Mission, Vision, Values & Equity
One of FMR’s core values is equity. We believe that the Mississippi River connects us all, and that social and environmental issues are woven together. As we work toward restoring habitat and the river's waters, we will also work toward a riverway that is safe, healing and accessible for everyone. We strive to be culturally competent, welcoming and inclusive of all people and are committed to using our resources and influence to redress structural inequality where it intersects with the health and vitality of the Mississippi River.
Equity statement
Our board unanimously passed this equity statement in 2017 and updated it in 2022.
Below, find an overview of how FMR aspires to advance equity and inclusion through our programs and initiatives.
How we're advancing equity and inclusion
In our advocacy
- Engaging directly with BIPOC groups and organizations in advocacy efforts like our lock and dam disposition outreach, including partnering with Owámniyomni Okhódayapi on a robust engagement process with Dakota Tribal nations.
- Establishing environmental justice measures in state environmental and natural resource policy (like equitable replacement of lead drinking water pipes, a community grants program for environmental trust fund allocations and an equitable transition to clean transportation in the proposed state standard).
- Including key equity and Tribal nation provisions in the federal Mississippi River Restoration & Resilience Initiative bill.
- Ensuring BIPOC participation in leadership for policy-based coalition work like the Forever Green Partnership and the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Collaborative.
- Protecting drinking water for all Minnesotans, especially lower-resourced rural communities most affected by nitrate pollution, through mitigation and prevention measures.
- Partnering with the Water Over Nickel campaign led by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to spread awareness about the negative consequences of nickel mining.
- Collaborating with a diverse range of partners on planning projects, for example at BTT (Boys Totem Town) — a site that deserves an explicit focus on restorative and racial justice.
In our land restoration and conservation efforts
- Building relationships with Indigenous-led organizations and incorporating more compensated feedback from Indigenous-led organizations into our management plans.
- Continuing to grow our understanding of restoration approaches, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and identifying opportunities to incorporate culturally significant plant species into our restoration sites.
- Supporting Wakáŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi in their role as lead stewards and co-managers of Wakáŋ Tipi with the city of St. Paul, after collaborating on a natural resources management plan and restoration of habitat at the site from 2020-2024.
- Engaging with the National Park Service Cultural Resources Program Manager and Tribal nation partners to ensure that all restoration projects respect the historical and cultural significance of the sites where we work.
- Establishing an annual summer internship program and occasional fall and winter internships to create pipelines into the environmental field for young people, especially BIPOC youth.
In our community and education programs
- Building relationships with local BIPOC-led/centered organizations.
- Creating environmental career pathways for underrepresented and BIPOC youth and young adults through quality, paid internships and our Environmental Stewardship Institute's paid fellowships.
- Revising and creating curriculum that centers and celebrates BIPOC voices and experiences, and further decolonizes history and relationship to land.
- Working with schools that have high BIPOC populations, are in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, or have little access to rivers.
- Offering opportunities for communities that have not always felt welcomed or included in stewardship efforts, like our LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC events.
In our workplace and network
- Running a diversity, equity and inclusion working group.
- Evolving policies to better support all staff, holding internal affinity groups (and a white accountability group) and involving all staff and board members in intercultural learning and equity goals implementation.
- Incorporating community-centric fundraising principles like encouraging mutual support.
- Using our capacity to seek and manage grants that can resource collaborative work with other organizations.
You can read more about our current work and partnerships by checking out our updates.
How we got started on our equity journey
Read an account of our first steps towards advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at FMR and in the mainstream environmental movement.
Land acknowledgment
Our work takes place on Dakota homelands. Haha Wakpa, Misi-ziibi, Mississippi River — the river we steward in Minnesota has long been stewarded and continues to be stewarded by Dakota, Ojibwe and other Native nations. Find out more about our work toward Indigenous solidarity.
Resources
Our diversity, equity and inclusion working group recommends Mississippi River Network's anti-racism resources hub, available midway down the linked page. (FMR is a member of the network.)