Takeaways: IIPWG June 2025
Items excerpted from the June 2025 Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) Newsletter. IIPWG strategy calls take place the third Thursday of the month. Learn more.
Presentation Takeaways: Emerging Issues and Priorities for Tribal Nations in the U.S.
On the June IIPWG call, Cory Blankenship, Executive Director of the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA), and Keith Doxtator, IIPWG Steering Committee member and Director of Finance and Investments at the Ho-Chunk Nation, discussed current priorities of tribal nations and how investors can support tribal sovereignty.
According to Blankenship, “Tribes are not DEI. Tribes are sovereign nations with inherent trust and treaty obligations from the U.S.” He highlighted the formation of the Coalition for Tribal Sovereignty, a collaborative, inter-tribal initiative that serves as a unifying voice to forward tribal economic priorities and engage federal policymakers on issues affecting tribal sovereignty.
Blankenship also emphasized the importance of relationship building with policymakers and investors. Despite the uncertainty in federal funding, he noted that “a lot of really good conversations are happening right now with agencies.” Blankenship encouraged investors “to nurture and cultivate a tribal project” for multigenerational impacts, sharing how his own tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, utilized diversified portfolios and tax-exempt debt financing to build a tribal-owned hospital.
Investors may watch a recording of the presentation, sign up for NAFOA’s newsletter, and attend the NAFOA 2025 Fall Finance and Tribal Economies Conference on September 22-23. Investors may also explore the following resources:
Survey findings exploring impacts of federal funding on Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) | Native CDFI Network
Survey-based assessment about emerging impacts in Indian Country | National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
Investor Brief: UNPFII 2025 Highlights
From April 21-May 2, Indigenous leaders convened at the Twenty-Fourth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to discuss pressing issues facing Indigenous Peoples globally.
Tallgrass Institute’s UNPFII investor brief notes the session reinforced that “free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is a binding obligation under international law” and that “consideration of Indigenous Peoples’ rights is central to sustainable development and responsible investment.”
Among other items, the UNPFII recommended the following:
States adopt internal legislation aligned with United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to hold companies accountable for Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations;
Mining companies establish independent, culturally appropriate grievance mechanisms that are accessible to Indigenous Peoples;
Companies track environmental and human rights impacts across global supply chains;
Indigenous-led financial mechanisms and Indigenous Peoples’ direct access to climate and biodiversity funds should be strengthened; and
Multilateral development banks create policies that recognize Indigenous Peoples as rights holders and ensure Indigenous Peoples’ leadership in financing decisions.
The brief recommended the private sector “respond to these findings with concrete action, realigning investment practices with international norms and Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination.” Investors may read the official UNPFII session report.
Call for Global Solidarity with Criminalized Indigenous Leaders in Ecuador
Mining-affected communities of Las Naves County and human rights organizations are calling for global solidarity following the criminalization of 29 human rights and environmental defenders in Ecuador. Indigenous, Montubio, and campesino leaders have been targeted for advocacy related to the Canadian mining project Curipamba - El Domo, which “threatens their territories, their health, their livelihoods, and the water sources.” The project is owned by the Canadian companies Silvercorp Metals [TSX: SVM] and Salazar Resources [TSX: SRL].
According to a community-driven sign-on letter, the government granted project permits following illegitimate consultation and dozens of human rights defenders have been “criminalized and sentenced without solid evidence or adequate legal justification.” The letter calls on the Ecuadorian government to respect Indigenous Peoples’ right to FPIC and on the Canadian mining companies to immediately cease harassment, suspend activities, assess environmental impacts, and cease supporting Ecuador-Canada free trade negotiations widely opposed by mining affected communities.