Water Equity Clearinghouse

Indigenous Environmental Network

Nationwide
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is an alliance of Indigenous Peoples that share a mission to protect the Earth from contamination and exploitation through adhering to indigenous knowledge and natural law. IEN works on a number of actions that build the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments, develop mechanisms to protect sacred sites, land, water, air, and other natural resources, increase public awareness through campaigns, direct actions, and policy advocacy, build alliances between indigenous communities, and forge economically sustainable communities.

IEN also has a mini-grant program to support communities that have already been affected by the environmental injustice of mine development.

Efforts to Advance Water Equity

Since its beginnings in 1990, IEN has actively opposed hazardous waste dumps, polluting pipelines, nuclear waste storage facilities, mining development resulting in mercury and cadmium contamination, and water privatization, all activities that infringe on the sovereignty of indigenous nations.

IEN also works to rectify inadequate governmental health/environmental regulations, inadequate waste and wastewater management capacity of Indigenous communities and tribes, and restriction by US state governments of a tribe’s right to implement their own water and air quality standards. These actions are instrumental in the long-fought battle to win environmental justice for underrepresented tribes and tribal nations.