Join Our Mission
If you want to take tangible actions to help our planet, engage in deep reflections, and discuss broader systems, histories and beliefs that influence our sustainability struggles and pursuits, we welcome you to our virtual gathering ground for those who are worn out and weary from modern prioritizations of power, separation, control, and ceaseless doing.
We are growing an online initiative to acknowledge, honor and learn from Indigenous and Maroon communities who have survived the tests of climate changes and the attacks of settler colonialism and modernity for centuries. These dynamic cultures, in the words of John Mohawk, “understand humankind’s relationship to nature (through a) pre-colonial, pre-patriarchal, pre-modern story.”
Explore Free Resources
To learn directly from such peoples, you can check out provensustainable.org, a website we’ve built over the past two years, which consists of free curated collections of quotes, images and questions from 176 representatives of 22 earth-centric communities to support environmental and cultural preservation learning and advocacy efforts. You can also hear from Indigenous individuals and their supporters firsthand through our Conversation Series, which involves six recorded talks to date.
Most recently, we created a weekly newsletter to highlight initiatives by Indigenous and Maroon communities and their allies to protect and heal local environments and cultures through sustainable approaches that honor respectful interconnectedness. Our coverage will be categorized through multiple series focused on one overarching issue/topic at a time. The first being water protection, starting this month! Subsequent themes will include sustainable foodways, fire practices, and language preservation to name a few. Each series will end with a live Zoom conversation between representatives of the different Indigenous and Maroon projects featured in the preceding emails.
Support Our Efforts
While all of our content is focused on providing free thought-provoking materials that directly attributes and encourages donations to the Indigenous and Maroon peoples themselves, it takes a lot of energy and time to pull this all together. We have contributed hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of personal dollars to produce everything so far. To uphold our efforts we’re leaning into our own community who see the value in this work.
By taking one of the actions below, you will make it possible for us to keep going!
-
Sponsor our newsletter with a tax deductible contribution (one-time or recurring) through this donation page.
-
Send a check (or set up a direct bank transfer of $1,000 or more) to our fiscal sponsor, the Center For Transformative Action, a Cornell University affiliate. (Contact us to arrange this.)
-
Share this information with others who could meaningfully contribute and support us.
Based on the feedback we’ve received and the numbers we’re seeing so far, our efforts are making a notable impact! Our newsletter has reached over 1,200 views in just over a month and our website has received over 5,000 visits from people in over 100 countries! Our Guiding Council member, Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), is referencing our material as part of his presentation at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in September. And our international reach continues to grow!
As Four Arrows says, “The more non-Indigenous non-Maroon people can learn about Indigeneity and sovereignty, the more likely they are to become allies for these sovereign assemblies. More importantly, the greater our chance in fighting for a sustainable world.”
Proven Sustainable Conversations is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by governing laws.
All rights reserved.