INIDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY

Indigenous communities have the right to autonomously govern their territories, economies, customs, traditions, and natural resources, as established by treaty and historical precedence.

Colonial history in the Americas has plenty of examples of Indigenous rights and territories being infringed upon, and we at Trees, Water & People (TWP) want to see more examples of where they were strengthened, respected, expanded, and honored.

In Honduras, our partners COEAS have been fighting to protect their communal forest from development for 35 years. Their community was granted the land by the Spanish crown in the 1700s, and they have the paperwork to prove it, but the capital city continues to grow into their territory. Their last 5,000 acres of forest hold old growth trees, hundreds of animal and plant species and a freshwater creek that has supplied the village since the 1600s.

Helping COEAS and the Aldea de Suyapa protect what’s theirs by designating it a National Wildlife Refuge to be co-managed by the community is one way we can strengthen Indigenous Sovereignty.

In southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, and southeast Utah, water is scarce. Ute Mountain Ute Tribal lands, which used to stretch across the lush mountains and valleys of central Colorado, are now in the high desert of the four corners. The Mancos River, the largest body of surface water on the Reservation, is drying. Climate change, land management practices, and upstream irrigation diversions have resulted in low flows, and the Mancos no longer reaches the San Juan River, as elders recall from their youth.

TWP is working with the Tribe and private landholders to restore riparian areas in the Mancos Canyon, and permit traditional harvest on hundreds of acres in the Dolores River watershed. Increasing access to culturally important plants on ancestral lands also strengthens Indigenous Sovereignty.

The Reservation era, the near extermination of bison, and the dark legacy of boarding schools were not kind to Native American communities in the west. Strengthening sovereignty means acknowledging these historical injustices, and creating opportunities for young Native Americans to transcend trauma, and create a better future for their communities.

In partnership with Colorado State University, we’re helping fund a college-to-career pathway for Native students interested in restoring genetically pure bison populations to Tribes across the west. In New Mexico, we’re funding fellowships for members of the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, that place them with Puebloan Natural Resource Departments, and give them real project management experience and job training.

All of the examples above demonstrate what we mean when we say that Indigenous Sovereignty is a priority for TWP. More than a priority, it’s an imperative, and will help re-calibrate the balance of power in ways that incorporate Native priorities, rights, and perspectives into land-use decisions across the Americas.