four Winds on Sept. 7-8, 2024, which brought together a dynamic group of water protectors, long-time and emerging activists, as well as youth and elders in panel discussions and presentations around the topics of Environmental Justice, Land Back, Indigenous Sovereignty and water rights and protection. Most specific to water rights and protection were discussions around the region’s endangered Kiamichi River on which a 1200-megawatt, closed-loop pumped storage hydroelectric power plant has been reapplied for permitting by the Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation. Power from the facility to be built just south of the Choctaw town of Talihina, Oklahoma, would be transmitted to a substation in Paris, Texas. Local representatives who live along the river opposing the project said it would siphon billions of gallons of water from the Kiamichi River, area groundwater, and rural water wells and destroy their way of life.
National Tribal and Indigenous Climate Conference
IEN Feminisms Organizer Claire Charlo and IEN Youth Representative Remi Still Smoking traveled to Anchorage, Alaska, for the National Tribal and Indigenous Climate Conference, held Sept. 9-12, 2024. They presented to a packed audience the topic of “The Cultural Responsibility of Indigenous Women, Femmes, and Two-Spirit; Inter-generational Discussion on Indigenous Feminisms and How it Intersects with all Aspects of Climate Justice Work.”
Big Sandy Lithium Mine
IEN Digital and Social Media Coordinator Eddie Saunsoci (Omaha) supported IEN KIITG Co-lead and Mining Organizer Talia Boyd (Diné) with documentation of her lead and participation in a peaceful demonstration in front of the O’Connor US Courthouse in Phoenix, AZ, on Sept. 17, 2024, against the Big Sandy Lithium Mine. Talia said the mine near Wikieup, AZ, threatens the sacred medicinal spring Ha’Kamwe’ and joined Hualapai tribal members, the local community, and other allies in the rally to hold the Bureau of Land Management accountable.
NYC Climate Week
During this year’s NYC Climate Week, IEN Executive Director Tom Goldtooth (Diné/Dakota) served as a tribunal judge for the Sixth International Rights of Nature Tribunal: End of the Fossil Fuels Era on Sept. 22, 2024, an initiative of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN). On an expert panel, Goldtooth examined global cases where Nature’s rights were violated, bringing together frontline community representatives, legal experts, and environmental advocates to present powerful testimonies where the fossil fuels industry has violated Nature’s rights and human rights and pushed Mother Earth towards catastrophe. Global cases covered false climate solutions, pipeline projects, oil spills, and sacrifice zones. The panel also discussed pathways to a fossil-free future.
Goldtooth also participated in the GARN Indigenous Council Gathering held Sept. 24, 2024, at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice in the NYU Law School. Council leadership delved into a discussion of the Rights of Nature as it intersects with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous sovereignty. He also joined other advocates for Mother Earth at an event by the Commission Project on Sept. 25, 2024, to speak on the topic of “Bridges and Barriers to Fossil Fuel Phase Out,” exploring perspectives and pathways to a just, timely and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
Also attending NYC Climate Week, one of the most significant annual week-long events for climate action in the United States, IEN Geoengineering Organizer Panganga Puyowiyi (Sivuqaq Yupik) joined Goldtooth, IEN Feminisms Organizer Claire Charlo (Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes), IEN Water Ethics Organizer Mona Polacca (Havasupai/Hopi/Tewa), IEN Divestment Organizer Marcello Federico (Cherokee/Blackfoot) and activists from around the world for panel discussions, presentations and rallies in the streets of New York, NY.
Panganga contributed to ”The Dangers of Geoengineering as a Response to Climate Change” on Sept. 24, 2024, at the People’s Forum in the Paul Robeson Theater. Click here to watch.
Other topics were presented by IEN staff; “Critical Perspectives on Solar Geoengineering: Risks and Governance Challenges” and “The Growing Criminalization of Climate Activism in Western Democracies” both emphasize the struggles for rights and the need to continue to uplift Indigenous Peoples as they protect 80 percent of Mother Earth’s biodiversity. Click here to learn more.
On Sept. 24, 2024, Claire Charlo presented at a Climate Activist Defenders event, “Climate Justice & Human Rights: What is needed to support climate activists at risk?” The event was closed, and recording was not allowed. Click here to learn more.
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Tropical Storm Helene hits Qualla Boundary
Tropical Storm Helene hit western North Carolina hard bringing large amounts of rain which caused flooding throughout the region on Friday, Sept. 27. The Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, N.C.) was among the areas affected and saw flooding in various places including the Oconaluftee Island Park in downtown Cherokee which was completely underwater by mid-morning on Friday.
EBCI Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks issued a State of Emergency for the EBCI on Thursday, Sept. 26 prior to the storm hitting the Qualla Boundary. The declaration stated in part, “This storm presents a serious risk to life, property, and the environment. Effective immediately, our Emergency Operations Plan is activated, and all necessary resources are being mobilized to protect the community.” Click here to learn more.
Klamath River Damn Removed!
After nearly 100 years of blocking fish migration, encroaching on Indigenous Peoples’ culture, and harming water quality, four giant dams along the Klamath River were removed – the largest dam removal project in US history, a victory for Tribal Nations like that of our IEN Carbon Pricing Educator Thomas Joseph Tsewenaldin, the Hoopa. Thomas Joseph and his Hupa people were overjoyed. Long before joining IEN, Tsewenaldin spent half his life fighting these four dams. “As our salmon return this season, we expect them to spawn above the dam, which hasn’t happened in 62 years. Sturgeon, a fish that easily lives for 200+ years, can reunite with their family members after 62 years of separation. I’m sure their celebration is even greater than ours.” said Tsewenaldin. Find more info at the New York Times and Click here to learn more.
International First Nations leaders slam NZ government’s attack on Māori Rights
The First Nations leaders called on the NZ government to act in good faith and respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The collective endorsed a statement last month at the 18th Protecting Mother Earth Conference, held in the Eastern Cherokee Nation, asserting that the proposed Treaty Principles Bill breaches democratic processes, fundamental contractual principles, and Treaty law.
Indigenous Environmental Network executive director Tom BK Goldtooth said the bill and the government’s proposals to review the Waitangi Tribunal are “a profound violation” and are similar to the many settler state attacks on treaties that took place in the USA and Canada. Click here to learn more. |
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Calls to Action & Dates to Remember
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene
As many of us watch in disbelief and sadness, reports of complete devastation in the path of Hurricane Helene, please keep all our relatives in your prayers.
Listed below are websites from trusted sources that provide the most updated information for mutual aid, connecting with loved ones, road conditions, and more…
Appalachian Voices:
Tropical Storm Helene Relief for Southern and Central Appalachia
Blue Ridge Public Radio:
Ways to donate and help flood victims in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene
WRAL News: How to help flood relief efforts
FEMA: Over 3,500 Federal Personnel Across North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama
For our four-legged relatives:
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Hold Citi Accountable for Environmental Racism
Citi – one of the world’s largest fossil fuel funders – may deny its role in perpetuating environmental racism in the U.S. Gulf South, but this latest data says otherwise.
A new report from our partners at Stand.earth, the Gulf South Fossil Finance Hub, and others identifies a clear link between Citi’s financing and the harmful pollution of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities in Texas and Louisiana. For too long, these neighborhoods have been forcibly turned into “sacrifice zones” against their will for profit. Click here to learn more and “Hold Citi Accountable…”
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Sign-On Letter: Frontline, EJ, Tribes and Allies Oppose the “Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024”
Deadline to Sign: Monday October 7th, 2024 – 12:00 PM EST.
Please join co-drafters WE ACT for Environmental Justice, GreenLatinos, Indigenous Environmental Network, and Black Hive (M4BL) on this letter opposing S.4753, Senators Manchin and Barrasso’s Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA).
This letter is intended to uplift the specific concerns of frontline environmental justice and Tribal organizations and communities. We welcome all organizations to sign-on. Non-environmental justice groups will be listed under “Allied Organizations.” We allow you to self-identify your organization, but reach out if you are unsure.
In summary: “The legislation is an abhorrent effort to deny mostly Black, Brown, and low-income people the right to a healthy community. This bill will stifle our communities’ right to public input, and thwart our transition to an equitable, sustainable, and renewable energy economy.” Click here to learn more and get involved.
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Sign on to stop the large-scale commercial release of Genetically Engineered Trees!
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, must immediately cancel the legalization of Suzano’s nine varieties of genetically modified eucalyptus trees.
Sign on to endorse the Open Letter calling on President Petro of Colombia as Host of the Convention on Biological Diversity COP16 in October 2024 to enforce the CBD’s 2008 decision and stop the commercial release of genetically engineered trees.
Brazilian pulp company Suzano (and its subsidiary, Israel-based FuturaGene) have received permission from the Brazilian government to release nine varieties of genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) eucalyptus trees for commercial production. These GE trees represent a serious threat to biological diversity and ecosystem function, as well as to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Click here to learn and sign.
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From Indian Country and Beyond….
Canada continues to face residential school denialism – The voices denying the history of residential schools still ring…
It was over 100 years ago, when Dr. Peter Bryce, the leading medical expert on Indigenous peoples reported that children were dying by the dozens and ultimately hundreds at residential schools and other government and church-run institutions for Indigenous children. Click here to learn more.
A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer. What role did the US government play?
Owyhee is the sole town on the reservation, where snow-capped mountains loom over a valley of scattered homes and ranches, nearly 100 miles (161 kms) from any stoplights. The area is bookended by deep Nevada canyons and flat Idaho plains. For generations, the legacy and livelihoods of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes have centered around raising cattle year-round. And many still use the same medicinal plants and practice the same ceremonies as their relatives buried there. Click here to learn more.
Facing natural disasters, more lawmakers look to make oil companies pay for the damage
Vermont is the first state trying a new approach to climate policy: charging fossil fuel companies money to cover the damages caused by natural disasters worsened by climate change. Click here to learn more.
Trying to escape sea-level rise, Northwest coastal tribes are drowning in paperwork
Coastal tribal communities in the Lower 48 live on the frontlines of climate adaptation, with some facing the daunting challenge of relocating altogether to safer inland places as sea levels rise. Between November 2022 and August 2023, a researcher from the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) and one from the University of Washington conducted listening sessions with tribal leaders, citizens and employees from 13 Northwest coastal tribes, posing questions about the status of climate adaptation plans and the greatest obstacles the tribes are facing. Click here to learn more.
Earth just sweltered through the hottest summer in recorded history
Amid an onslaught of lethal heat, surging disease and record-breaking storms, global temperatures this summer climbed to the highest levels on record, according to Europe’s top climate agency. As floodwaters coursed through Texas and Taiwan, as mosquito-borne viruses spread across the Americas, as lethal heat struck down children on hikes and grandparents on pilgrimage, the world’s average temperature this summer soared to the highest level in recorded history, according to new data from Europe’s top climate agency. Click here to learn more.
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IEN Staff & Management
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