Nia Tero 2022 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 27
REGIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
NORTH AMERICA ACHIEVEMENTS
In 2022, Nia Tero continued our support
of Indigenous guardians’ efforts to secure
guardianship of lands and waters across
North America, while building partnerships
and supporting Indigenous-led policy.
Our major partner in Canada is the Indigenous
Leadership Initiative (ILI). ILI is led by Valérie
Courtois, who brought global attention to
this important guardianship work through
her 2022 TED Talk as part of the Nia Tero
TED Salon, reaching an audience of over
one million people.
In late 2022, Indigenous guardians in Canada
made globally significant advances with the
careful attention and work of a great number
of people and organizations, including Nia
Tero’s partner, ILI. In December of 2022, the
Canadian federal government took advantage
of its role in hosting the United Nations
Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15),
announcing its commitment to devote $800
million Canadian dollars to several largescale Indigenous-led guardianship initiatives.
Shortly afterward, ILI also announced a
new, first-of-its-kind in the world, First
Nations Guardian Network. The network
spans the whole of Canada and launched
with funding support from the Canadian
government. This network comes from over
a decade of consistent work and demands
of Indigenous Peoples, and the impact of
their guardian programs. Over the past few
years, Indigenous guardian programs in
Canada have grown from approximately 30
programs to 120. The announcement of
this network to support, connect, and assist
an ever-growing number of guardianship
programs is a watershed moment for First
Nations Indigenous guardians across Canada,
and a beacon for Indigenous Peoples globally.
The lessons and opportunities offered
through this national effort has the potential
to inspire and inform similar efforts in other
countries throughout the world, including the
United States.
Nia Tero also has a strong partnership with
the Blackfoot Confederacy, which spans the
Canada and U.S. political border. We firmly
believe Blackfoot lands are a primary North
America opportunity for the resurgence
of thriving places and peoples, specifically
around bison rematriation. These efforts
are not simply focused on bringing tens of
thousands of free-ranging bison to tens of
millions of hectares within a certain time
frame. They are also an important opportunity
to help nurture culturally developed
Indigenous knowledge and relationships with
place since time immemorial. Our support
of the Blackfoot Peoples’ revitalization of
culture, song, ceremony, language, and the
interconnectivity of transferred knowledge
between people, grasslands, and bison is one
step forward in ensuring success for all.
THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES.
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