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Indigenized Energy Initiative

Aiming to diminish energy poverty, mitigate climate change, and create thriving American Indian communities with the clean and regenerative power of solar, Earth Island’s Covenant Solar Initiative has relaunched itself as Indigenized Energy Initiative (IEI). “Our new name better reflects our mission — Native people are taking back the power,” said Cody Two Bears, cofounder of IEI. The announcement, which kicked off Native American Heritage Month, highlights the program’s aim of tribal self-determination through workforce development and energy independence from non-Native-run utilities that are often exploitative. “We are disrupting the broken fossil fuel–based energy system,” said Cheri Smith, founder of IEI. Watch a short video about the program here.

Support for Indigenous Elders

During the nineteenth century, the governments of Canada and the United States engaged in the forced assimilation of Indigenous people in an effort to erase their languages, beliefs, and identities. Many of the victims who endured this tragedy are now in need of housing and stability in their later years. Answering this need, the Kakichihiwewin Project of Earth Island’s Seeding Sovereignty has established the Lester Howse Fund, inspired by Cree elder Lester Howse, to assist elders who face financial hindrances to home repairs and housing. Called oskapewis (elder’s helper) in Plains Cree language, such support gives recipients the security to live their sunset years in peace and stability, with dignity and respect. Learn more about this fund here.

The Ohlone Way

Casey Harper, deputy director of the Wild Oyster Project, an Earth Island project dedicated to the restoration of native oysters in the San Francisco Bay, recently sat down with Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino of Café Ohlone in Berkeley, California, to discuss the Ohlone culture and the importance of eating food that comes from where you live. Olympia oysters, native to San Francisco Bay, were a staple of the Ohlone people. On the eve of the reopening of Medina and Trevino’s restaurant in a new location, their conversation explores the rich Ohlone food traditions and — of course — the joy of eating oysters. Read the interview here. Photo courtesy of Café Ohlone.

Win for Wildlife

After a decade-long campaign that involved legal action, educational meetings, and countless public comment periods, Earth Island’s Project Coyote and other wildlife advocates recently declared victory when the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors terminated its contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program. The misnamed Wildlife Services program uses taxpayer dollars to kill wildlife, largely to appease agricultural interests, using cruel and indiscriminate methods. In 2020, Wildlife Services killed 1.5 million wild animals; nearly 25,000 in California alone. Project Coyote is now helping Mendocino County craft a coexistence plan. Such a plan involves the use of strategic fencing, guardian animals, and repellents. More information about nonlethal alternatives can be found here. Photo courtesy of Sheryl Hester.

Sierra Gorda Biosphere Protection

Earth Island’s Viva Sierra Gorda and its partners in the Sierra Gorda Alliance, which works to protect the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, were the recent recipients of the UN’s Equator Prize that honors local, innovative, nature-based solutions for tackling biodiversity loss and climate change. Buoyed by that recognition, Martha Delgado Peralta, Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pledged the country’s commitment to protecting the biosphere and reducing the country’s carbon footprint through various initiatives. The announcement was made at the recent global conference on climate change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Mexico’s plan involves working with the alliance on designing and implementing its initiatives, including a carbon footprint program and ensuring that the local communities in the biosphere participate in and benefit from these efforts.

COP26 Action on Plastics

Youth ambassadors with Earth Island’s Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) attended the recent global conference on climate change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, where they called on world leaders to take action on plastics. Plastic is a major contributor to climate change — almost all of it is made from fossil fuels. The youth ambassadors attending the conference included Jerome Foster II, Xiye Bastida, Kevin J. Patel, Lilly Platt, and Aeshnina “Nina” Azzahra Aqilani. The PPC youth ambassadors proposed 10 actions to combat plastic pollution, including the elimination of nonessential single-use plastic, a focus on environmental justice, and public education initiatives. Read more here and watch here.