Indigenous Peoples’ collective priorities for transitioning away from fossil fuels, the state of tribal clean energy development and related Indigenous-led fund, UN Business & Human Rights report on private sector responsibilities to FPIC, and more.

The vision of an economy that revolves around relationship, reciprocity, and respect was not lost to history, but we must take steps to bring these assumptions forward as we create the conditions for shared prosperity everywhere. Thank you for sharing in this work with us.

Highlights from presentations about Sigma Lithium and Jequitinhonha Valley impacts, the recent U.S. Arctic Refuge oil and gas lease sale, and the 2026 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, plus upcoming events, recently released resources, and news items of interest.

Our investor brief for the 2026 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues highlights significant implications for the financial sector in relation to Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination, artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, financing for decarbonization, conservation, and the energy transition, and more.

IIPWG’s May newsletter highlights presentations Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact from the Amazon Conservation Team and escalating threats to the Porcupine Caribou Herd calving grounds from the Gwich’in Steering Committee, as well as further updates, upcoming events, recently released resources, and news items of interest.

Tallgrass Institute released Investor Brief: Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact, providing context and resources to help understanding how accelerating extractive industry activity the world over puts Indigenous Peoples in isolation and initial contact (IPIIC) at “increased risk of territory and culture loss, violence, and genocide.”

Batani Foundation, SIRGE Coalition, and Tallgrass Institute delivered recommendations to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in IFC Performance Standard 1 (PS1). For projects affecting Indigenous Peoples, PS1 is important because it helps determine whether all Performance Standards relevant for them will be triggered or not.

Grist reported on a new United Nations study about impacts to Indigenous Peoples from the AI technologies and infrastructure. The study, Indigenous Peoples and artificial intelligence was led by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a former chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where it was introduced this week.

Indigenous Peoples’ recommendations to strengthen IFC standards, impacts from development projects after U.S. land protection rollbacks, summary of Indigenous Peoples’ input to from Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative consultations, highlights from week one of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and more. Plus upcoming events, recently released resources, and news items of interest.

Indigenous-led organizations delivered a joint submission to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with recommendations to strengthen Performance Standard 7 - Indigenous Peoples (PS7) and its interaction with Performance Standard 5 - Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement (PS5). “The review of PS7 and PS5 comes at a moment when IFC-financed projects are increasingly intersecting with Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories, particularly in the context of transition minerals and strategic supply chains,” says the letter.

As flora breaks through the soil in the Northern Hemisphere, the Tallgrass Team has been around the globe. We participated in a knowledge exchange in Indonesia calling for awareness, respect, and protection of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation. Tallgrass is in the room moving international corporate standards towards better – from IFC investment policies, to financial institutions’ understanding of FPIC, to incremental but promising progress by global automakers.

Tallgrass Institute’s primer on the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group details Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the IFC’s sustainability framework and performance standards. Beyond lending activities, the IFC shapes how global private finance approaches environmental and social risks.

Indigenous Peoples’ rights takeaways from the Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard and from the Jakarta Declaration: Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society Organizations for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation. Plus upcoming events, recently released resources, and news items of interest.

Tallgrass Institute’ presented on Green at What Cost? Human Rights and the Energy Transition by Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The discussion examined impacts on Indigenous Peoples from “green” economic development and the transition to renewable energy and energy transition technologies.

SIRGE Coalition reviewed findings in the fourth annual Lead the Charge automotive supply chain leaderboard. Indigenous Peoples’ rights remained the lowest average indicator at 9%, the largest number of evaluated companies made improvements since the leaderboard first launched in 2023, and more.

Written collectively and endorsed by 28 organizations from across the world, the Jakarta Declaration outlines a set of calls on countries, multilateral Institutions, national and international financial institutions, and global supply chains to take concrete and urgent action to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation.

SIRGE Coalition’s recommendations for electric vehicle compliance with FPIC, an engagement opportunity with ConocoPhillips on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, IIPWG End-of-Year Participant Survey results, as well as upcoming events, recently released resources, and news items of interest.