True allyship can only take hold when we recognise that Indigenous peoples' struggles are intricately bound up with our collective fate. Our greatest hope against ecological breakdown is to support Indigenous sovereignty and actively join the global resistance against extractive industries. This is a matter of our mutual survival and liberation.
"If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
- Lilla Watson, Gangulu woman – 'Aboriginal Activists' Group
What is Extractivism?
Differing from the simple act of harvesting a resource (such as cutting down a single tree), extractivism is an economic model that treats the Earth as an endless storehouse of raw materials. Nature is commodified and extracted at an industrial scale and exported to enrich distant interests, while local communities (often Indigenous) bear the devastating ecological and social costs.
It's no coincidence that the concept of extractivismo (extractivism) originated in Latin America – a region that has served as ground zero for over 500 years of imperial plunder, while simultaneously remaining the global heartland of Indigenous frontline resistance.
The Battle Over Recognition and Sovereignty
For many Indigenous communities, resisting extractivism looks like a fundamental struggle to exist in the eyes of the law. States have long used the denial of Indigenous identity as a tactical weapon to erase land claims, clear territories for corporate concessions and evade legal accountability under international law.
Nevertheless, Indigenous movements have generated some of the most vibrant, historic and effective mobilisations in recent memory. An Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) report found that Indigenous-led resistance in North America has successfully delayed or stopped greenhouse gas pollution equivalent to at least 25% of annual US and Canadian emissions.
Through decades of tireless organizing, Indigenous leaders secured foundational frameworks like ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). These instruments serve to enshrine the principle of self-determination, establishing that Indigenous peoples alone have the right to define their own identities, institutions and relationships to their territories.
The High Cost of Defense
Frontline Indigenous defenders routinely face systemic intimidation, land theft, state criminalization and lethal violence. According to data from Global Witness, while Indigenous peoples represent roughly 6% of the global population, they consistently account for more than one-third of all land and environmental defenders murdered worldwide each year.
Colonial states also spread racist and prejudiced narratives about supposed Indigenous inferiority. These myths have permeated many levels of society and led to a profound disconnection not only from Indigenous peoples but also ancient traditions, their wisdom, knowledge systems and ways of relating with the Earth and other living beings that we sorely need to revive.
Confronting 'Green Extractivism'
Today, Indigenous movements are also challenging accelerating demand for so-called 'critical minerals'. Brought about by the energy transition, AI and Big Tech, and the defense sector, this speculative rush for minerals is giving rise to new sacrifice zones.
In her book Extraction, political scientist Thea Riofrancos spotlights frontline Indigenous communities fighting back against 'green extractivism,' exposing how the rush for clean energy minerals risks repeating historic colonial harms. To break this cycle, Riofrancos advocates for solutions that move beyond simply swapping gas-powered vehicles for electric ones, calling instead for public transit investments, circular material recycling and a deliberate reduction in overall resource consumption.
In response to today's intensifying extractive rush, Greenpeace has partnered with other NGOs and experts to launch the Restricted Areas Map, indicating places where mining poses unacceptable environmental, social, cultural or rights-related risks.
Demands of Indigenous Environmental Movements
Across courtroom battles, frontline blockade and international climate summits, Indigenous activists share a repeating set of demands.
In 2025, Indigenous youth representatives from the world's primary tropical forest basins, the Amazon, the Congo Basin, Borneo and West Papua, penned their version with the Sira Declaration. Drafted in West Papua, the declaration lays out a call to action for governments, corporations and international bodies to:
- Recognize and Secure Land Sovereignty: Legal recognition and enforcement of customary land titles, enforcing full self-determination and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
- End Militarization, Violence and Criminalization: An immediate end to state-sponsored military operations, arbitrary arrests and violence targeted at Indigenous environmental defenders.
- Halt 'Green Colonialism' and Extractive Projects: Resist industrial mining, logging, fossil fuels and speculative critical-mineral exploitation, rejecting any climate 'solutions' that turn Indigenous territories into sacrifice zones.
- Direct Climate Financing to Indigenous Communities: Routing global climate, conservation and loss-and-damage funds directly to Indigenous nations and youth-led groups on the frontlines, bypassing intermediaries.
- Center Traditional Knowledge and Youth/Women Governance: Guaranteeing leadership seats for Indigenous youth and women in international climate policy.
Public Support for Indigenous Leadership
Global public opinion strongly supports these demands. A Greenpeace poll spanning 17 countries across five continents* revealed that 78% of respondents trust Indigenous Peoples and local communities most to protect forests (compared to 49% for governments and 42% for corporations). Additionally, 75% of respondents agree that Indigenous peoples should receive direct climate funding to safeguard their ancestral territories.
Building a Just, Post-Extractivist Future
Stopping destructive corporate projects is only the first step. A post-extractive future requires a post-colonial future. In a time as critical as this, non-Indigenous allies cannot remain passive observers. Decolonisation requires that settler populations actively reject the ideology of extractivism by rejecting the commodification, domination and exploitation of Nature.
Indigenous leadership provides practical blueprints for post-extractive societies founded on care, ecological balance and generational/collective well-being. A Greenpeace report highlights inspiring case studies of community-led forest solutions.
*Polling Methodology Note: Countries surveyed include Kenya, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, USA, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK.
Tsering Lama is a storytelling manager with Greenpeace International.
