Current
Indigenous Nations in Canada are leaders of positive environmental change. CIER supports Indigenous Nations to use the best western and Indigenous Knowledge to create a world that is in balance and supports the well-being of all living things. Learn more about some of CIER’s current and ongoing projects below.
Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI)
Focus Areas: Water
Partners: Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Winnipeg Metropolitan Region
About the Project: With guidance from CIER and our partners, Chiefs, Mayors, and Reeves in Southern Manitoba are pursuing a collaborative and strategic approach to tackling the shared and complex issues of protecting our land, water and air.
CLI is an ongoing process where these leaders continue to come together to learn from one another and find common ground. Communication and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders is vital to the future wellbeing of our communities, land, and water.
Species at Risk Act (SARA) Consultation, Cooperation and Accommodation Project
Focus Areas: Biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge
Partners: Environment and Climate Change Canada
About the Project: This multi-year project will facilitate Indigenous communities’ and organizations’ participation in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) listing and recovery planning processes for terrestrial species as part of implementing the federal Species at Risk Act. CIER’s role is to support a range of activities between Indigenous communities and organizations and ECCC on developing recovery documents, sharing knowledge and language, addressing threats to terrestrial species at risk survival and recovery, and land use planning for species at risk on reserve lands and within traditional territories.
Wildfire Smoke Project
Focus: Environment, Health, Indigenous Knowledge
Partners: Health Canada
About the Project: Health Canada is collaborating with CIER to co-lead multiple engagement sessions with Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada as part of the first phase of a multi-year project. The aim of these sessions is to exchange knowledge on smoke from wildfires and wood heating, identify knowledge gaps, information needs and project priorities
Indigenous Youth, Art & Water Initiative
Focus: Youth, Environment, Water, Health, Indigenous Knowledge
Partners: OneDrop Foundation, Keurig, Ovivo, Power Corporation of Canada
About the Project: This initiative is the first phase of the Indigenous Water Allyship, a meaningful partnership between the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), the One Drop Foundation and partners from the private sector to support First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada by helping to improve living conditions and health through water and art.
Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative for Indigenous Communities Program
Focus: Energy Efficiency, Environment, Climate Change
Partners: The Leap Group, Natural Resources Canada
About the Project: The Deep Retrofit Accelerator for Indigenous Communities program is designed to assist Indigenous communities understand their energy consumption and emission profile, identify energy-saving and emission-reducing retrofit opportunities related to the building sector, and secure funding to modernize community buildings.
Success Stories
CIER is proud to showcase a sampling of its many projects through the years that have helped contribute to building sustainable Indigenous communities.
Milestones
Since CIER’s inception in 1995, we have worked on more than 450 environment focused projects with over 300 First Nations across Canada.
