IEI's mission is to support tribes in their self-determined efforts to diminish poverty, mitigate climate change, and achieve true sovereignty with the power of the sun.
IEI is addressing racial and environmental injustice at both a high level, and on the ground, driven by the question: Can a Nation be truly sovereign if dependent on the colonial construct which has harmed us for so long?

IEI’s mission is to assist tribes in leveraging the government resources available to break free of dependence.

Black and Brown communities are literally on the front lines of climate change, and get hit first and hardest by the ravages of pollution, fossil fuel extraction, fossil fuel extraction, as well as neglect and racist policymaking. Racism is truly at the root of why tribal and other black and brown communities have been experiencing the brunt of the climate crisis.

It’s why there is little or no infrastructure, why money hasn’t historically been put into Indigenous and other marginalized communities in our country, and why many Native people in the U.S. don’t have water and food, good jobs, affordable, safe, clean energy, and most importantly, self-determination. Now is the time for Native people to be present at the decision making table and to have our voices heard.