Who We Are
First Peoples Worldwide is the only international organization led by Indigenous Peoples and dedicated to the mission of promoting Indigenous economic determination and strengthening Indigenous communities through asset control and the dissemination of knowledge. Through regranting, technical assistance, education and advocacy, First Peoples provides Indigenous Peoples with the tools, information and relationships they need to build community capacity to leverage assets for sustainable economic development.
Indigenous Peoples make up five percent of the world’s population and represent 90 percent of the cultural diversity. They have traditional land claims of up to 24 percent of the Earth’s surface and their lands possess 80 percent of the Earth’s remaining biodiversity. Yet, historically, the needs and cultures of Indigenous Peoples have been disregarded. Many of the world’s Indigenous cultures are endangered and their lands and natural resources are increasingly threatened by external economic and development pressures. Without an active campaign to protect them, the world’s Indigenous Peoples are in danger of disappearing altogether in the next century. With them will go generations of Indigenous knowledge, valuable medical research, vibrant cultures, and worldviews that are unique and infinitely sustainable.
First Peoples employs a number of strategies to help Indigenous Peoples take their place in the world’s systems. FPW advocates extensively with policy making bodies, governments, funders, and institutions on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. First Peoples engages with multinationals and extractive industries to encourage them to work directly with Indigenous Peoples to establish mutually beneficial agreements. First Peoples established an Indigenous Stewardship Initiative (ISI) to build the capacity of Indigenous Peoples to establish and manage protected areas on their own homelands. First Peoples promotes socially responsible investing, and maintains an aggressive Research program on Indigenous Peoples and their issues.
Founded by Rebecca Adamson in 1997, the Fredericksburg, Virginia-based organization has been at the helm of studying, devising and implementing solutions to Indigenous communities’ problems. The programs of First Peoples Worldwide are grounded in the belief that assets are the building blocks of wealth; Indigenous Peoples own substantial assets but frequently lack the control necessary to benefit from them. First Peoples also believes that successful economic development is a holistic process that takes into account the political, social, and cultural variables of a community.
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