Galina Angarova

Executive Director, The SIRGE Coalition

As the global energy transition accelerates, the demand for minerals used in electric vehicles and other renewable energy technologies is skyrocketing. Fifty-four percent of mining projects for transition minerals occur on or near Indigenous Peoples’ territories, and the rush to secure them is putting these communities at risk. Indigenous communities have already suffered from a long history of colonization, forced displacement, and violence. If policies aren’t enforced that protect our rights, including the ones set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the growing demand for transition minerals will exacerbate these harms.

The SIRGE Coalition is dedicated to elevating Indigenous leadership and creating transformative solutions to secure the rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the context of the mining industry. We are a Ford grantee focused on ensuring that Indigenous communities have a central voice in decisions affecting their lands and livelihoods. As we aim to support at least 54 Indigenous Peoples’ communities around the world by 2027, we recognize the tremendous contributions that Indigenous Peoples have made to our collective environmental and cultural sustainability. Our support includes youth fellowships, trainings, grants to communities, emergency grants to defenders, joint advocacy, and more. Elevating Indigenous leadership and securing their rights is crucial to ensuring a truly just, equitable, and sustainable energy transition.

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