Stewarding Native Lands

Program Overview

Native American communities have sustainably managed their lands for thousands of years, cultivating, adapting, and transferring traditional ecological knowledge over many generations. This expansive reservoir of knowledge and deep connection to land keep Native communities strong and encourage the land to be more productive. Such relationships also benefit the natural world that we depend on, and the importance of being in harmony and true connection with places. In May 2019, the United Nations’ Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that environmental impacts were less severe or avoided in areas held or managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities. The goal of the Stewarding Native Lands program is to provide financial and technical assistance to support Native ecological stewardship and improve Native control of and access to ancestral lands and resources to ensure the sustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural well-being of Native communities.

To learn more about the critical role of Indigenous people and knowledge in the global environmental justice movement, First Nations offers this curated reading list.