Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Traditional Knowledge, Food Sovereignty and Climate Change

Lead Organization: International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)

Partner Organizations: Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas del Ecuador, Arctic Athabaskan Council, Poutini Waiora, He Puna Marama Trust (The Spring of Understanding), Te Kopu Pacific Indigenous & Local Knowledge Centre, The Sicangu Treaty Council, The Guna (Kuna) General Congress

Location(s): USA, Ecuador, New Zealand, Panama

Award: $110,000 over 15 months

The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), founded in 1974, represents 93 Indigenous affiliates from 5 regions and is this collaborative’s lead organization. Food Sovereignty is one of their core program areas. The collaborative works to restore, revitalize, protect and strengthen local food systems through sharing seeds, knowledge, practices and methods among Indigenous food producers. It organizes food sovereignty gatherings in Indigenous communities and promotes knowledge exchanges, networking and movement building. Alliance members are Indigenous governments, networks, communities, organizations and food producers (farmers, herders, gatherers, hunters, fishers), whose ways of life are critically impacted by the causes and effects of climate change. Primary goals of this collaborative are to: 1) Strengthen community-based solutions to threats that are diminishing bio-diversity and resiliency of local food systems; 2) Engage traditional food producers, knowledge holders and practitioners in developing policies and actions for climate mitigation and adaptation 3) Build and strengthen trade, information exchange and advocacy networks among traditional food producers to share strategies, promote sustainable approaches and address common concerns.