The Sierra Fund, a regional organization serving California’s Sierra Nevada, recently announced that its board of directors has elected six new Indigenous board members from around the region — making the board 75% Indigenous members — and hired an Indigenous leader as its new chief executive officer, transforming the nonprofit into an Indigenous-led new force for the Sierra Nevada. By centering the voices of the Sierras’ first nations, The Sierra Fund says it seeks to blend traditional ecological wisdom with Western science to restore and protect Sierra lands, waters and communities through practices that have sustained them for generations. The full list of board members and their bios is available online.
The transformation, which the group reports was fully supported by the prior executive director and board, includes the adoption of a new mission to invest in and elevate Indigenous place-based wisdom, leadership and guardianship to achieve reparative justice and resilient Sierra Nevada cultural ecologies and communities for future generations.
“The Sierra Fund’s new mission is about more than conservation,” said A. Brian Wallace (Washoe/Nisenan), chief executive officer of The Sierra Fund. “It is a call to action for funders, allies and partners to join a collaborative journey to a sustainable future. This is an organization reflective of a new movement to center and honor Indigenous sovereignty to promote ecological balance and enhance community resiliency more effectively.”
Wallace is a visionary Indigenous leader with a wealth of experience and success in advancing tribal led initiatives, the group says. Wallace served as an elected official of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California from 1979 to 2006, including four terms as tribal chairman. Wallace secured federal court protection of sacred sites in Lake Tahoe and throughout Washoe homelands, was a key leader ensuring cleanup of the Leviathan Mine superfund site, facilitated a biocultural international agreement on restoration with the Republic of Buryatia and the Washoe Tribe, and was a founding member of the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee. Under his leadership the Washoe Tribe created its first environmental protection department, development corporation, cultural foundation, language school and land trust.
“I’ve worked for over 40 years in the conservation movement, and I’ve never been this excited about coming to work,” said Joan Clayburgh, prior executive director now retained as executive officer of strategy and operations. “This bold transformation is reflective of a profound commitment to Indigenous leadership and decision making, knowing that centering Indigenous wisdom is needed more than ever to craft solutions for the challenges ahead. I am not Indigenous and I’m very honored to be invited to serve under this talented and committed new CEO and board.”
The Sierra Nevada Indigenous-led organization will be launching five new Indigenous-centered programs in the coming years:
- Climate Adaptation, Emergency Services and Community Safety
- Cultural Ecologies, promoting tribal ecological knowledge, language, food and data sovereignty and revitalization
- Land and Water Guardianship
- Workforce and Social Investment Strategies
- Reconciliation and Equity
The organization’s approach will establish and support collaborative tribal efforts, offer technical assistance and mentorship, create knowledge-sharing platforms and events, support Indigenous land return and land and water management, and advocate for the centering of tribal voices and the rights of nature.
“By centering Indigenous knowledges and tribal ancestral wisdom in the promotion of a culture that is founded on the principles of collective stewardship, we work together to preserve and restore the rich biodiversity of the Sierra. We ensure that our future generations can enjoy the natural beauty that defined this region since time immemorial,” said Dr. Lisa Grayshield (Washoe), chair of The Sierra Fund’s board of directors. “This collaboration is writing a new future, one defined by reconciliation, stewardship and shared responsibility for the land and our more-than-human relatives with whom we share this land we call home.”
This revitalized organization says it aims to create a long-lasting legacy of empowered communities and protected landscapes. Collaborating with tribes across the region, The Sierra Fund said it will support Indigenous visions for the future and help create a sustainable and resilient future for all peoples and life.
The Sierra Fund invites the public to be a part of this transformative journey. The group launched a GoFundMe campaign to allow the community to show support for helping the Sierra bioregion thrive by elevating the stewardship and leadership of Indigenous peoples.
“The sky shouts now or never,” said Wallace. “Together, we can create a future where Indigenous wisdom and Western science unite to protect our natural worlds, cultures and ecologies for generations to come.”
More information and ways to support The Sierra Fund are available at https://sierrafund.org.
Information provided by The Sierra Fund
