Over 25 years ago, a group of us—we were all Chiefs at that time—were talking about how to address the many serious environmental problems faced by our communities. We knew the significance of grounding initiatives in two knowledge systems—Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science because the problems are complex and environmental issues don’t follow political, cultural or legal boundaries. But, as First Nations our lives and our rights are tied to the natural environment, we feel the immediate and direct effect of resource extraction or hydroelectric development, forest fires or polluted waters. Yet, we have largely been excluded from decisions that are defining our future. That day, as we put our minds together it became abundantly clear to us that we needed to focus first on building internal capacity in our communities to deal with these issues ourselves. It is critical for reconciliation and decolonization to have Indigenous Peoples building our own institutions that can work in partnership with other organizations and governments in Canada. This idea of our strong institutions that are in relationship with each other is the foundation of change...We all need to decolonize. So, we created a national non-profit organisation, secured charitable status a few years later, and our first initiative was a post-secondary education program. We started with education because our vision was clear: begin by creating one paid First Nation permanent position in each community focused on addressing their environmental issues. As CIER has grown, we have developed long-term partnerships with communities, funders, and supporters. We have always had both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the organization because we need many types of knowledge and experience to do our work; we use our Indigenous Knowledge systems and the best of what the western world has to offer. Our Board of Directors provides guidance and ensures we are always keeping Indigenous priorities and needs front and centre. And, while we are still working on that goal of one paid staff person in each community, we are driven by our vision of communities controlling our own destiny in protecting and using our lands and waters and building sustainable communities.
