Groundbreaking Investment in Two Native Organizations
The Christensen Fund launches Program Related Investment Initiative
Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace
The Christensen Fund has committed a $3,000,000 Program Related Investment (PRI) to Tocabe’s Indigenous Marketplace, a Native-owned and operated restaurant and marketplace offering ready-made Harvest Meals™ that specializes in Native American cuisine.
This investment will help build out their new direct-to-Tribe meal program and support their construction of a Native food producers supply chain.
Tocabe is currently the only Native-owned and operated restaurant and marketplace offering ready-made Harvest Meals™ that specializes in Native American cuisine. Indigenous ingredients are sourced from Native farmers, ranchers, producers and caretakers. Their methodology goes beyond farm to table and is described as, “Seed to Soul.” Indigenous-sourced ingredients provide healthy meals that not only nourish but contribute to the revitalization and preservation of Indigenous culture. Tocabe feeds the soul.
The support from The Christensen Fund goes directly to the development of Tocabe’s Indigenous Marketplace and ready-made Harvest Meals available to order online, thereby broadening accessibility to Native foods. Tocabe’s vision is to embrace the traditions of American Indian Cuisine and ingredients by building community through food. As stated on their website: “We believe that food is more than just sustenance — it’s a powerful way to connect with our heritage, our community, and each other. Join us in our mission to interlink Native and Indigenous food systems with every household to make sure all peoples have access to foods that nourish our communities from seed to soul.”
Get to know more about Tocabe & even order some of their products at https://www.tocabe.com/
In the news:
Why Osage Chef Ben Jacobs Launched a Direct-Tribe Meal Delivery Service – Saveur
Tocabe Expands With Line of Native-Made Frozen Meals – Westword
Oweesta Corporation
The Christensen Fund has also committed a $1,000,000 PRI to Ow
eesta, a corporation committed to investing in Native Sovereignty, to further their leadership and support for Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI.)
Oweesta Corporation, whose name is derived for the Mohawk word for “money,” is the longest standing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services exclusively to Native CDFIs and Native communities, thereby providing opportunities for Native people to develop financial assets and to create wealth. For over 20 years, Oweesta has provided the tools, training, and capital to help Native people control their economic destinies.
Native CDFIs like Oweesta directly provide Native American communities the tools and capital support required for real and sustainable job creation, small business development, commercial real estate development, and affordable housing/home ownership, while also offering basic banking services and financial literacy training to “underbanked” Native American communities who have been historically targeted by predatory lending practices. In their 20+ years in existence, Oweesta has many success stories and The Christensen Fund is proud to support their monumental work for Indigenous enterprises, communities and individuals.
Get to know more about Oweesta and their current projects here: https://www.oweesta.org/
Impact Charitable
Both of these groundbreaking PRIs were set up in collaboration with Impact Charitable, which exists to unite catalytic philanthropists, community partners, financial institutions, foundations, social enterprises, and governmental bodies. Impact Charitable helps close the gaps between the sources of impact-first capital and communities, ventures, and funds who have traditionally faced systemic barriers to accessing critical financial resources. This collaboration with Impact Charitable makes it easy for people to invest alongside us.
If you are interested in joining us in these investments, contact: cindy@impactcharitable.org
In the news:
Impact Charitable Announcement of Oweesta PRI
Purpose Aligned Capital
As part of the Purpose Aligned Capital plan, The Christensen Fund established a Purpose-Aligned Investment portfolio seeking to catalyze Indigenous-focused investment opportunities and enhance the impact of The Christensen Fund’s endowed assets. Purpose-Aligned Investments have a dual objective: to further The Christensen Fund’s purpose of supporting Indigenous peoples in advancing their inherent rights, dignity, and self-determination, while also meeting the investment objectives for the endowment to sustain The Christensen Fund’s grand making and operations.
Together with its outsourced investment office Global Endowment Management (GEM,) The Christensen Fund developed a framework for assessing the Purpose-alignment of any investment opportunity. The framework consists of three factors — Indigenous leadership, demonstrated engagement with Indigenous communities, and integration of an Indigenous lens in the investment process — and created a shared language for understanding Purpose-alignment in an investment context.
The Christensen Fund made its first two Purpose-Aligned Investments at the end of 2023 in TAHITO and Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.
TAHITO is an Indigenous-led long-only public equity fund that incorporates a traditional Maori worldview into the fund’s investment philosophy and selection process. The fund was co-founded by Temuera Hall, a member of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Urawa Maori tribes. The investment philosophy centers on the Maori view of the connection and interdependence of all things. Maori ethics put people and the environment first as fundamental to any thriving community. The fund invests in Australian and New Zealand public equities and has a detailed ethical process that includes both positive and negative screens, supporting alignment with The Christensen Fund’s values and purpose.
Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm led by two Indigenous partners. The Christensen Fund committed to Raven’s Opportunities Fund I, which is deploying additional capital into some of Raven’s highest conviction portfolio companies in their first fund, which closed at the beginning of 2023. Raven’s brand with Indigenous entrepreneurs is unmatched and their focus on supporting Indigenous-led businesses has resulted in ~70% of its portfolio companies having majority Indigenous ownership.
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The Christensen Fund Elects Three New Indigenous Women Trustees
As part of its commitment to have at least half of its Trustees be Indigenous Peoples, The Christensen Fund is pleased to announce that it has elected three new Trustees to its Board.: Ikal Angelei, Joan Carling, and Vicky Tauli-Corpuz.
“These three women are incredibly accomplished and expand The Christensen Fund’s Board beyond North America,” says Diane Christensen, Co-Chair of The Christensen Fund’s Board. “It is also extremely important that our Board now includes representatives from partner organizations. The addition of these Trustees enables our Board to better reflect the communities and partners that our organization works with to support the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world, and is also a tangible demonstration of our commitment to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples.”
Carla Fredericks, CEO of The Christensen Fund, states, “I am thrilled that our Board has made this commitment to Indigenizing its Trustee leadership. These women are all heroes and stand as exemplary, powerful leaders within Indigenous communities and beyond. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our Board to support our partners in safeguarding the inherent rights and dignity of Indigenous peoples around the globe.”
The Christensen Fund’s newest Trustees are:
Ikal Angelei
Ikal is an environmental activist from Kenya. She is co-founder and Director of Friends of Lake Turkana, a grassroots organization that seeks to foster social, economic and environmental justice in the Lake Turkana Basin. Ikal completed a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Political Science at Stony Brook University in New York. In 2012 she was awarded with the Goldman Environmental Prize, particularly for her voicing on behalf of Northern Kenyan indigenous communities about the environmental implications of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam.
Joan Carling
Joan Carling is an indigenous activist from the Cordillera, Philippines with more than 20 years of working on indigenous issues from the grassroots to the international level. Her expertise includes human rights, sustainable development, the environment, and climate change. She was the General Secretary of the Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) From 2008 to 2016 and was an indigenous expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2014-2016. She was awarded the Champions of the Earth- Lifetime Achievement Award by UN Environment in September 2018. Ms Carling is the co-founder and currently the Executive Director of the Indigenous Peoples Rights International-IPRI.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples by the Human Rights Council in 2014, and served until April 2020.
She is an indigenous leader and a human rights expert from the Kankana-ey Igorot people of the Cordillera Region in the Philippines. As an indigenous activist, she has worked for over four decades on helping build movements, networks and institutions of indigenous peoples from the local to the global levels.
Ms. Tauli-Corpuz is the former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2005-2010), and has served as the chairperson-rapporteur of the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. As an indigenous leader, she was actively engaged in drafting and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 1985 to 2007. She has founded and managed various NGOs involved in social awareness raising, leadership development, climate change and the advancement of indigenous peoples' and women's rights and she was a member of United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.
In her capacity as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz provided expert testimony before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the African Court on human and peoples’ rights and prepared policy advice to the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), among others.
Tero Mustonen of Snowchange Cooperative Awarded 2023 Goldman Prize
The Christensen Fund would like to congratulate the 2023 Goldman Prize recipients. Each year, the Goldman Prize recognizes the work of extraordinary grassroots leaders and their incredible work in safeguarding the environment. We are especially pleased that the amazing work of Tero Mustonen, President of our partner Snowchange Cooperative, was highlighted for his important work to restore landscapes across Finland.
Snowchange Cooperative is an Indigenous-led pan-arctic organization based in Finland. Since their founding in 2000, Snowchange Cooperative has supported many organizations throughout the Arctic, advanced global policy, created a small grants program that has been transformative for communities who are traditionally overlooked by most grant-making mechanisms, and used traditional knowledge to restore thousands of hectares of peatlands.
Unrestricted support from The Christensen Fund will further help to advance operations and programs of Snowchange and will arrive at a critical time due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which could compromise the ability to support certain communities in the Arctic. The Christensen Fund is honored to have supported the work of Snowchange Cooperative since 2018.
Please join us in congratulating Tero and all of the 2023 Goldman Prize recipients! Read more about this award and how you can support Snowchange Cooperative here.
Native Americans In Philanthropy Launches Historic Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge
Fifteen funders have committed over $100 million over the next five years to support Tribal-led biodiversity restoration and conservation
Washington, D.C. – Native Americans in Philanthropy and Biodiversity Funders Group, in partnership with 15 leading funders, announced the launch of the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge today at the White House Conservation in Action Summit. To date, funders have committed $102.5 million over the next five years to support Tribal-led conservation work. The pledge calls on foundations and philanthropists to allocate a self-determined percentage or amount of funding to support the biodiversity and conservation efforts of Tribes, inter-Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia.
The Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge demonstrates an important commitment to a new way of thinking about conservation that centers the people who are most impacted by climate and biodiversity crises but also hold the knowledge on how to best steward our lands and water. Indigenous people, especially in the United States, have been impacted by a changing environment that has upended traditional hunting and fishing practices, as well as livelihoods.
“Conservation is not just about safeguarding land. It’s about prioritizing people, especially those who hold the traditional knowledge on how to combat our climate and biodiversity crisis, and recognizing that they can chart a path forward,” said Erik Stegman, CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy. “Through the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge, Tribal Nations can continue to lead the way on the conservation of our lands and waterways, our agricultural systems, and our planet. We are grateful to our funders who are part of this turning point in the environmental space and understand the impact of grounding this work in Indigenous values and sustainability. ”
Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Biodiversity Funders Group are committed to educating and organizing funders around Tribal-led conservation opportunities, growing total commitment dollars, and changing how we address climate change. The leading funders that have already joined the Pledge and committed to supporting Tribal-led conservation are: The Alaska Conservation Foundation, The Christensen Fund, The Decolonizing Wealth Project, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Grousemont Foundation, The JM Kaplan Fund, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Resources Legacy Fund, Re:wild, The Walton Family Foundation, The Water Foundation, The Wilburforce Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The Wyss Foundation. The list will continue to grow as more funders commit to the Pledge.
“Biodiversity Funders Group (BFG) and our members are honored to lift up the importance of funding the conservation strategies and priorities of Tribal Nations, the original stewards of our environment,” said Lisa Pawlek Jaguzny, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Biodiversity Funders Group. “This pledge is just the beginning of our partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy to expand the circle of funders who are committed to a new, people-centered vision for conservation that is rooted in the leadership, knowledge, and traditions of Tribes.”
The collaboration of these funders represents a shift in philanthropic support for Tribal-led solutions in conservation work. Historically, less than 0.5% of philanthropic dollars have been allocated to Native communities, and fewer of those dollars have gone towards Native-led conservation. This Pledge is a turning point in climate funding that recognizes and supports Native communities who have long been leaders in this work.
“The Christensen Fund is a proud supporter and seed funder of this initiative which promotes and recognizes the self-determination and sovereignty of Tribes across the United States,” said Carla Fredericks, CEO of The Christensen Fund. “Since time immemorial, Native American Tribes and communities have lived out their commitment to our Mother Earth, in deep cosmological relationship with these landscapes and ecosystems. By providing funding at scale to Tribes to ensure generational protection of their homelands, we are investing in both Indigenous knowledge and the planet as a whole - a true win-win."
The Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge will be critical in ensuring that the U.S. meets the minimum goals of the 30 x 30 Initiative, a global effort to conserve 30% of the terrestrial and marine habitat by 2030. Tribal-led conservation methods are already focused on protecting and preserving biodiversity, and the pledge will help accelerate progress towards the global goal over the next seven years.
Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Biodiversity Funders Group encourage foundations to increase funding of Tribal-led biodiversity protection and preservation by pledging a percentage of their annual programmatic dollars to these efforts or by donating directly to the fund.
For more information, visit www.tribes.native philanthropy.org.
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About Native Americans in Philanthropy
For over thirty years, Native Americans in Philanthropy has promoted equitable and effective philanthropy in Native communities. They do this through leadership development, education, research, and strategic partnerships with funders and philanthropic organizations. The cornerstone of their work is their relatives and their networks.
NAP supports several communities of stakeholders that work together to build knowledge, community, priorities, and power in the sector. These networks include Native professionals in philanthropy, elected Tribal leaders, Native youth leaders, Native philanthropic executives and board members, and Native nonprofit leaders.
About Biodiversity Funders Group
The Biodiversity Funders Group (BFG) is a professional association of environmental, conservation, and climate and energy grantmakers. We were founded in 1987 as the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity by a group of foundations and federal agencies to encourage funders to work together and leverage their resources. Today, approximately 75 funding institutions, predominantly private foundations, are formal members, while more than 200 other grantmaking institutions benefit from our activities as program partners.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Fawn Sharp
“Oftentimes, I think about my journey and my responsibility to the 3,000 people of the Quinault Nation…Holding public office means you have a sacred responsibility to honor the ones who spent their lifetimes and tremendous energy and resources to advance a nation.”
– Fawn Sharp, Public Servant and Fierce Indigenous Rights Advocate
Fawn Sharp is one of four Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work in serving Indigenous communities as a public servant.
Born in Aberdeen, Washington, President Sharp is a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation, a “climate refugee” Tribe that is urgently relocating its ancestral coastal villages upland due to catastrophic flooding caused by sea level rise.
President Sharp currently serves as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. President Sharp is also the current Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after being a five-term past-President. As a former past-President, she fought for the Quinault Nation’s economic growth while upholding their traditions of civil rights activism, public advocacy, and environmental protection.
She has previously served as a human rights attorney and in several state appointments. In 2021, she became the first elected Tribal leader to officially represent the United States of America on the international stage at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26).
Her work positions her to advocate for policies that serve the interests of tribal governments and communities throughout the United States.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Andrea Ixchíu
“I would like us to start honoring the lives of people who are taking care of our land all while experiencing the effects of climate change and facing violence from governments [like Guatemala’s] and the extractive industries that are causing the climate crisis and perpetuating colonialist behaviors in our lands and territories.”
- Andrea Ixchíu, Storyteller for Human and Environmental Rights
Andrea Ixchíu is one of four global Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work as an environmental and human rights activist.
Andrea is an Indigenous Maya K’iche born in Totonicapán, Guatemala, where she is recognized as a land protector of Totonicapan’s ancestral forest and has also served as an Indigenous community government authority. Alongside ongoing digital attacks, she has survived physical attacks on her life in retaliation to her reporting of illegal loggers operating in the Totonicapán forest.
Andrea works as a filmmaker, journalist, and activist in collaboration with local and international media. In these roles, she has launched local campaigns and youth workshops to denounce gender violence against Indigenous women, starred in the 500 Years documentary, and earned a nomination to participate in the Nobel Women’s Initiative for her opinion column in the Guatemalan newspaper, El Periodico, as well as for her reporting for independent media in Latin America.
She is a coordinator at Hackeo Cultural, a community-based, global initiative that seeks to build and strengthen collective strategies, narratives, and technologies for defending Indigenous territories across Latin America. She also leads the Futuros Indígenas project, which aims to raise actions, not awareness, to face the climate emergency.
Her work continues to uplift Indigenous perspectives and leaders through the power of storytelling and radical activism.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Ole Kaunga Mali
“This is not only a victory for the El Molo, Turkana, Samburu, and Rendille communities that have been affected by the Lake Turkana Wind Project but one for all Kenyan communities that are facing serious threats of displacement and human rights abuses from large land-based investments.”
-Ole Kanuga Mali, Lobbyist and Champion for Indigenous rights, after land deeds for the Lake Turkana Wind Project were declared “irregular and unlawful”
Ole Kanuga Mali is one of four global Indigenous Leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for his proven track record of defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples locally and globally.
Ole is a Laikipia Maasai pastoralist from the northern region of Kenya. Ole’s primary focus includes protecting Indigenous land, lobbying, and advancing Indigenous rights.
Ole previously worked and consulted with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as an Indigenous peoples’ expert for its Africa Program on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. He also brought an international legal case against the British government for using Maasai and Samburu grazing lands in Kenya for military training and leaving live ordinances that maimed and killed scores of Maasai and Samburu. His other lobbying and advocacy efforts include protecting Indigenous people affected by megaprojects, such as the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project and the Isiolo Dam.
Currently, Ole serves as the founder and Director of IMPACT , a co-founder of Maasai Cultural Heritage, and an advisor for both Nia Tero and Conservation International. He also leads the PARAN Alliance, a movement that connects and promotes learning, agency, and voices among Indigenous People-led organizations in Kenya.
His fight to expand Indigenous movements and rights has and continues to have a significant positive impact on Indigenous communities globally.
Indigenous Leaders Spotlight: Meet Joan Carling
“Indigenous peoples are not the enemies. We are not against development. We are conserving our environment for the future of humanity. But we cannot do this alone. The global community, governments, companies and civil society must act in solidarity, and assume responsibility for realizing sustainable development for all.”
-Joan Carling, Environment and Indigenous Rights Defender
Joan Carling is one of four global Indigenous leaders selected to participate in the first cohort of The Christensen Fund’s Indigenous Leaders Program for her work as an Indigenous rights activist and environmental defender.
Born in the Philippines as a member of the Kankanaey Tribe, Joan has defended land and Indigenous rights for over 20 years, from grassroots to international levels. Her primary focus includes ensuring the sustainable development of natural resources, mitigating the climate crisis, and upholding the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Joan’s work has included active participation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and REDD+, serving twice as Secretary-General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact and as Chairperson of the Cordillera People’s Alliance. She was also appointed by the UN Economic and Social Council as an Indigenous expert and has been a member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In 2018, she received the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Environment Programme.
In February 2018, the Duerte regime labeled Joan a terrorist in her hometown of Cordillera, Philippines, for her work and activism to end “development projects” and mining that would harm the land and displace Indigenous people. She left her home after receiving this threat to her life and security.
Currently, Joan serves as the Global Director for Indigenous Peoples Rights International, an organization that works to end the criminalization of people defending Indigenous rights.
In her work, she continues to build alliances and strengthen networks while centering Indigenous voices and raising them in front of policymakers.
Planting Seeds for Reparations in California
California Native American families, communities, tribes, and organizations are encouraged to apply for funds before September 15, 2022.
The Christensen Fund is proud to join the Decolonizing Wealth Project and the California Endowment in establishing a new fund to support Indigenous Californians’ efforts to preserve tribal history and further California’s effort to atone for its history of violence and wrongdoing against Native Americans. The new California Truth and Healing Fund provides California Native American families, communities, tribes, and organizations with resources to engage in opportunities associated with the goals of the landmark California Truth & Healing Council. The deadline for the first round of proposals is June 29, 2022, and the deadline for the second round of proposals is September 15, 2022.
With an initial $500,000 investment from the Decolonizing Wealth Project, The California Endowment, and the Christensen Fund, the goal is to raise more than $5 million. The fund is guided by an advisory board of Native Californians, including Pechanga Band of Indians Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro and Truth & Healing Council-member Kouslaa Kessler-Mata (Yak Tityu Tityu Chumash). Announcement of the fund received widespread media coverage in May, including stories in CalMatters, KQED, ABC10, and outlets across the state.
The Project has partnered with The California Truth & Healing Council, which Gov. Gavin Newsom established in 2019 to “clarify the record – and provide their historical perspective – on the troubled relationship between tribes and the state.”
The Council on Truth & Healing is expected to release a report on the historical relationship between the state and California Native Americans by 2025. Our hope is that the report will include recommendations to the Legislature about reparations or restoration of land for Native communities.
The Christensen Fund’s participation in this fund exemplifies our commitment to partner with other funders in supporting Indigenous rights, self-determination, truth telling and healing. We are committed to mobilizing our peers in philanthropy to support this fund, in particular, and the rights, self-determination, and leadership of Indigenous Peoples in general.
For California Native American families, communities, tribes, and organizations interested in applying for funding, and funders interested in contributing to our $5 million goal, learn more here.
The Christensen Fund Announces First Cohort of Indigenous Leaders Program
As part of The Christensen Fund’s commitment to Indigenous communities, leaders and organizations, we are excited to announce our inaugural cohort of our Indigenous Leaders Program. The program celebrates four Indigenous leaders from Mexico, Kenya, the United States, and the Philippines who are advancing the inherent rights, dignity and self-determination of their communities, Nations and Peoples, and work to achieve the promise of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The program provides 100,000 USD to each leader to advance their unique vision and work. These Indigenous leaders will also have access to the full range of The Christensen Fund's philanthropic efforts, including networks, covenings, and speaking engagements.
The Leaders Program was developed collaboratively with these Indigenous leaders in order to respect their prior commitments and demands on their time. In the spirit of self determination, these leaders will focus on issues or projects that they determine themselves.
We are honored to introduce and welcome our 2022-2023 Indigenous Leaders Program Participants:
Joan Carling (Philippines)
Joan is an Indigenous activist from the Cordillera, Philippines with more than 20 years of working on indigenous issues from the grassroots to the international level. Her expertise includes areas like human rights, sustainable development, the environment, climate change, and additionally the application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. She is currently the Global Director for Indigenous Peoples Rights International.
Ole Kaunga Mali (Kenya)
Malih Ole Kaunga is a Laikipia Maasai – a practicing pastoralist (keep Goats and Sheep) and a father of three daughters and two sons. Ole Kaunga has a proven track record of defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples locally and globally. He is the founder and Director of IMPACT and a co- founder of Maasai Cultural Heritage. He leads the PARAN Alliance, a movement that connects and promotes learning, agency and voices among indigenous peoples led organizations in Kenya.
Andrea Ixchíu (Mexico-Guatemala)
Andrea is an Indigenous Maya K’iche environmental and human rights activist, born in Totonicapán, Guatemala. She is a recognized land protector of Totonicapan’s ancestral forest where she has also served as an Indigenous community government authority. She works as a journalist, filmmaker and radialist, and collaborates with local and international media. Andrea is coordinator at Hackeo Cultural, a community-based with global reach initiative that seeks to build and strengthen collective strategies, narratives and technologies for the defense of Indigenous territories across Latin America. She also leads the Futuros Indígenas project that seeks to raise not awareness but actions, aimed to face the climate emergency.
Fawn Sharp (United States)
Fawn Sharp serves as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. President Sharp is also the current Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after being a five-term past-President. Ms. Sharp has held numerous leadership positions, including a number of state appointments.