WHAT WE DO

​Earth Daughters leads community‑rooted research guided by Indigenous women and youth, centering Indigenous science as a foundation for climate action. Our work focuses on healing lands and environments through place‑based knowledge, stewardship, and care. By advancing climate justice and uplifting Indigenous leadership, we help build solutions that honor sovereignty, protect ecosystems, and strengthen the wellbeing of future generations.

Community-rooted Research

Led by Indigenous Women & Youth 

Center Indigenous Science 

Heal our Lands & Environments 

Advance Climate Justice

HOW WE DO IT

We carry out our work through hands‑on projects rooted in community needs, supported by youth mentorship and strong transnational partnerships. By uplifting traditional knowledge and funding Indigenous scientists, we ensure that research remains culturally grounded, community‑controlled, and guided by the wisdom of those closest to the land.

Hands-on Projects

Youth Mentorship

Transnational Partnerships

Traditional Knowledge

Funding Indigenous Scientists 

Research principle #1: indigenous science

Indigenous science allows us to see the whole puzzle rather than only a few pieces, offering an interconnected understanding of land, water, climate, and community. It teaches that knowledge is relational, shaped by generations of observation, experience, and responsibility to place. This holistic way of knowing reveals patterns and truths that are often missed when science becomes too narrow or disconnected from lived experience. It also expands the idea of who is considered a scientist. For us, community members are the scientists: Elders who hold ancestral memory, knowledge keepers who sustain teachings, women who care for land and water, youth who are learning through practice, and land stewards whose everyday work reflects rigorous, place based science. Indigenous science shows that knowledge comes from relationship, care, and community, not separation.

RESEARCH PRINCIPLE #2: DECOLONIZing research

UNLEARNING, RELEARNING, AND RESTORING WHAT COLONIALISM TRIED TO ERASE

For us, decolonization begins with recognizing that colonial systems have created many deep and overlapping layers within our societies, our institutions, and even within ourselves. These layers shape how research is conducted, whose knowledge is valued, and who is dismissed or rendered invisible. To truly decolonize research or any form of work, we must commit to peeling back these layers with honesty and intention, understanding that the process can be painful and transformative, much like peeling an onion. Decolonization asks us to confront the histories and ongoing impacts of colonialism while restoring relationships with land, community, and ancestral knowledge. Decolonial work also means resisting Western scientific systems that have long invalidated Indigenous science, labeling it as less rigorous or less legitimate, and replacing these narratives with knowledge systems that are holistic, relational, and grounded in community. At the core of decolonization is the return of lands and stewardship, honoring Indigenous relationships and responsibilities to place. Decolonization, for us, is unlearning and relearning, truth telling and rebuilding, guided by Indigenous leadership and the collective healing that emerges through this process. As many Indigenous teachings remind us, this healing may take three or more generations, honoring the cyclical time we follow rather than a linear timeline of progress. 

RESEARCH PRINCIPLE #3: DATA sovereignty

OUR SOVEREIGN RIGHT TO GUIDE KNOWLEDGE, RESEARCH, AND STORY

Data sovereignty is essential to Indigenous‑led research because it ensures that communities retain full authority over their knowledge, stories, and ecological information. Earth Daughters centers research that is relational, reciprocal, and driven by Indigenous women, youth, and Elders, meaning communities guide every step of the process. Not all knowledge should be published, because Indigenous science includes sacred teachings that communities may choose to protect rather than share publicly. This is why sovereignty and self‑determination are critical. Indigenous peoples have the right to decide how their data is collected, used, safeguarded, or withheld according to their own values and protocols. Indigenous data sovereignty principles affirm these rights and ensure that research respects cultural integrity, community leadership, and the protection of sacred knowledge. These practices ensure that Indigenous voices remain the primary authority over the stories and knowledge that belong to them.