{"id":27698,"date":"2020-02-27T13:43:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T18:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=27698"},"modified":"2020-03-12T19:43:06","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T23:43:06","slug":"partnering-with-indigenous-peoples-to-ensure-a-just-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/partnering-with-indigenous-peoples-to-ensure-a-just-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnering with Indigenous Peoples to Ensure a Just Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to March 1st Edition 2020<\/a><\/div>\n

March 1st Edition Overview<\/h2>\n

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\"FirstPeoplesWorldwide-Logo\"As I read through the articles for this March 1st<\/sup> Edition by so many esteemed contributors, I am struck by the progress that we have made together in this field. Our work has led us all to consider individually–and now collectively–the frameworks and practices necessary to implement a just transition with and for Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n

Just transition, in its widest definition, encompasses all the complex interactions between individual and communities, between local and trans-global economies, and between consumptive approaches to natural resources and long-term sustainability. I venture a guess that we are all wading into this complexity because we see that the current paradigm that is resulting in climate chaos and community instability is no longer tolerable.<\/p>\n

It is deplorable, but no accident, that Indigenous Peoples were over-represented in the number of human rights defenders murdered in the last few years. It is also not surprising that Indigenous Peoples care for 50 percent of the earth\u2019s land surface but have legal title to only 10 percent. By marginalizing Indigenous Peoples, global leadership has fueled destruction of the planet and its people.<\/p>\n

\"Indigenous<\/a>
Click to listen to this issue’s special podcast<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>\u2013 Carla Fredericks of First Peoples Worldwide speaks with Dave Archambault II, former Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, about indigenous entrepreneurship and economic development. Episode sponsored by Trillium Asset Management<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a personal note, I am humbled to be a part of this movement of Indigenous Peoples and impact investors from my position as Director of First Peoples Worldwide<\/a><\/strong>. I watched for a decade as First Peoples Worldwide (FPW) led in creating innovative approaches to indigenizing corporate values. So, I was especially honored when Rebecca Adamson, founder of First Peoples, called to ask if I would continue the organization\u2019s trailblazing work upon her retirement.<\/p>\n

First Peoples, from its inception, has pushed the cutting edge of thought-leadership and applied research that integrates indigenous worldviews into mainstream investing practices. In part, Rebecca\u2019s innovation came from her shrewd observation that mainstream investing principles were too narrow to encompass indigenous values. So, not one to eschew hard work, she redefined those principles. She redefined capital as inclusive of natural resources and community, and she empowered individuals as shareholders within their own community ecosystems. Then, Rebecca brought those definitions to boardrooms as fundamental design principles upon which investors could deploy meaningful impact investment consonant with the expertise and rights of Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n

First Peoples Worldwide has continued initiatives to conduct Shareholder Advocacy Leadership Training workshops to tribes and Native collectives; to generate innovative, applied research on the \u201cS\u201d in ESG; and to articulate and address the impacts of infrastructure development unique to indigenous communities. With the transition of FPW to the University of Colorado, we were also able to create the Rebecca Adamson Indigenous Rights & Business Scholarship to support indigenous scholars in their graduate careers.<\/p>\n

In the vein of ever moving the needle forward for Indigenous Peoples, we at First Peoples Worldwide announced in August 2019 that we are designing a model for a private equity fund. The ideas behind the fund are further explored in Issue 2, but I note here that the concept for the First Peoples Private Equity Fund came from our experience watching deals made between Indigenous Peoples and outside entities where too few of the benefits inured to the Indigenous Peoples whose resources formed the core of the investment.<\/p>\n

Our goal is to create a new pathway for investments that is Indigenous-driven from beginning to end. In short, we seek to harness the strengths of private equity to amplify Indigenous self-determination, produce financial success, and forward renewable energy.<\/h3>\n

Maybe she wouldn\u2019t have put it this way at the time, but now, in this era, I believe Rebecca laid the foundation for critical aspects of our current discussion of just transition. The ideas behind just transition of creating inclusive economies that simultaneously value social, economic and cultural wellbeing, and of creating viable vehicles for investment in indigenous communities are a central part of these discussions.<\/p>\n

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