Environmental Justice

All People's Power Summit
Flagstaff, Arizona
The Black Mesa Water Coalition, Students for Bhopal, the Sierra Student Coalition's Environmental Justice Program, Save the Peaks Coalition, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative, Native Movement, Third World Majority, and other affiliates held the All People's Power Youth Summit July 15–18, 2004 to discuss youth and environmental justice organizing.

Concerned Rosebud Area Citizens
Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota
CRAC is a Rosebud Lakota tribal grassroots group that has been working to stop a hog farm processing and production facility. CRAC hosted the 13th annual Indigenous Environmental Network Protecting Mother Earth Conference.

Eyak Preservation Council
Cordova, Alaska
For nearly a decade, EPC has integrated their organizing activities with the power of wilderness experience in the very places they are working to protect and preserve. In collaboration with the Indigenous Environmental Network and Lakota Action Network, EPC is holding a unique gathering of young Indigenous activists that will build youth leadership, power, and unity among our struggles for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. The first annual Copper River Indigenous Youth Leadership Gathering will bring together twelve exceptional young Indigenous activists for a week-long river trip on the Copper River in Alaska.

Indigenous Environmental Network Bemidji, Minnesota
The REDOIL network consists of grassroots Alaska Natives of the Inupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Tlingit, Gwich'in, Eyak and Denaiana Athabascan tribes who have formed a network to address the human and ecological health impacts of the unsustainable development practices of the fossil fuel industry in Alaska.

Justice Seekers
Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada
Justice Seekers is a grassroots group formed to seek justice for the people of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation who are living with the cumulative impacts of hydroelectric development. Manitoba Hydro is currently proposing a series of new dams from which most of the electricity produced would be exported to the United States.

Kuksui
Covelo, California
Comprised of 100 percent traditional Roundhouse and Brush-house cultural leaders from Lake and Mendocino Counties, Kuksui's main objective is to champion cultural survival, preservation of traditional Elem Roundhouse ceremonies by addressing environmental justice concerns through traditional community organizing and representation. Moreover, their organizing work addresses the potential health effects posed by a proposed geothermal plant project located within 500 yards from their tribal community, Roundhouse, and lakeshore.

Ohngo Gaudadeh Devia
Skull Valley reservation, South Dakota
Ohngo Gaudadeh Devia Awareness (or OGDA, Goshute for "Timber Setting Community"), a grassroots group of Skull Valley Goshute tribal members, opposes the high-level nuclear waste dump, proposed by Private Fuel Storage, in an effort to protect tradition and the health and safety of the reservation's inhabitants. Throughout the process, OGDA has filed contentions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, continues to engage allied organizations in opposition, and participates in lawsuits to oppose the dump.

SAGE Council
Albuquerque, New Mexico
To protect the Petroglyph National Monument, which holds over 25,000 ancient Native American rock etchings and is a sacred site to the local tribes who still conduct religious practices there. Land developer John Black and Mayor Martin Chavez are attempting to build a $70 million dollar freeway through the Monument in order to provide access to the Quail Ranch, a 6,700 acre development.

Save the Peaks Coalition
Navajo Reservation
The Coalition was formed to address environmental and human rights issues caused by proposed ski resort development on the San Francisco Peaks, a mountain in Northern Arizona held sacred by over 13 Tribal Nations.

2010: Skiing on Ancestral Bones
Port Alberini, BC, Canada
The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in British Columbia, and the Native community is working to bring Native issues to the forefront. 2010: Skiing on Ancestral Bones is a film that seeks to draw together the threads of commonality that bind together the plights of Secwepemc (Neskonlith reserve), Okanogan (Penticton reserve), Statlimc (Mt. Curry), and Pilalt (Cheam) Nations.

Western Shoshone Defense Project
Crescent Valley, Nevada
The project supports Western Shoshone land rights, culture, and the recognition of a Western Shoshone land base in defense of Western Shoshone homelands against the unsustainable projects of the federal government, gold mining, and energy production.

Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council
Fairbanks, Alaska
The 330,000 square mile Yukon River water supports the longest inland run of ocean salmon in the world while the surrounding watershed provides essential habitat for migratory birds, moose and caribou. A coalition of First Nations is working to protect this ecosystem.

Sustainable Communities

Bad River Gitiganing Garden Project
Odanah, Wisconsin
The Project is about the restoration and development of the Bad River Band's ancestral gardens and other agricultural activities. Diabetes, obesity and other health concerns have led the Gitiganing Garden Project to strive to actualize a healthy and sustainable lifestyle for all community members through hands-on organic gardening as a means of combating diabetes and increasing cultural awareness.

Boarding School Healing Project
Eagle Butte, South Dakota
A coalition of several organizations across the country seeking to document boarding school abuses so that Native communities can begin healing and demand justice from the US government and churches.

California Indian Basketweavers Association
Grass Valley, California
Since 1992, CIBA has been working to preserve and promote traditional California Indian basket weaving and to protect basket-weavers and gatherers from toxic pesticides in the environment. The program also works to ensure free and unrestricted access to gathering sites used by California Indian basket-weavers and to reintroduce Native traditional knowledge and wisdom in the management and stewardship of gathering sites.

Native American Community Board
Yankton Sioux Reservation, South Dakota
On the Yankton Sioux Reservation, there are less than 85 fluent Dakota speakers remaining and most of these are elders. It is through the elders that language and traditional knowledge are maintained, and it is within traditional knowledge that the value system of the Dakota people exists. Grant supports language restoration.

Sicangu Way of Life Project
Bear Butte, South Dakota
They work to empower the people of Oceti Sakowin, the Seven Council Fires of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nation in the revival of holistic, traditional cultural practices in reference to plant medicines and mother/child relationships by providing educational opportunities and resources in order to perpetuate their collective responsibility as Keepers of the He'Sapa, the Sacred Black Hills.

White Earth Land Recovery Project
White Earth Reservation, Minnesota
In 2004, WELRP put together a Midwest Indigenous Farmer's Conference. The conference convened Indigenous agriculture projects in the Great Lakes and northern region to share strategies to offset industrialized agriculture impacts on our community, protect against genetically modified seeds in our region, promote seed saving, and traditional knowledge about Indigenous agricultural and food practices. WELRP received a separate grant to support training in wind turbine maintenance.

Nuclear Waste/Safe Clean Energy

Black Mesa Trust
Flagstaff, Arizona
To protect their lands and water from degradation and depletion by Peabody Coal Company's mining operations and water withdrawals. For over 30 years, Peabody Energy, through its subsidiary Peabody Western Coal Company, has pumped 1.3 billion gallons annually of pure drinking water from the Navajo Aquifer beneath Black Mesa.

Fort Belknap Wind Turbine
Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana
The Fort Belknap community is developing a small wind energy project with the construction of a 10-kilowatt Bergy wind turbine, which has the potential to produce up to 7,095 kilowatt-hours per year.

Lone Buffalo Association
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Lone Buffalo is a Native tiospaye-based organization whose goal is to reconnect Lakota tiospayes back to their remaining land base. The project is developing a prototype wind turbine using locally available materials, skills, and labor. This project will enable the group to assess the potential for manufacturing wind turbines on the reservation.

Owe Aku
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
For the past two years, Honor the Earth has been working to raise funds for an integrated alternative energy system for the local community center, including solar photovoltaics and wind. This system will be one of the three renewable energy models that Honor the Earth will use as a tool for organizing tribes and allies around the issue of a safe and clean alternative energy.

Western Shoshone Tribal Impact Assessment and Mitigation for Yucca Mountain
Western Shoshone Territory, Nevada
The Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a construction authorization license to construct a high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Western Shoshone territory. The purpose of the Western Shoshone Tribal Impact and Mitigation Study is to prepare the groundwork for tribal participation in the NRC's Licensing Support System Network by identifying vulnerabilities in and potential impact on Indigenous tribal communities.

Native Youth

Black Mesa Water Coalition
Kykotsmozi, Arizona
A youth-led, inter-tribal and multicultural organization, BMWC has been working to address issues of water depletion and natural resource exploitation within the Black Mesa region. BMWC empowers and informs Native and non-Native youth and their families to take a stand against the injustices that are wrought by Peabody Coal and unsustainable energy policies created by state and federal governments.

Indigenous Revitalization School
Lawtons, New York
Established for the revitalization of the Indigenous Ogwe'o: weh worldview with a focus on the Seneca language. Under the guidance of traditionally-versed elders whose first language is Seneca, families are nurtured and immersed in language instruction. The Gano: nyok (Thanksgiving Speech) is the basis for all learning and is an intricate part of every day life in Seneca communities.

Indigenous Youth Coalition of Pinon
Pinon, Arizona
A grassroots, youth-led organization that emerged out of a need for positive outlets for Native youth who grow up in a community and society plagued by environmental and social injustice. IYCP strives to provide young people with the tools and knowledge to address these ills within the context of traditional Dine (Navajo) philosophy. IYCP plans to launch a Climate Justice Campaign that will educate the local community members on climate change and its impact on Indigenous peoples.

International Indian Treaty Council
San Francisco, California
In 1997, IITC launched its "Native Youth for Human Rights" Mentorship Program to provide ongoing educational and community activism opportunities for high school and college-age Indian youth in the Bay Area and Northern California in order to empower future leaders

Mohave Cultural Preservation Program
Parker, Arizona
In collaboration with the Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, MCPP seeks to build the organizing capacity in youth of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and Gila River Indian Communities. Both communities are faced with highly toxic threats posed by hazardous waste facilities operating on their reservations: Westates Carbon/U.S. Filter on the Colorado River Indian Tribes' lands and Romic in the Gila River Indian Community.

Native American Community Partnership of Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
NACPOT provides social and cultural services to the Indigenous community of middle Tennessee. Their programs, based on yearly surveys conducted within the Indigenous community, create opportunities for Native people to socialize and meet other Native people, to educate themselves and children in areas pertaining to their culture, and to provide centralized access to services, resources, and information.

Native Movement
Arctic Village, Alaska
Established to provide grassroots awareness, action, and advocacy for Indigenous peoples, currently, they are focusing on Alaska Native issues of subsistence way of life, youth leadership development, and cultural education. Native Movement is organizing tribes, organizations, and individuals—Native and non-Native—to work together to bring a peaceful and respectful resolution to subsistence issues in Alaska and to secure full recognition by State and Federal governments of Indigenous peoples' sovereignty.

Owe Aku
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Owe Aku's (Bring Back the Way) purpose is preservation and revitalization of Lakota culture and language. In order to achieve its goals, Owe Aku seeks to develop youth leaders' research, organizing and communication skills through training and workshop sessions. Other plans include building a resource library, developing a public education campaign, and initiating the development of a youth activist network in the community.

Wakanyeja Pawicayapi Inc.
Porcupine, South Dakota
A program of Wakanyeja Pawicayapi, Inc., Nagi Kicopi (Calling the Spirit Back) was designed to serve Lakota children/youth (age 0-21) with serious emotional needs and their families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They are developing a Wincincala Wicoti (Young Girls and Young Women) Cultural Camp to provide a three to four day therapeutic camp in which empowerment and leadership skills will be developed through Lakota cultural teachings.

White Earth Land Recovery Project
Ponsford, Minnesota
WELRP's Youth Leadership Program, Oshki Naagaaniijig (The New Ones Who Will Lead), seeks to develop the analytical and political skills necessary to assess the community's circumstances while the National Internship Program will continue to train youth organizers on issues of biodiversity and wild rice, community development, sustainable food production, low cost/alternative building, and alternative energy production.

Get Out the Indian Vote 2004

Native Action
Lame Deer, Montana
Native Action's Indian Non-Partisan Voter Education Project continues the systematic work of 20 years of working with the seven Indian Reservations of Montana. In 2004, they targeted voter registration and get out the vote organizing efforts for the urban Indian voters that reside in the major cities of Montana.

Native American Voters Alliance
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Native American Voters Alliance (NAVA) is a project of the SAGE Council which was developed in 2002. Since then, they have built a voter base of 2,000 Native Americans living in Albuquerque and have had success in getting a large majority of them to vote in recent citywide elections. There are many issues that affect the urban Indian community though they are largely a disenfranchised community from both the urban, tribal and statewide resources. NAVA allows us to strengthen political literacy and civic participation in the context of local, state and federal policy.

White Earth Land Recovery Project
Ponsford, Minnesota
In 2004, WELRP sought to mobilize and educate tribal voters in Becker, Clearwater and Mahnomen counties to develop Native political power on the reservation and in the adjoining areas. Lack of voters in these areas is reflected in environmental issues (clear-cutting and herbicide spraying) which adversely impacts tribal communities, arrest and incarceration rates which are much higher for Native peoples, school board decisions which adversely impact Native communities, expenditure of county funds towards diminishment of tribal sovereignty and many other instances. Montanta Cyanide Heap-leach Mining Campaign Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana

The Zortman/Landusky Mines, operated by a Canadian based company (Pegasus Gold), were allowed to mine this area for almost 20 years before going bankrupt in 1998. This mining operation left behind one of the most toxic waste sites in the world on Indigenous lands. The water, soil and air are polluted resulting in death and destruction of all life in this area – humans, plants, birds, fish, animals, etc. The goal of this campaign, which is focused on the Gros Ventre Nation, is to inform people of the negative affects of the mine on the environment and the people.

Native Vote 2004 – Minnesota Style
Fond du Lac reservation, Minnesota
There are approximately 33,000 eligible Native American voters residing in Minnesota alone. Minnesota is one of ten states with a significant Native population that political experts agree will have a major impact on the outcome of the 2004 Presidential elections. Native Vote 2004 – Minnesota Style is working to organize and facilitate voter education, registration, and get-out- the-vote activities on the eleven reservations in Minnesota and in the urban Indian communities of Duluth, Minneapolis/St.Paul, and Bemidji.