Clean Water for Alaska Native Nations
The 70 Alaska Native villages from the headwaters to the mouth of the Yukon River have a common goal: to be able to drink water directly from the river. We have been working with the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) to make this goal obtainable through expanding their legal and technical capacity to protect and clean up their lands and waters. We have provided recommendations to help Native nations ensure that environmental emergencies or legal violations are addressed promptly and effectively by the appropriate government entities.
The watershed is comprised of millions of acres spread along 2,300 miles of river. The YRITWC is working to identify and address the threats to the water quality of the Yukon River, including the adverse effects of mining, transportation, and development. The watershed plan for the Yukon River includes implementation of a water quality standard throughout the region.
We have provided similar support to the Kuskokwim River Watershed Council (KRWC). The KRWC was created in the late 1990’s in response to growing concern over the environmental health of the river and its declining salmon population.
Restoring Water Quality to the Fort Belknap Reservation
The Zortman and Landusky gold mines are located next to the Fort Belknap Reservation in north-central Montana, home to the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes. The mines, which operated from 1979-1998, caused extensive surface and groundwater contamination. Through lawsuits and public pressure, we helped the Tribes shut down the mines and demand the first-ever complete reclamation of the open-pit mines. While the mine reclamation has been completed, unfortunately the toxic pollution was so severe that water quality issues remain a serious problem that will require long-term remediation and monitoring. Our partnership with the Tribes continues, and we remain committed to supporting the Tribes' work to clean up the contamination and prevent future environmental threats.
New Alliances for Conservationists and Native Nations
When it comes to protecting indigenous territories and the environment, we have found that conservationists and Native nations have many things in common. However, the challenge for both groups has been a lack of understanding and communication on how to work together. We hope to change that with our Handbook for Conservationists.
Through our handbook, currently in writing and review stages, we hope to overcome misunderstandings and stereotyping that have thwarted past alliances to protect the environment, clean up polluted lands and waters, and expand sustainable development opportunities.
Our work has led us to understand that there is a sincere interest in collaboration, but many conservationists have hesitated to engage with Indian and Alaska Native nations simply because they know little about them. Our handbook lays out the basics of Native tribes, from the elementary questions about Indians and Native nations that most people are afraid to ask to complex legal issues regarding ownership of lands and resources. We hope our handbook will help conservationists gain a greater understanding of the rights of Indian and Alaska Native nations and the unique federal, state, and tribal laws that govern Indian lands.
Reforming Climate Change Policy to Protect Indigenous Lands
Experts say deforestation is one of the leading causes of climate change, adding more atmospheric pollution than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. To combat the problem, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Initiative (REDD+) was launched in 2008.
The concept behind REDD+ is simple: reward forest owners in developing countries for conserving their forests rather than cutting them down. Of course, much of the remaining forests are on indigenous lands. This is problematic because indigenous peoples often lack legal land titles and their lands are vulnerable to takeover by governments, conservation groups, or private investors who wish to receive money through a REDD+ program.
We are working to educate indigenous leaders and policymakers about the rights of indigenous peoples and the legal obligations of countries and institutions involved in REDD+. We have already seen indigenous communities violently expelled from their lands or swindled by land speculators into signing away access to their forest resources through REDD+ projects.
In 2013, we updated and re-released our “International Law Principles for REDD+: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Legal Obligations of REDD+ Actors.” The REDD+ Principles help to ensure that the frameworks and standards associated with REDD+ are consistent with international law and that indigenous peoples benefit from conservation activities.
