Vibrant Indigenous-led movements offer solutions to many of the world’s most pressing problems, yet these movements remain dramatically underfunded. Indigenous communities represent some 6.2 percent of the world’s population, but they receive less than one percent of total international giving. Even less funding reaches organisations led by Indigenous communities and Indigenous women. It’s time for funders to abundantly fund Indigenous movements.

Around the world, Indigenous Peoples practice unique cultural traditions and steward their ancestral territories and resources. While they are committed to honoring their traditions and environments, Indigenous communities face resource extraction, environmental degradation, and displacement forced by governments and extractive industries.

These communities also face oppression rooted in histories of colonialism and racism, resulting in high rates of poverty, (sexual) violence, and migration – all of which adversely affect Indigenous people’s health. In response to these intersecting injustices, Indigenous movements are demanding gender, disability, environmental, and economic justice.

At Foundation for a Just Society (FJS), our grantmaking aims to address the many injustices faced by women, girls, and LGBTQI people. Confronting racism and colonialism is central to our work. We particularly lift up the leadership of those who experience oppression at the intersection of race and gender. This leads us to prioritize supporting Indigenous People’s movements and the leadership of Indigenous women and queer people. We invite other funders to join us.

In recent years, philanthropy has started paying attention to ‘decolonisation.’ More foundations are examining the colonial roots of their wealth and the white supremacy in their organisations. Some funders have begun to increase their support to communities marginalized by race, ethnicity, caste, and indigeneity. Yet, Indigenous movements are still not equitably funded. Organisations led by Indigenous women, youth, queer people, and people with disabilities face even greater challenges. According to recent data, just 0.7 percent of all recorded human rights funding reached movements and organisations led by Indigenous women.

To meaningfully show up for Indigenous movements, we must listen to them, learn from their analysis and practice, and act on their priorities and agendas. The good news is that there are many opportunities for meaningful action!

Funders can begin by resourcing the breadth of Indigenous activism. Data shows that the largest share (41 percent) of funding for Indigenous Peoples comes from environmentally-focused funders. While Indigenous activists are doing critical work to mitigate climate change and restore ecosystems, they are also working to secure their citizenship rights, preserve Indigenous knowledge, revitalize their traditions, and advance labor rights, disability justice, and queer liberation. Funders can support Indigenous movements by providing funding from all our programmatic strategies.

An investment in ‘language justice’ will allow Indigenous communities to participate in their own languages. This requires, at a minimum, budgeting for interpretation and translation in our grantmaking, in meetings, and in the resources that we produce

Funders can also support diverse leadership practices. Indigenous movements have a tradition of nurturing many different leaders and leadership styles. When funders tokenize a few individuals, they may cause further harm to Indigenous communities. Respecting new leadership models supports new forms of organising and social transformation. Women, queer people, young people, and people with disabilities are all involved in leading Indigenous movements. Supporting their intersectional leadership contributes to addressing multiple injustices.

Disability is prevalent in Indigenous communities, often resulting from environmental degradation caused by large infrastructure projects. Indigenous women with disabilities, who contend with both a lack of visibility and funding, are on the frontlines of movements for justice. Being attentive to funding Indigenous women with disabilities means budgeting for their meaningful participation in global spaces, including personal assistants, accessible accommodations, and logistics that center their well being.

Indigenous youth activists are also key actors in Indigenous movements, yet they face barriers in securing funding for their organisations and in accessing leadership and advocacy opportunities. Funding Indigenous youth organisations, investing in second-line leadership, and supporting them to access regional and global spaces brings Indigenous youth into spaces where their voices are needed.

The philanthropic sector expects grantee partners to work in English, from writing proposals and reports, to participating in meetings, to navigating advocacy spaces. This colonial practice disrespects Indigenous languages and limits participation in funding spaces to those who can function in English. An investment in ‘language justice’ will allow Indigenous communities to participate in their own languages. This requires, at a minimum, budgeting for interpretation and translation in our grantmaking, in meetings, and in the resources that we produce.

Indigenous Peoples are on the frontlines of struggles for racial, gender, labor, and environmental justice. It is urgent that funders resource their organisations with unrestricted, long-term funding. It is especially important that we center the solutions and leadership of Indigenous women, youth, LGBTQI people, and people with disabilities. Indigenous Funders in Philanthropy (IFIP) has developed clear recommendations to support funders to take action. As an IFIP member, FJS encourages other funders to join us on this learning journey and in moving more and better resources to Indigenous-led movements.

Prachi Patankar is an activist and Senior Program Officer at Foundation for a Just Society

Juliana Vélez Uribe is a feminist advocate and Global Program Officer at Foundation for a Just Society

Acknowledgments:

FJS gratefully acknowledges the collaboration of Daniela Esmeralda Vázquez (Almas Cautivas), Faith Nataya Saningo (African Indigenous Women’s Organization), Maimouna Ba (l’Association Femmes pour la dignité du Sahel), Pratima Gurung (National Indigenous Disabled Women Association NIDWAN), Matcha Phornin (SANGSAN Anakot Yawachon), Lourdes Inga and Chanda Thapa (IFIP), and FJS colleague Rophiat Bello and former staff member Rebecca Reeve, in the development of this article.