Dear Relatives,
 

Never in the lifetime of our current generations have we faced a more crucial or challenging time as we do now. The current White House administration is forcing rollbacks of protections and funding for social safety-nets, healthcare, food, and programs that support communities across Turtle Island. To satisfy these cruel and shortsighted demands requires radical legislation to eliminate laws that have been in place for decades to ensure the balance of government powers. Over the years during Democratic party majorities, citizen engagement has shown to influence laws and regulations that have significantly improved not only the quality of lands, water and air, but the health and quality of all life on Turtle Island. 


Indigenous Peoples have been calling for and working with relatives from many different cultures, backgrounds, race, and genders to empower everyone possible to accept, respect, and work toward more than a regime change because the evidence before us demands a systems change. Modern society : [link removed] must rapidly transition from the current self-destructive false solution paradigm dependent on the extraction of Mother Earth’s essentials, that harms the lands and water’s delicate biodiversity, and fill the air with toxic waste streams. The neo-liberal economics are inherently exploitative of and dismissive of our rights to protect our health and wellbeing. But reality is that the most vulnerable suffer sickness while a select few benefit financially at the expense of most of us. A systems change - creating and implementing equitable and sustainable economic, financial, social and other systems - absolutely can be done while simultaneously maintaining law and order, jobs, Tribal Nations, cultures and families intact. This is what we call an Indigenous Just Transition : [link removed].                                                                                                        
Indigenous Peoples hold within our Traditional Knowledge and worldview the answers to many of the problems facing all of life on Mother Earth today. And over 35 years ago, the founders of IEN began reflecting on the root causes of and how to stop and reverse the negative impacts our Indigenous world has suffered and where we might need to go to reestablish Indigenous worldviews. This has included how we must engage to empower every community and our country in a process that is grounded in an Indigenous Just Transition collective mindset.


Many discussions about the concept of a Just Transition were had between longtime IEN friend, ally, veteran environmental justice organizer and Just Transition Alliance Executive Director José Bravo, IEN Executive Director Tom Goldtooth (Diné/Dakota), IEN Sovereignty Advocate Michael Lane (Menominee) and others. Further, IEN co-founder Charles (Chaz) Wheelock (Oneida), drafted much of the initial IEN Just Transition initiative curriculum. This model included the planning and establishing process for constructive dialogue between labor and Indigenous frontline communities when he made his journey to the spirit world in 2020.


As described from our friends at the Just Transition Alliance : [link removed]:
 “‘Just Transition’ is a principle, a process, and a practice. The principle is that a healthy economy and a clean environment can and should co-exist. The process for achieving this vision should be a fair one that should not cost workers or community residents their health, environment, jobs, or economic assets. Any losses should be fairly compensated. The practice of just transition means that the people who are most affected by pollution - the frontline workers and fenceline communities - should be in the leadership of crafting policy solutions.”


From those years of discussions and with input from Indigenous Knowledge Holders, frontline communities and others, came the concept of an Indigenous Just Transition and a curriculum currently in its final stages of completion that will assist activists, tribal communities, many culturally diverse organizations and Nations to develop Indigenous regenerative economies to take us into the future, healthy and just - fair - for all. 

More information about the IJT curriculum will be forthcoming. Stay tuned into ienearth.org : [link removed], and there you can follow our work and learn more about our IEN Indigenous Just Transition efforts.



Climate Justice Program 
 

No False Solutions Gathering
 




In May, IEN Carbon Pricing Educator Thomas Joseph Tsewenaldin (Hupa, Karuk, Paiute-Shoshone) attended the fourth annual No False Solutions Gathering in Albuquerque, NM, co-sponsored by the New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition and Pueblo Action Alliance (PAA).
 

PAA, an Indigenous women and femme-led grassroots organization, has been actively building both a community and a movement to resist false solutions being pushed across New Mexico and on Pueblo lands. In collaboration with the New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition, they successfully defeated eight state legislative bills promoting false solutions—including those advancing carbon capture, hydrogen, brackish and reclaimed water projects, and the reclassification of natural gas as renewable energy. Their intent is to keep this coalition growing and continue building power across the state. With this year’s turnout, Pueblo Action Alliance—alongside the No False Solutions Coalition—is setting the bar and offering a blueprint for how to build, empower, and uplift communities to defend the sacred from carbon colonialism.
 

This momentum was felt throughout the gathering, where the IEN Climate Justice Program’s Ring of Fire team showed up in full force to support, learn, and deepen these collective efforts. Attending with Thomas were the IEN Climate Justice Program’s Ring of Fire team, including Daniel T’Seleie, Carole Monture, Sterling Peterson, Krystal Curley, and Julia Bernal. IEN KIITG Co-Lead Coordinator and Mining Organizer Talia Boyd (Diné) and IEN Board Emeritus Manny Pino (Acoma Pueblo) were also in attendance and our Executive Director, Tom BK Goldtooth (Diné/Dakota) attended the last day providing a keynote speech. 


IEN Ring of Fire cohorts held trainings on false solutions and toured local sites where oil and gas fracking and water diversion have negatively affected Indigenous cultural sites, including the sacred site of Chaco Canyon. In speaking, Thomas emphasized that IEN’s work is rooted in the love and compassion for Mother Earth. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Resisting Climate Geoengineering


IEN Alaska Outreach Organizer Aakaluk Blatchford (Inupiaq/Yu’pik from Unalakleet) attended the HOME Africa Working Group meeting and the HOME strategy meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, held May 4-11, 2025. Aakaluk presented about Indigenous-led wins in resisting climate geoengineering, the importance of recognizing Free, Prior, Informed Consent, and other processes when engaging with Indigenous frontline communities. She also spoke about the importance of emphasizing Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (generally referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge in international venues) and protocols included in policy and law-making, and how to build campaigns with other communities to form a network of allies. Aakaluk also participated in editing the soon-to-be-released HOME manifesto.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

IEN Water Ethics


IEN Water Ethics Organizer Mona Pollaca (Tewa/Hopi/Havasupai) participated in a “Shared Borders Shared Waters: Working Together in Times of Scarcity” Conference, hosted by Arizona State University Water Resources Center, held May 20-21, 2025, in Tucson, AZ. Mona continues to prepare for the World Water Conference, to be held in August 2025. She also met with representatives of the International Indian Treaty Council about the UN Water conference and participated in a webinar with a UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

On the international front, Tamra Gilbertson, Climate Justice Program Coordinator, during the month of May 2025 led IEN delegates to the UN Forum on Forests 20 at NYC UN Headquarters. Delegates who accompanied and participated in the proceedings were: Shyrlene Oliveira da Silva Huni Kui, Ninawa Inu Huni Kui, Jamilly Shakuany Huni Kui, and IEN researchers- Nam Pham, and Joshua Witchger. The six person delegation presented their vital perspective that helped deepen our understanding of how forests are being financialized and commodified through a UN agenda. Three Huni Kui delegates highlighted key issues related to land struggles, flooding, and drought in addition to organizing on the road to COP 30 in Belém, Brazil. 


Tamra also attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, during Climate Week, convened in Panama City, Panama as an observer and worked with allied organizations, including the Just Transition Alliance, to contribute and gather information for work on the road to COP 30 in Belém, Brazil. 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Indigenous Feminisms Program Joins Forces for MMIWR Awareness and Action
 

Red Lake Nation Runners
 
On May 17th, the Indigenous Feminisms Program partnered with grassroots group MMIW218 to host a powerful day-long gathering in Bemidji, MN, focused on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR). The event opened with a walk and included cultural ceremonies, such as an honor song for families, a jingle dress healing dance, and a community giveaway. A plenary session and eight workshops followed, addressing topics such as 2 Spirit advocacy, healing for men and boys, community organizing, and the intersection of violence on our bodies and Mother Earth.
 
In a moving act of solidarity, 25 runners traveled 30 miles from the Red Lake Nation to join the gathering. Families and organizers from White Earth, local communities, and even state agencies participated, reflecting the collective urgency to end this ongoing crisis and build paths toward healing and justice.
We also continue to hold Monthly Indigenous Feminisms Think Tank virtual meetings which bring together women from across Turtle Island in solidarity with one another to put our collective experiences, wisdom and worldviews to work to address relevant issues such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, Militarism, the rise of Authoritarianism, Feminist Economy and more.



An IEN delegation recently returned from the 20th Annual NW Indian College Vine Deloria Indigenous Studies Symposium. Held near Bellingham, Washington, on Lummi Nation lands, the symposium honors the life of Indigenous legal, social, and historical scholar Vine Deloria. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, he was an author, theologian, and activist for Indigenous Rights. Just before he died in 2005, at one of his final public appearances serving as plenary speaker for the 2005 Robert K. Thomas Symposium at Northwest Indian College, Deloria expressed that he wanted NWIC to become the site for an annual Indigenous Studies symposium.
 

This year’s symposium, held May 22-23, 2025, was themed, “The World We Used To Live In: Acknowledging Our Past and the Fight For Indigenous Sovereignty.” An IEN team was featured as a discussion panel, introducing to eager learners and colleagues the concept of Indigenous Just Transition.
 

To a full capacity, traditional Lummi Longhouse of attendees (Photo above, from left to right): IJT Organizer Mary Crowe (Eastern Band Cherokee/EBCI), Policy Analyst Jordan Harmon (Muscogee (Creek) Nation), KIITG Co-Lead Brenna Yellowthunder (Ho-Chunk/Diné), and Sovereignty Advocate Michael Lane (Menominee) discussed the history and meaning of Indigenous Just Transition, a sustainable way of development for the future of Indigenous Sovereignty and Peoples. IEN Communications staff JoKay Dowell (Cherokee Nation/Quapaw) attended with the IJT delegation to support and document its presentation. 
 

IEN contractor and organizer of past IEN Protecting Mother Earth gatherings, Lisa Montelongo and daughter Lou Montelongo (EBCI), set up a booth with wellness products. They also distributed IEN IJT pamphlets and “Hoodwinked in the Hothouse” booklets, while networking with local community members, faculty and students.
 

The delegation also held a meet and greet reception during the symposium lunch hour on Day one, while sharing a bountiful serving of smoked salmon, greens with citrus fruits, and frybread. Speaking to those who attended the lunchtime meeting, IEN IJT Organizer Mary Crowe, and the VDS IJT delegation said they are set to assist Indigenous frontline and Tribal Indigenous representatives from the Pacific Northwest to hold a Pacific Northwest (PNW) regional IJT gathering in the near future.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 

Indigenous Just Transition
 

IEN Indigenous Just Transition Organizer Mary (Missy) Crowe (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and IEN Administrative Assistant Michelle Marion (Anishinaabe/Akimel O’otham) returned May 1, 2025 from Bogota, Colombia in South America, after attending the EDGE Funders Alliance Conference. There, they met with major funders and other nonprofit staff from around the world to highlight IEN’s programs and meet with philanthropists who might help advance the work of IEN. 


With Michelle’s support, Mary served as a panelist with Just Transition Alliance Executive Director José Bravo and representatives of the International Waste Pickers Association, discussing "Just Transition Strategies Led by Frontline Workers and Communities." IEN staff also did a site visit with Seeds of Solidarity, a local, Indigenous- led, community-based nonprofit building sustainable community by growing traditional foods and making products for a regenerative economy. Mary also participated in the gathering’s closing ceremony led by local Indigenous representatives.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Keep it in the Ground
 

 


 

By Brenna Yellowthunder and BJ McManama
 

Since taking office, the 47th president has signed dozens of disastrous Executive Orders (EOs) with long-lasting consequences for the 99% of us who aren’t ultra-rich oligarchs. In light of the chaos imposed by this administration, we chose the following EOs, which threaten our efforts to preserve and protect Mother Earth from corporate greed and fascism, and avoid, as much as possible, the path of irreversible climate chaos– with a focus on those most harmful to environmental justice.
 

Many of these EOs are fairly lengthy, written in purposely vague or misleading language, and redundant, which masks the true purpose of these orders for a majority of people who are unfamiliar with political, legislative, and legal wordsmithing. Click here to read  the key elements, and how they may negatively affect our communities. : [link removed].



Giitigaan- IEN Teaching Garden
 
May brings a vibrant energy to gitigaan as perennial plant relatives awaken and reach for a returning Brother Sun. In Anishinaabe territory, traditional food and medicine plants like bashkode-jiibik (prairie sage), iniwanzh (common milkweed), and aamoogaawanzh (bee balm) are beginning to stretch their green stems toward the sky, reminding us of the rhythms of renewal.
 
In May, Giitigaan staff welcomed new member DJ Seki (foreground and next to DJ, Liseli - image at right) from Red Lake Nation to the teaching garden team as a garden apprentice. DJ brings a natural intuition for working with the land and a deep enthusiasm for traditional foods. With a love for cooking and a desire to learn from seed to plate, DJ is eager to connect with the full cycle of plant life. He jumped right in to help welcome this season’s honey bee hives and is excited to care for them in the months ahead.
 
On May 15, 2025, garden staff hosted a gathering of tribal members, non-profit, and grassroots organizers from nearby tribal communities and the Bemidji, MN area. Each is actively engaged in local food sovereignty work, and this meeting served as a space to build relationships, share stories, and reflect on both the strengths and challenges we face in the food sovereignty movement. The collective goal is to strengthen the web of connection among those working to restore and protect Indigenous food systems. The conversation sparked ideas for deeper collaboration, and the Gitigaan staff looks forward to meeting in June to explore how to weave together its shared knowledge, resources, and efforts for greater collective impact.



Join IEN and ally organizations at the: Grassroots Briefing: What is Next for the Carbon Capture Fight 
The House passed a massive spending bill that has big implications for the Carbon Capture industry. We are hosting a webinar to unpack what this bill means for local campaigns opposing carbon capture infrastructure, what we expect to happen next as the bill moves to the Senate, and plan for what we can do to educate policy makers about local concerns about what is in this bill.
Click here to register for this important event : [link removed]. 
Join the CCS Action Network for a virtual training on Wednesday, June 4 at 7pm ET.  A link to join and calendar invitation will be shared upon registration. 
Cohosts: Better Path Coalition, Bold Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, CURE, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Food & Water Watch, Illinois Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, Indigenous Environmental Network, No False Climate Solutions PA, Three Waters Pipeline Resistance Team

Click or tap here to learn more and apply : [link removed].



Billowing smoke from Canadian wildfires wafts into the U.S. Thick, billowing clouds of smoke are sweeping south from wildfires ravaging the central Canadian province of Manitoba into parts of the United States, compromising air quality for millions of Americans across several northern states. Click here to read more : [link removed]. 
 

Supreme Court refuses Apache plea to save Oak Flat from copper mining destruction - The U.S. Supreme Court denied a review of Apache Stronghold’s case aimed at blocking the U.S. government’s transfer of Oak Flat to a copper mining company, whose mine will transform the sacred site into a massive crater. Click here to read more : [link removed]. 

A Victory at Bad River The Bad River Tribe has taken on a billion-dollar Canadian oil pipeline company to defend manoomin and the fresh waters that sustain it—and us all. Click here to learn more : [link removed].



Do you find our Newswire monthly editions informative? Now would be a good time 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.
 

You can always share these on your social media timelines by copy/paste 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: 
 
: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 
  And if you're able... : [link removed]
 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

Subscribe to this newsletter:
[link removed]
Unsubscribe [email protected]:
[link removed]
Change your preferences:
[link removed]
Report this email as spam:
[link removed]

This email was sent using MyNewsletterBuilder.com.