Shifting Power and Emboldening Indigenous-led Climate Solutions: NDN Collective on Bezos Earth Fund Grant

Nick Tilsen · November 25, 2020

Shifting Power and Emboldening Indigenous-led Climate Solutions: NDN Collective on Bezos Earth Fund Grant

A message from NDN Collective President and CEO, Nick Tilsen. "Receiving this substantial grant is part of an overall [NDN Collective] strategy to shift power, decolonize wealth, and resource Indigenous people who are on the frontlines of fighting for justice and equity."

Mitakuyapi (Relatives), 

Recently, an announcement was made from the Bezos Earth Fund highlighting the first recipients of a highly publicized grant devoted to fighting climate change. NDN Collective was among those recipients, receiving a $12 million grant for climate justice work. 

As an organization devoted to building a world that is more just and equitable for all people and the planet, climate and environmental justice are essential to our mission. Yet to be sure, this work isn’t just about our mission as an organization; This work is deeply embedded in our values as an all-Indigenous team of changemakers, community builders, and grassroots organizers. We descend from ancestors who were in constant relationship with the land and all creation, and today, we continue to honor those ancestral teachings, living out the same values of being in right relationship with the land, our Mother Earth and all life.  

NDN Collective President and CEO Nick Tilsen tending to his horses on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Photo by Josué Rivas.

Receiving this substantial grant is also part of an overall strategy to shift power, decolonize wealth, and resource Indigenous people who are on the frontlines of fighting for justice and equity. That being said, we at NDN Collective are fully aware of the fact that receiving this grant is political. The Bezos Earth Fund comes directly from the wealth of the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, Founder, President and CEO of Amazon, a muti-national technology company. We will not tiptoe around the fact that Amazon and Jeff Bezos in particular have been rightfully criticized for unjust working conditions, corporate bailouts, and for directly contributing to climate change in the world. 

It cannot go without saying that it has been the pressure from frontline organizers and climate activists worldwide that have called out and called up many wealthy individuals and corporations like Amazon and Bezos to be more accountable and responsible. We must continue applying pressure, because it is working. While we give a nod to the Bezos Earth Fund for rightfully shifting power and investing into sustainable solutions, we know that the real heroes in this work are the organizers and activists who have devoted their lives to raising global consciousness about climate justice issues. 

We descend from ancestors who were in constant relationship with the land and all creation, and today, we continue to honor those ancestral teachings.

Equally, we challenge philanthropy and white supremacist power structures to continue leaning into this work while remembering the generations of Indigenous people who have paid with their lives trying to protect their lands and our Mother Earth. 

We have a responsibility to call upon global corporations and those who hold power and wealth to invest in climate solutions, Indigenous self-determination, and Black reparations, and at the same time, we must also utilize the resources we have to act with swift, innovative strategies to protect our planet and all life. To do this work, we at NDN Collective are leaning deeply into the work of dismantling white supremacy in philanthropy, moving resources from colonial, capitalistic, and white-led institutions to Indigenous and POC-led institutions. We approach this work from a culture of abundance, knowing that there are enough resources in the world to meet the needs of all people.  We just need to shift power, and distribute those resources more purposefully.

At NDN Collective, we set a goal of building the biggest philanthropic fund led by Indigenous people ever in the field, and to use those resources to invest directly into equity and solutions. Long before there was Bezos money involved, NDN Collective created a comprehensive theory of change focused on our strategy “Defend. Develop. Decolonize.”– defending Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights, developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the future, and decolonizing the way that we move through the world while uprooting white supremacy and colonial institutions that harm human beings and all life. Accepting this grant is investing directly into this theory of change which came out of our community, our movement and from our people.

NDN Collective launched the LANDBACK Campaign on Indigenous Peoples’ Day of this year. Photo by Willi White.

We are not an intermediary organization, but a movement infrastructure organization. Thus, the $12 million from the Bezos Earth Fund will be used for the purpose of building the infrastructure for our movement and funding innovative, Indigenous-led climate solutions that honor our relationship to Mother Earth and all life.

As our mission calls upon us, we remain committed to building Indigenous power, investing into Indigenous self-determination, and building a world that is more just and equitable for all people and the planet. 

The real heroes in this work are the organizers and activists who have devoted their lives to raising global consciousness about climate justice issues. 

Indigenous people have been on the frontlines of environmental protection and climate justice since time immemorial, before there was environmental or climate justice movements. It only makes sense that philanthropy invest into organizations like NDN Collective, and we hope that this investment is just one small part of a major shift towards more investment into Indigenous self-determination. The land is our relative, and we have a responsibility to see to it that we are honoring her, protecting her, and actively creating solutions to the climate crisis  so that we are ensuring  a healthy and safe planet for future generations.

Mitakuye Oyasin (We are All Related),
Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President and CEO

Nick Tilsen
by   Nick Tilsen

Nick Tilsen (he/him), President & CEO, is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Nick has over 20 years of experience building place-based innovations that have the ability to inform systems change solutions around climate resiliency, sustainable housing and equitable community development. He founded NDN Collective to scale these place-based solutions while building needed philanthropic, social impact investment, capacity and advocacy infrastructure geared towards building the collective power of Indigenous Peoples. Tilsen has received numerous fellowships and awards from Ashoka, Rockefeller Foundation, Bush Foundation and the Social Impact Award from Claremont-Lincoln University. He has an honorary doctorate degree from Sinte Gleska University.

August 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.

Call to Action: No $100,000 Oñate Statue Posted 2 days ago
Rio Arriba County in Northern New Mexico is spending more than $100,000 to move a statue of conquistador and colonizer, Juan de Oñate, out of storage to display it in front of their county offices. This is not about a statue; this is about the settler colonial system that allows racist politicians like Alex Naranjo to do as they please on stolen land.
NDN Collective Launches Indigenous Climate & Just Transition Fund Posted 1 week ago
“We urge philanthropic organizations to join us in this moment by resourcing the Indigenous communities who have proven solutions to repair our relationship with the Earth. The climate investments implemented over the next few years will set the groundwork for generations to come.”  
4 Fossil Fuel Projects that Harm Indigenous Communities Posted 2 weeks ago
We remain persistent in reminding the Biden Administration and those in power that our Indigenous communities and lands continue to face harm through extractive measures that directly contribute to the climate crisis.
‘A Stain of Injustice’: Hundreds Gather, 35 Arrested in front of White House Calling for Release of Leonard Peltier

Jordynn Paz

Posted 2 weeks ago
“We’re asking Biden for Executive Clemency. We will keep coming back to the White House and we’ll be pressuring all parts of the government until we see justice for Leonard Peltier and see him come back with his family, community and people.”
NYC: Indigenous Communities Mobilize, Call for No More Fossil Fuels Posted 2 weeks ago
“Shutting down all pipelines is critical to addressing the greatest injustices faced by Indigenous people – from our water being poisoned, to our women and Two-spirit relatives being murdered and disappeared by the underbelly of the temporary fossil fuel industry workforce. We will not rest until all fossil fuels have been replaced by sustainable solutions implemented by Indigenous communities.” 
Indigenous Leaders and Allies Arrested at White House Rally in Support of Clemency for Native American Activist Leonard Peltier Posted 2 weeks ago
On Peltier’s 79th birthday, organizer and actor Dallas Goldtooth, National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp, NDN Collective President Nick Tilsen, and Executive Director of Amnesty International USA Paul O’Brien among those arrested urging President Biden to release Peltier after nearly 50 years in prison
"I am still here": Leonard Peltier's Letter to Supporters Posted 2 weeks ago
"Year after year, I have encouraged you to live as spirit warriors. Even while in here, I can envision what is real and far beyond these walls.  I've seen a reawakening of an ancient Native pride that does my heart good. I may leave this place in a box. That is a cold truth. But I have put my heart and soul into making our world a better place and there is a lot of work left to do - I would like to get out and do it with you."
Reclaiming the Rivers: Indigenous Defiance and the Fish Wars

Miguel Douglas

Posted 3 weeks ago
“Our connection to the water sustained our cultural ways, and we deeply revered and respected the life of the water for what it gave us, even viewing it as its own community with which we had a reciprocal relationship. They are part of us and we are part of them. This understanding continues to this day.”
Good Vibes & School Supplies: NDN Collective and Partners Host 4th Annual Backpack Giveaway

Jordynn Paz

Posted 3 weeks ago
“This is what we’re about. We’re about community. We’re about bringing unity, bringing love, compassion and meeting the needs of our people. We are taking up the responsibility to roll up our sleeves and create a better way for our communities and for our people, to show what is possible. I think that’s what you’re seeing here today. This is the movement showing up for the community.”
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Proposes Rule Re: Fluid Mineral Leases & Leasing Process Posted 3 weeks ago
Given that the regulatory framework for oil and gas leasing has not been updated since 1988, we have in this proposed rule a rare opportunity to steer Federal policy toward respecting Indigenous sovereignty and preserving treaty lands.

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.