People'sAction.org/Judith Le Blanc and LeeAnn Hull: Tell the banks, put your money where your mouth is

                              PEOPLE'S
                                 ACTION
Dear Reader,

We knew we were fighting big money when we stood with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to defend their sovereign right to protect their land and water.

The Dakota Access Pipeline was being funded by dozens of powerful banks—Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Chase among them. These banks chose to put their money towards the destruction of Native communities.

Now imagine if banks committed to financing environmentally sensitive projects rather than climate disasters. Imagine if they chose to uphold the dignity of Indigenous people instead of funding projects that violate their tribal sovereignty and Mother Earth.

The fact is: these banks have already made such a commitment. It’s called the Equator Principles.

These “Equator banks” from all across the world (including the three banks mentioned above) promised to avoid or minimize social, environmental and climate impacts of their projects. They also committed to respecting the rights and interests of Indigenous communities affected by them.

And yet, we saw what happened in North Dakota. We saw what happened in Honduras, where Berta Cáceres was murdered for leading the Lenca people’s opposition to the Agua Zarca hydro project.

The 91 financial institutions from 37 countries signed onto the Equator Principles must decisively end the financing of environmental and anti-Indigenous violence.

They’re meeting again on October 23rd, in just three days.

It’s time for these banks to put their money where their mouths are. Demand they fund transformative projects, not ones that feed climate disasters and violate Indigenous peoples’ rights and land.

Hawwih,
Judith Le Blanc (Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma)
Director, Native Organizers Alliance

LeeAnn Hall
Co-Executive Director, People’s Action

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