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Giving Back to Indigenous Communities Supporting plant medicine by nurturing ecological wellbeing, including land rights activism, bolstering food security, and strengthening economic resilience.
With an abundance of research linking forest loss to the emergence of disease, an understanding that Indigenous-managed lands harbor greater biodiversity than wildlife preserves, and the unique potential of traditional plant medicines to alleviate suffering, members of the psychedelic community need to support Indigenous groups still navigating a legacy of colonization and exploitation. Far-reaching, non-governmental conservation organizations have high infrastructural costs that often prevent support from reaching the most vulnerable. This necessitates a way to facilitate direct donations to local, grassroots initiatives that lack access to large institutions.
Discover the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas
With a recognition of the inextricable connection between biological and cultural diversity, Chacruna launched the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas (IRI). Through a network of relationships with trusted organizers, we have created an Indigenous-centered, community-driven list to represent a range of projects addressing everything from food and environmental health to land-tenure, reforestation, and cultural conservation, including educational, economic, and institutional support. IRI is the product of working in direct contact with Indigenous leaders and small, non-profit coordinators who prioritize the autonomy of local people.
Rather than imposing Western ideas of sustainable development, the goal of this initiative is to promote community-led, grassroots projects designed and implemented by local Indigenous people to address their own self-determined needs. Some of the most salient lessons psychedelics teach us stress the significance of our interrelationships and the importance of reciprocity; IRI honors those lessons by offering a channel for giving back directly, in a way that fosters lasting, long-term opportunities for healing and resiliency.
About IRI’s Launch – April 23, 2021
As part of the launch for the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas (IRI), Chacruna is organizing a private, invite-only event on Friday, April 23rd for businesses, investors and donors that are wanting to give back to Indigenous peoples and Indigenous-led grassroots organizations. We believe this is a very important and timely conversation, and we hope to set a standard that will help shape the uncertain future of our field in ways that honors its roots. If you represent an organization or are an individual donor or investor that is looking to support this work, we invite you to reach out to [email protected] for more information.
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IRI is currently under construction—stay tuned for more updates coming soon. For more information, please contact Joseph Mays at [email protected]
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