Takeaways: IIPWG June 2026 Newsletter
Items excerpted from the June 2026 Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) Newsletter. IIPWG strategy calls take place the third Thursday of the month. Learn more.
Narrative Discrepancies: Sigma Lithium and the Jequitinhonha Valley, Brazil
Edson Krenak, Brazil Program Manager at Cultural Survival, explored the discrepancy between community testimonies and Sigma Lithium’s sustainability narrative. In the Jequitinhonha Valley in Brazil, Indigenous Peoples and Quilombola communities have documented health impacts, environmental degradation, and infrastructure issues linked to the Grota do Cirilo lithium mine, operated by Canadian-based Sigma Lithium [NASDAQ: SGML, TSXV: SGML].
Following co-developed technical reports and findings from the Minas Gerais Public Prosecutor's Office indicating harm and rights’ violations, a Brazilian court ruled that Sigma Lithium is responsible for establishing burden of proof. Though a free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) process has yet to be guaranteed, the company must, among other requirements, undergo an independent, court-chosen audit and provide community-chosen technical assistance. Krenak highlighted the Brazilian Development Bank’s (BNDES) role in financing the project through a national climate change fund earmarked for communities. Please also see the advocacy brief (pg. 2-5).
Gwich’in Steering Committee Responds to Arctic Refuge Lease Sale + Film Screenings
On June 5, the Bureau of Land Management held the first of four additional lease sales of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Rachael Johnson, Partnerships and Advocacy Director at the Gwich’in Steering Committee (GSC), shared that while the Alaska Industrial Development Export Authority (AIDEA) and Hex Energy placed bids, no major oil companies showed and the money bid fell far below projections. Please find the GSC’s statement on the lease sale.
Johnson welcomed IIPWG participants to join the GSC in-person at upcoming film screenings of The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness, featuring a live Q&A with Gwich’in leadership. Locations include Los Angeles (June 25), Laguna Beach (June 29), and San Diego (July 2).
Highlights from the Twenty-fifth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
During the 25th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) April 20 to May 1, Indigenous Peoples convened to discuss the theme "Ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ health, including in the context of conflict” and other urgent topics.
Heidi Todacheene, Founder of IndigiNational Strategies and Visiting Practitioner at American Indian Law Program at Colorado Law, who attended the Forum discussed how “Indigenous health cannot be separated from the land, self-determination, culture, or human rights” and shared four major themes that emerged: Indigenous health as a human right, conflict and political instability impacts on Indigenous Peoples, AI and Indigenous data sovereignty, and climate change. Todacheene noted that Indigenous Peoples are addressing these global challenges through an Indigenous, rights-based approach grounded in self-determination and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For more information, please see the UNPFII official report and Tallgrass Institute’s Investor Brief: Highlights from the Twenty-fifth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, April 2026.