Born from a 1990 gathering of Indigenous grassroots activists responding to environmental assaults on tribal lands, IEN has grown into a powerful alliance protecting Earth’s sacredness through Indigenous knowledge and natural law. The organization builds capacity within Indigenous communities to address environmental and economic justice issues, operating as an informational clearinghouse, organizing campaigns and direct actions, supporting community-led environmental protection, and convening the annual Protecting Mother Earth gatherings that connect Indigenous peoples across the Americas and globally. IEN’s work is grounded in traditional teachings that recognize humanity’s respectful relationship with the natural world as essential for survival of future generations, and operates through principles of unified action, sovereignty assertion, and mutual support among Indigenous nations.
Why this matters for Indigenous Rights: IEN demonstrates how Indigenous-led environmental protection and sovereignty are inseparable—when Indigenous peoples govern their ancestral territories according to traditional knowledge, they protect not only their own communities but ecosystems that benefit all life. Their grassroots approach, centering youth and elders while building alliances across movements, offers a model for environmental justice that honors both Indigenous self-determination and the interconnection of all struggles for a livable future.
