Steward.
Support.
Protect.

Indigenous Peoples sustain much of the world’s remaining biodiversity, including ecosystems essential to our global climate, fresh water, and food security.

Nia Tero works in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who sustain thriving territories and cultures to strengthen guardianship of Earth and all beings.

Nia Tero fully supports the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Misty rainforest valley

REGIONS

Nia Tero is committed to working alongside Indigenous Peoples in biodiverse regions central to the well-being of all humanity. The key regions where Nia Tero partners with Indigenous Peoples are the Pacific Islands, Northern Amazonia, and North America. We also partner with Indigenous communities from 15 territories worldwide through the Wayfinders Circle initiative.

Our Work

Supporting Indigenous Guardianship Globally

We all benefit when Indigenous Peoples have the means to protect their lands and seas. Nia Tero forges transparent and just agreements with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure they can successfully defend and govern their territories, manage and protect their natural resources, and pursue their livelihoods.

latest STORIES

Delve into inspiring stories of ingenuity and action by and about Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Learn about Indigenous Peoples, guardianship, and the work of Nia Tero and our partners through film, our Seedcast podcast, articles, and photography.

All Stories

Guests sharing kava a traditional drink popular in Pasifik nations. Photo by Joe Short Nature House.

articles

Indigenous Dialogues: Sharing Ancestral Knowledge to Protect the Earth

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The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, attended the Match of Our Lives. Photo by Luana Polinesio / Nia Tero

articles

The Match of Our Lives: Amplifying Indigenous Guardianship at COP16

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articles

Press Release: Football and Biodiversity Action Meet to Amplify Indigenous Guardianship at COP16

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Fellowships

Uplifting Indigenous Peoples leading the way and shifting the narrative.

Nia Tero offers multiple fellowships to support Indigenous Peoples’ creative endeavors, community leadership, policy-making, and cultural continuity.

A herd of buffalo newly released on the Blackfeet Nation beneath the Chief Mountain wilderness. In a monumental move for the Blackfeet, this is the first herd to be release dinto the wild since colonization. By Whitney Snow (Blackfeet)

Wayfinders Circle

The Wayfinders Circle was launched as a network dedicated to unleashing the transformative potential of Indigenous lifeways, inspiring all people to reimagine development, conservation, and the way they relate to each other and to Mother Earth.

ABOUT US

Working in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and movements worldwide.

We are a US-based non-profit working in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and movements worldwide. Our governing bodies, leadership, and staff are of diverse non-Indigenous and Indigenous identities and life experiences. We view this diversity as a source of our strength as a bridging organization committed to Indigenous guardianship, self-determination, and an inclusive culture guided by Indigenous wisdom, practices, worldviews, and protocols. Our North Star is the foundational principle of reciprocity, which is the interdependency and relationship between the Earth, humanity and all other species.

Cedar sprig