INDIGENOUS PARTNERS

Through the Earth Fund, Aveda directs a significant portion of its grantmaking to indigenous cultures and community groups. Grants are offered to programs that create sustainable economic activity and support the protection of cultural traditions, environmental quality and community health. Since 2002, Aveda has contributed over $1 million to programs that support indigenous communities and the preservation of their culture and environment. Some of the projects supported include the following:



Global Greengrants Fund (GGF), Boulder, CO
greengrants.org
The mission of Global Greengrants Fund is to support grassroots environmental organizations in developing countries. Greengrants makes small grants (typically $500 to $5,000) to small groups working to help people protect the environment, live sustainably, preserve biodiversity, and gain a voice in their own future. Grants go to startup groups and projects where a small amount can make a significant difference.

Aveda's partnership with Greengrants has helped underwrite a portion of the more than 700 grants that it has made since 2001. Aveda-supported projects focus primarily on helping indigenous peoples and local communities organize to protect lands, ecosystems and people threatened by deforestation, coastal destruction, resource extraction, unsustainable development, and other activities. Aveda funds have helped:

• Indigenous peoples in Peru protect territories from oil and gas development.
• River communities in Brazil protect the São Francisco River.
• Mountain villagers in Nepal develop medicinal plant nurseries.
• Forest communities in Southeast Asia harvest forest products sustainably.
• Coastal fisher people in India restore mangrove forests and coastal ecosystems.

Yawanawa Indians
Organization of Yawanawá Extractivist Farmers of the Gregório River (OAEYRG)
Since 1992, when Aveda's founder Horst Rechelbacher met the Yawanawa Indians, Aveda has been a consistent supporter of this small indigenous community. The Yawanawa and Aveda families have developed both a business partnership and a true friendship over the past 12 years. From a business perspective the Yawanawa grow, harvest and process Urucum seeds that are used in Aveda's makeup and various hair care products. Aveda purchases the Yawanawa's certified organic Urucum colorant and these revenues support the Yawanawa community.

In addition, Aveda and the Yawanawa have partnered on a number of social projects that go beyond their business relationship. These include support from Aveda for the construction of a school, a solar system, and a small health post. The health post and microscopes have helped to significantly reduce infant mortality in the community caused by malaria.

Songman Circle of Wisdom
Aveda's support of the Songman Circle of Wisdom has helped this emerging organization develop its organizational capacity and create more sustainable indigenous communities in Western Australia. Their goal is to develop their economic opportunities beginning with the sustainable harvesting and processing of sandalwood, while preserving indigenous cultures and building strength among their youth.

In addition, our support has helped the organization establish a protocol for indigenous raw material certification. Developed by Aboriginal People from across Western Australia, the protocol facilitates economic capacity building while working toward cultural and environmental preservation and the promotion of indigenous wisdom.

Eyak Preservation Council (EPC) Summer Intern Program
redzone.org
EPC interns learn first hand about Alaska's unique environment and Native cultures; and work to help preserve and protect the Copper River/Prince William Sound/Chugach National Forest through direct involvement in EPC programs. Interns meet environmentalists, activists, journalists, indigenous leaders, artists and numerous experts in the field of conservation from Alaska and the lower 48 states. This competitive program provides a supervised work experience of 300 hours over an eight-week period.

Interns gain experience in the environmental field and explore how their role in the workplace develops over time. Aveda's support for these paid positions allows EPC the chance to do their social and environmental work more effectively.

Tribal Link Foundation
tribal-link.org
Tribal Link Foundation and Land is Life have assisted indigenous peoples to participate at numerous global meetings including: the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other important international forums.

Land is Life is a coalition of indigenous communities and their representative organizations from around the world. Land is Life works for the recognition of indigenous peoples' human, economic, social, cultural and territorial rights.

Tribal Link Foundation, Inc. is a communications network linking indigenous peoples with information, media, resources, and relevant networks with a special focus on the United Nations system. Tribal Link provides information and outreach to the public regarding indigenous peoples and their issues, as well as highlighting the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Aveda's support for Tribal Link's “Project Access” aims to strengthen the participation of indigenous peoples in international policy making processes.

RARE
www.rareconservation.org
In 2001, Rare and Aveda celebrated the launch of a joint venture to protect global biodiversity. Aveda demonstrated its commitment to environmental leadership for a pilot project to promote economic opportunities and conservation education for local people in selected UNESCO World Heritage sites. This “World Heritage Partnership” provided a unique opportunity for an international corporation and a global grassroots organization to cultivate sustainable economies and cultures, empower indigenous populations and promote environmental sustainability. In 2005, Aveda focused its support for Rare on two projects, which were built on lessons learned from the first phase of this project. Aveda and RARE worked to ensure that the indigenous and locally-owned ecotourism businesses initiated during the pilot phase have sufficient capacity to compete in the marketplace while providing sustainable community and environmental benefits.

International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP)
internationalfunders.org
Established in 1999, IFIP is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and was formed to provide a voice within the Council for increased, dedicated funding for international indigenous initiatives, and a venue for communications and resource sharing among international funders of indigenous peoples.

Aveda provides much needed support for the IFIP's annual conference that brings together individuals from the philanthropic community with indigenous leaders from around the world. During the conference there are discussions concerning successful strategies and effective grant making practices that have been implemented to support Indigenous communities through support of locally driven community projects and the related partnership opportunities for grant makers, international organizations and Indigenous communities.

Sensisyusten First Nation School, Westbank, BC Canada
Sensisyusten (House of Learning) First Nation School is a K – 8 independent school with a multi-cultural student body. The school's mission is to provide education that meets the Provincial academic requirements while integrating the language, history and culture of the Okanagan First Nation. The school provides a safe and culturally significant education that focuses on building students' pride in their culture's past and optimism for its future.

Aveda's grant enabled the school to create an indigenous/herbal garden area where transplanted, endangered plants species can be planted along with other medicinal herbs and where students, with the Nation's elders, can study and use the plants for medicinal and utilitarian purposes. The garden has added a strong hands-on cultural and botanical influence to the school's science curriculum. With assistance from the University of British Columbia, the students prepared seedlings and harvested local sages, cedars and knick-knicks in preparation for creating organic smudges, oils and medicines for local use and for a future cottage industry.



Friends of the Indigenous Elders (FIE)
friendsoftheindigenouselders.com

The Friends of the Indigenous Elders works to provide technical assistance and support to Indigenous Elders who intend to promote the Human Rights and Self-Determination of Indigenous People, the environmental care and protection of ecosystems, the preservation and utilization of Indigenous Scientific Knowledge.

Aveda has provided support to the Friends of the Indigenous Elders for an educational documentary helping the organization advance their work in gathering and dissemination of the traditional teachings of Indigenous Elders.

Vanuatu
Vanuatu is an archipelago of over 80 islands in the southwest Pacific that is home to a mixture of indigenous Melanesian and Polynesian peoples and people of European influence particularly from French and English colonization. With a population of 186,700, Vanuatu boasts 113 distinct languages and innumerable dialects. This makes it one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth. The major languages of the islands are English and French.

Aveda's support for this island community of indigenous and local peoples has allowed this community to expand a local elementary school and provide it with supplies for approximately 100 additional children. Ten manual sewing machines and supplies were purchased for the Women's Association in Luganville, which will allow them to make clothes and teach their children how to sew crafts and clothing as gift items for the tourist trade.

US Fish and Wildlife Foundation
In 2003, the Elders Circle, a committee comprised of native U.S. indigenous peoples and part of the Medicinal Plants Working Group of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, began drafting a document that will propose an indigenous vision of environmental conservation for the next 500 years. The Elders Circle aims to preserve and protect plants of cultural significance to tribes in their natural habitat and ecosystems for the future, so that these plants may be available to future generations carrying out traditional practices. Aveda funds have assisted with Circle meetings and, ultimately, will be used to help with the document's publication.

Aveda funds have also been used to acquire supplies to conduct cultivation trials for selected native plants germinated according to traditional practices. Aveda support has helped advance the development of a teaching garden, which includes native plants. These plants and stories will be shared by members of the Elders Circle and with children attending the Kimberton Waldorf School in Pennsylvania.



Blackfeet Bear Roots Association, Montana, U.S.
The Blackfeet Bear Roots Association (BBRA) works to preserve indigenous values and culture by growing and fostering traditional organic horticulture. BBRA works to produce alternative food sources, medicinal herbs and native plants and roots with healing properties for future Native American generations.