Indigenous-led organization breaks ground with revolutionary energy transition initiative: 'It's not a one size fits all'

The Canada-based nonprofit Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) is empowering Indigenous communities worldwide by showing them how they can get involved with renewable energy projects and stake their claim in the clean energy transition.

As Corporate Knights reported, the organization's journey began in 2016 when the group's leaders realized that for Indigenous communities to achieve energy sovereignty, they needed the proper training, tools, and support to get the ball rolling.

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According to ICE, consultants from Lumos Energy, a clean energy advisor to Indigenous communities, began meeting with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples to develop strategic plans.

Shortly after, the 20/20 Catalysts Program was launched, which teaches communities everything they need to know about clean energy, such as solar and wind power, and even provides a hands-on learning experience.

In 2019, ICE officially became an independent organization, and it has since hosted annual gatherings and launched other programs geared toward supporting Indigenous communities in bringing clean power to their ancestral lands.

ICE created its Global Hub in 2020 to share its energy expertise outside Canada so that other Indigenous Peoples could chart a path forward to a sustainable future.

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Australian communities were the first outside Canada to benefit from ICE's knowledge, with members of the Luritja Nation partnering with the organization to co-create a PowerMakers program, which teaches Aboriginal people how to lead clean energy initiatives.

In Australia, many Aboriginal communities get their power from polluting diesel generators, which led Chris Croker — who lives in the remote Australian desert — to find a way to power his community's needs with clean electricity.

After founding the First Nations Clean Energy Network to help resolve these energy inequities, he sought ICE's help negotiating with policymakers, which he said took the organization to the next level.

"They helped us mobilize and organize," Croker told Corporate Knights.

Now, he aims to help other Aboriginal communities across Australia regain their power. So far, the First Nations Clean Energy Network has initiated 15 clean energy projects with Aboriginal participation, with plans to keep expanding.

ICE representatives have also traveled to Colombia and met with two Indigenous groups to talk about their struggles with energy sovereignty.

Aura Balanta, an Afro-Colombian activist and artist who took part in the ICE delegation, believes Indigenous Peoples have a critical role to play in the energy transition since they help protect 80% of the planet's biodiversity, per Amnesty International.

Luckily, the movement to bring clean energy to Indigenous populations is well underway, as ICE reported in 2022 that Indigenous communities have participated in over 200 renewable energy projects in Canada. In addition, at least 1,700 Indigenous-led micro and small clean energy projects have been installed throughout the country, helping replace diesel generators and providing communities with clean air.

Indigenous communities have been pushing for co-ownership of renewable power projects on their lands for decades. Now, thanks in part to the dedication and support of ICE, they're finally getting to reap the financial benefits while building stronger connections with one another and Mother Earth.

"The lessons learned from so-called Canada we can share with our Indigenous kin around the world," ICE's Global Hub manager Daphne Kay, from Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan, told Corporate Knights. "It's not a silver bullet, it's not a one size fits all, and our nation-to-nation relationship is about learning from each other."