Tallgrass Institute - Summer 2026

Dear Friends and Colleagues: 

The seeds planted in spring have translated to the first flowers of summer with encouraging prospects for fall bounty. Read on to find more information on two investor briefs published this last quarter and the analysis that grounded our continued participation with Indigenous Peoples in the International Finance Corporation’s consultations. 

As you receive this newsletter, many are getting ready to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. I encourage you to find time to learn more about the history of Indigenous Peoples in the United States, perhaps through ICT News’ America 250 article series or resources from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

Our work at Tallgrass Institute is our shared work with you: to end the destructive patterns set in place by colonization, broken treaties, and federal policies designed to eliminate tribal governance by shedding light on new pathways for better engagement. Recognizing that Indigenous Peoples everywhere in the world have a shared history of colonization, let this moment of commemoration and learning spark action to uplift the Indigenous – Indigenous impacts in your portfolio, the Indigenous insights needed to move forward in a new project, and even the ways your community is nurturing relationships with local Indigenous organizations. 

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.

Kate Finn, Founder & Executive Director

Strengthening International Finance Standards

Review of International Finance Corporation (IFC) sustainability standards “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… The issue is not whether safeguards exist, but whether they are triggered and applied in a way that meaningfully protects Indigenous Peoples’ rights in practice.”

As the private sector lender for the World Bank Group, the IFC shapes how global private finance approaches environmental and social risks. Tallgrass Institute and partner organizations continue to engage with the IFC to strengthen its sustainability framework and have provided recommendations on Performance Standards 5 and 7 and Performance Standard 1, among other areas.

Corporate Accountability to Indigenous Peoples in Isolation

“Nearly half of global IPIIC [Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact] communities face threats so severe they could face eradication in the next 10 years… Investors must proactively include IPIIC in due diligence screens to minimize portfolio exposure to human-rights risks and to protect IPIIC in alignment with investor responsibilities to respect human rights under the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”

Our brief on Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact provides context to help investors understand how accelerating extractive industry activity puts IPIIC around the world at increased risk of territory and culture loss and violence. The brief encourages companies to commit to respecting IPIIC rights as aligned with the international standard of the precautionary and no-contact principles and the UNDRIP, ensure appropriate safeguards across projects and operations independent of state recognition of IPIIC, and integrate IPIIC rights and wellbeing in biodiversity, climate, and just energy transition frameworks.

Insights from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

“[The Forum] underscored that global economic development remains inseparable from Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination, and called for comprehensive implementation of FPIC to ensure development initiatives align with Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The private sector should respond to these findings by engaging with Indigenous Peoples' own governance systems and performing due diligence to ensure technology and climate financing align with Indigenous Peoples’ self-determined priorities.”

Tallgrass Institute took part in the 2026 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, engaging with leaders and supporting partner participation. Considerations from the Forum as highlighted in our investor brief include:

• Emphasis that community consultation is not a substitute for FPIC or self-determination.

• Disproportionate impacts to Indigenous Peoples from “green” financing, such as carbon markets and fortress conservation.

• Understanding AI risks (e.g. impacts to traditional lands and resources, knowledge and data extraction), as well as opportunities (e.g. language preservation, territorial monitoring, natural resource management).

• Persistent gaps between commitments to Indigenous Peoples’ rights and the implementation of these commitments during development projects.

Investor Action on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

In recent months, Indigenous leaders presented on critical topics on Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) strategy calls, including GTI PIACI’s mapping of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation territories, Gwich’in advocacy to protect sacred land in the U.S.’s most recent Arctic Refuge oil and gas lease sale, and gaps in Sigma Lithium's disclosures on impacts to Indigenous Peoples from tailings management field evidence. Calls also detailed outcomes from Indigenous-related shareholder resolutions at General Motors, Wells Fargo, and Chevron.

For information on these and further takeaways and resources in IIPWG’s April, May, and June newsletters.

Tallgrass Institute serves as Secretariat for IIPWG. If you would like to learn more about IIPWG, please email info@tallgrassinstitute.org or complete this form.

Support Our Work

The Susan White Yethiya wihe’ Advocacy Fund provides support for Tallgrass Institute in memory of Susan White, Trust and Enrollments Director for the Oneida Nation and Co-Chair of the Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group. For many years, Susan spearheaded efforts to promote sustainable and responsible investing in Indian Country. 

Donations to Tallgrass Institute are tax deductible and support our work to integrate Indigenous insights and priorities into business standards and practices to solve for today's most pressing global challenges.

About Tallgrass Institute

Tallgrass Institute is a Center for Indigenous Economic Stewardship. We bridge Indigenous leadership and knowledge with investor strategies to advance Indigenous Peoples' self-determination and wellbeing. By activating investor and economic ecosystems, we work to redefine the private sector’s role as one that respects Indigenous Peoples’ human rights, lands, and economic priorities. Learn more at www.tallgrassinstitute.org.