The Process That Drives Us
As a part of our core approach, the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC) centers tribal and Indigenous voices throughout our processes, honoring their sovereignty and the wisdom of land stewardship. Through the development of Indigenous Stewardship Solutions, we aim to deepen our connection to the land while advancing Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and well-being across North America. In this pursuit, our high-integrity carbon projects encourage the growing market for nature-based solutions. With this work, Tribal Nations are leaders in taking action to reduce the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a warming Earth.
Growing a Tribally-led Carbon Market
Carbon markets are specialized financial markets that aim to reduce GHG emissions by enabling the trading of emission units (carbon credits). The voluntary carbon market is driven by corporate social responsibility and ethics.
Working in collaboration with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities that prioritize the long-term health of nature, we develop projects that enhance carbon cycling within ecosystems, generate carbon credits, and increase tribal revenue through credit sales. In this work, we ensure we sell carbon credits only to buyers who are already taking steps to reduce their emissions and with whom our tribal partners are comfortable working.
The development of these projects drives funding for tribal priorities, including land reacquisition, tribal infrastructure investment, and cultural program growth.
Proven Success with Tribal Partners
Working with the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, we have developed the Akiing Azhenan Carbon Project. Through the enrollment of 22,000 acres of forestland on the Bois Forte Reservation, the Band is using this land to sequester and store carbon across the next 40 years. Revenue generated by this project fully covers the cost of the Band’s 2022 rematriation of 28,000 acres of stolen ancestral forests. This marks the second-largest privately-funded tribal land reacquisition in U.S. history.
The project’s name, Akiing Azhenan, means “Take Back the Land” in the traditional Ojibwe language. The wording is intentional: Akiing situates the community on the land, grounding action in place, while Azhenan means “return it” or “take it back,” signaling active restoration rather than a symbolic gesture. Together, the name frames Land Back in Ojibwe terms, centering language sovereignty, reciprocity, and intergenerational stewardship. As a critical conservation pathway, the Band is partnering with the National Indian Carbon Coalition to leverage carbon credits and enroll this forestland in the voluntary carbon market.