Just Transition is a framework for a fair shift to an economy that is ecologically sustainable, equitable and just. A Just Transition requires us to build an economy for life in a way that is very different than the economy we are in now. This calls for strategies that democratize, decentralize and diversify economic activity while we damper down consumption, and redistribute resources and power. As Just Transition is becoming popular with different theories, practices and approaches, the Indigenous Environmental Network felt the need to compile a set of Indigenous-based principles of what Just Transition means to Indigenous peoples in North America-Turtle Island. These principles fall into three categories, with several principles further elaborated under each of the following sections:
- Responsibility & relationship
- Sovereignty
- Transformation for Action
The Indigenous Principles of Just Transition are a result of a process created to remember the contributions of the many tribal voices of Indigenous Peoples that came to the Protecting Mother Earth Conferences that started in 1990 and continued to 2010. It is only a guide "for Indigenous peoples – our American Indian, Alaska Natives and the Canadian First Nations, and other Indigenous Peoples of the four-directions of Mother Earth – to use, if you chose to re-build your Nation and community."