Indigenous Environmental Network
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| Formation | 1990 |
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| Headquarters | Bemidji, Minnesota |
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Exec. Dir.
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Tom B.K. Goldtooth |
| Slogan | "Respecting the Sacredness of Mother Earth" |
| Website | ienearth.org |
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is a network of Indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. Members have also represented Native American concerns at International events such as the Climate talks in Copenhagen, 2009, and Paris in 2016. IEN also organizes an annual conference; each year the conference is held in a different Indigenous Nation.
The Indigenous Environmental Network was formed in 1990 to bring to light the environmental and economic justice issues faced by marginalized groups of people. The network has focused its activism on bettering Indigenous communities through grassroots efforts; mainly including projects that would improve land, air, water, sacred sites, and natural resources. To accomplish the preservation of these assets, the network has authorized campaigns, public awareness, and community building. The Indigenous Environmental Network gathers locally, regionally, and nationally to promote awareness about these social justice issues, but primarily holds focus in North America.
The immersion of the Indigenous Environmental Network came out of the recognition of the harm done to the livelihood of indigenous peoples. The rise in toxic waste and nuclear waste storage facilities near the lands of indigenous peoples was a main concern to this network at the beginning of its formation in the early 1990’s. After the initial focus on environmental hazards of toxic waste facilities, the network spread awareness across youth and tribal populations that gave way for the group to move forward with campaigns and public activism. Every year, a conference is held entitled Protecting Mother Earth Gatherings, and these events aim to educate the public and develop strategies for protecting the lands of indigenous peoples.
In 1995, the IEN began hiring staff members to represent the ideologies and goals that protect their future. The people working for the IEN have strived for preservation of indigenous peoples through tribal grassroots communities and tribal governmental environmental staff. The IEN has developed into a group that works to create change and strength for tribal communities through protecting and preserving sacred sites.
The most popular form of activism that The Indigenous Environmental Network participates in is the fight against the North Dakota Pipeline project that is currently underway. The pipeline is set to run through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and end in Illinois. The IEN has called for an international day of emergency actions that protest fascism and the use of fossil fuels that disrupt the livelihood of indigenous peoples.
Certain practices of coal mining, oil drilling, and fishing and hunting in the United States directly infringe upon native land and values. The Indigenous Environmental Network tries to engage with the American public by raising consciousness about environmental issues like these that have a particularly strong impact on indigenous peoples. One such way that the IEN tried to do this was by dedicating a day, October 13, 1996, to challenging Americans to consume as little energy as possible. The goal of this was to encourage people to think about how much energy they do in fact consume on a daily basis and what the impacts of that use are on native communities.
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