COP27: NDN Collective to Partner With Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, Send Delegation to Negotiations

October 26, 2022

COP27: NDN Collective to Partner With Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, Send Delegation to Negotiations

“NDN Collective is working to shift power dynamics that exist within the COP which have historically silenced the voices of Indigenous Peoples. Our efforts at COP are part of our overall effort to decolonize spaces and transform systems to center the needs and rights of Indigenous and frontline communities.”

For Immediate Release: October 26, 2022

Rapid City, SD –  At this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, NDN Collective is partnering with the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus to host the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion – a critical space for Indigenous communities from across the world to advance climate justice and showcase Indigenous-led solutions and strategies for addressing the many impacts of climate change.

This year, the pavilion will feature spaces for groups to gather and strategize, an open theatre area for panels and presentations, and a designated space for media interviews. The pavilion will be located in the blue zone — the UN managed space for hosting the negotiations.

“We are honored to provide a critical space for our Indigenous relatives from across the world to continue building power together,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective. “Despite progress that has been made – thanks to Indigenous and frontline communities refusing to back down – COP still largely revolves around corporate leaders peddling false climate solutions. The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion is a necessary way to get real solutions championed by the people most impacted by climate change in front of influential decision makers who can and must take a different course of action for our collective future.”

“Attending the COP27 and advocating in this space is both a challenge and a burden for many Indigneous Peoples,” said Jade Begay, Climate Justice Director, NDN Collective. “Beyond the costs of travel, attendance and time, we often leave this conference with lackluster commitments from world leaders. But it is vital that we show up and continue pushing nation states and key negotiators to center Indigenous and human rights in climate agreements. We will continue to push world leaders to prioritize solutions rooted in justice and equity rather than market mechanisms or technological solutions that only act as band aids to the ever-growing climate crisis.

“NDN Collective is working to shift power dynamics that exist within the COP which have historically silenced the voices of Indigenous Peoples. Our efforts at COP are part of our overall effort to decolonize spaces and transform systems to center the needs and rights of Indigenous and frontline communities.”

“The negotiations that take place at COP each year have a very real impact on how our communities get resources and political support to address the effects of climate change,” said Janene Yazzie, Southwest Regional Director at NDN Collective. “However, these resources can potentially be tied to mechanisms supporting false solutions – such as carbon markets – or renewable energy development and conservation projects that further endanger Indigenous Peoples’ lands, territories and resources. We are showing up to shift power dynamics and push for meaningful actions that uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We look forward to working closely with the Indigenous delegates and continue to push for Indigenous-led solutions to the climate crisis.”

The NDN Collective COP27 delegation will be focused specifically on ending new fossil fuel leases, mitigating loss & damage, climate finance, the false solutions in Article 6, and mining. 

Press interested in connecting with any of the below NDN Collective COP27 delegation members should reach out to Cabot at [email protected].

  • Jade Begay, Climate Justice Director and member of White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
  • Kailea Frederick, Climate Justice Organizer
  • Janene Yazzie, Southwest Regional Director 
  • Cy Wagoner, Creative Resistance Coordinator 
  • Willi White, Head of Content and Production 
  • Nicole Yanes, NDN Foundation Program Officer 
  • Angie Solla, NDN Digital Organizer

Stay up to date on all COP27 news by visiting NDN Collective’s COP27 webpage.

###

NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.

March 2023 Edition

Stay Informed. Take Action.

Subscribe to the NDN allies newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter. Delivered once per month.

We care about the protection of your data and would never sell your email or share it with anyone without your permission.

Forever Honoring the Sacredness of Our Indigenous Women and Femmes

Brandy Calabaza

Posted 1 day ago
"On every level of movement building we continue to achieve successes because of the work of our mothers, sisters, brothers who respect the feminine, and our non-binary relatives freeing themselves from the shackles of heteronormativity."
NDN Collective Responds to Forest Services Commitment to Study Mining Impacts in the Black Hills Posted 2 weeks ago
“This is a victory for Tribal Sovereignty. The fight to protect ALL of the water of the sacred Black Hills continues and we remain vigilant and committed to this duty. We stand in solidarity with communities that have been defending Ȟešapa for generations, when our treaties are honored it protects the water for everyone.”
NDN Collective Slams Biden Greenlighting Willow Oil Project Posted 3 weeks ago
“The Biden administration’s decision to greenlight the Willow project is a climate disaster in the making. Today’s decision completely contradicts not only the administration’s climate goals, but also its commitment to consider Traditional Ecological Knowledge in federal policy making."
Willow Project Threatens Traditional Caribou Hunting: Naqsragmiut Tribal President Writes Letter to the DOI Requesting Consultation Posted 4 weeks ago
"Residents of our community described concerns about potential impacts to our primary diet, Caribou, to global warming, and to our way of life. BLM has not come back to our community this time and we feel our people and their concerns have been overlooked."
Consultation Process Inadequate: New Letter from Nuiqsut Community Leaders to Department of Interior Posted 4 weeks ago
It seems that despite its nod to traditional ecological knowledge, BLM does not consider relevant the extensive knowledge and expertise we have gained over millennia, living in a way that is so deeply connected to our environment.
Paying Respects to the American Indian Movement, 50 Years since the Occupation of Wounded Knee

Brandy Calabaza

Posted 1 month ago
NDN Collective joins hundreds at the American Indian Movement 4 Directions March commemorating the 1973 Occupation of Wounded Knee, and members of the team share reflections on the power and purpose of the day.
NDN Collective Joins Tribes, Organizers, and Activists Across Turtle Island in Mobilization to #StopCopCity

Sherrie Anne Hart , Angelica (Angie) Solloa

Posted 1 month ago
"Building Cop City on stolen Indigenous Lands, to inflict violence in a Black neighborhood, on a piece of land that is essential for air quality and much needed biodiversity to combat climate change is racist, unjust and the opposite direction that we need to be heading in."
NDN Collective Announces the 2023 Radical Imagination Grant Open Application Period Posted 1 month ago
Ten Indigenous artists, artist collectives or small nonprofits of all artistic traditions, mediums and genres will be awarded $100,000 grants over two years.
Police Assault Indigenous Youth with Disabilities at Central High School Posted 1 month ago
"We must prioritize resources and solutions that promote restorative justice, mental health services, and other interventions that address the root causes of conflict, rather than relying on punitive measures that perpetuate the cycle of violence and harm."
“Medicine in a world of violence”: Shining Light on Community-led Efforts to fight the MMIR Epidemic

Janene Yazzie

Posted 2 months ago
Challenging the commercialization of February 14, NDN Collective’s Southwest Regional Director Janene Yazzie calls attention to the MMIR (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives) Day of Awareness, National Day of Action, and grassroots efforts to fight the MMIR epidemic. Yazzie also shares future MMIR programming from NDN Collective coming soon.

United like never before, we rise together—arm in arm—to equip all Indigenous Peoples with the tools needed to become architects of our future. Through a holistic approach to infrastructure, funding, advocacy, movement building, and philanthropy we are fostering a world of justice and equity for all people and the planet.