Stonington | Groton | Ledyard | North Stonington | Eastern and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations
The Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed was co-created by Tribal and non-Tribal communities to act as a bridge organization to address areas of common concern in the watershed:
clean water, healthy forests, food systems, affordable housing, resilient energy, economic development and transportation systems.
Natôquhsunônak Alliance Overview
MISSION:
The Inter-Tribal Alliance will develop and sustain a Tribal community-led initiative to protect ancestral waterways of Eastern Woodland communities—focused on identifying threats, fostering mutual support, and coordinating shared messaging on Tribal waterways and conservation efforts.
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COMMUNITY PRIORITIES:
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Develop unified tribal advocacy
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Knowledge share on priority protection needs
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Access support and opportunities for solutions
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Embrace and organize systems including non-tribal, to advance Tribal conservation efforts.
Advocating for the traditional,
land-connected ways of knowing held across
Eastern Woodland communities.
Environmental hazards continue to threaten the health of Native peoples through water related illness, food systems and respiratory conditions.*
*source: EPA indigenous populations
The Concern:
We acknowledge there are systemic barriers that limit the ability of Native peoples to build partnerships consistent with their cultural values.
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Limited tribal representation at decision making tables. This include local, state and regional discussions.
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Tribes lack access to ancestral bodies of water and spiritual sites.
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Limited funding and support for coordinating actions to protect land, ecosystems and animal beings.
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Northeast tribes are not unified in shared concerns. This includes watershed restoration efforts, species protections, pollution and long term care and stewardship of land.
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Relationships with environmental police and state "nuisance" regulations on wildlife are contrary to historical and traditional knowledge.
The Inter-Tribal Alliance is a voice for Native visibility and ecological renewal across the Northeast
The Solutions:
Our work reflects and responds to support the needs identified by the community.
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The Inter-Tribal Alliance can assist in widespread communication to collaborate and support each other locally and regionally.
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Advocating for impactful, local adjustments to watersheds. For example, removal of man-made dams to restore ecosystems and species.
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Simplify funding support with more investment-focused projects and partnerships
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Designed to strengthen and unify tribal community relationships and increase public awareness regarding access and solutions.
The How
Solutions will be carried through a plan rooted in shared priorities and collective action.
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We will encourage Tribes and Non-Tribal organizations, individuals and partners to collaborate on resources and financial support for shared projects.
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Through shared vision, Tribal concerns can be vocalized while strengthening collective regional projects.
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Provide access to forums and bridge-building efforts to extend reach and involvement.
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Establish a unified protocol for non-tribal orgs/partners to better align with conservation objectives, cultural values and development.
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Inter-Tribal Alliance will meet together every-other-moon (1x quarterly) with monthly virtual meetings to discuss priorites.
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Increasing visibility of Northeast tribes and fundraising for regeneration projects. Identifying the needs will help to prioritize and solicit funding.
Our Journey so Far...
We've laid a strong foundation, and we're inspired to do more...
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Secured $490K from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund for a tribally co-led watershed regeneration plan to restore cultural landscapes, traditional food systems, and develop regenerative housing and energy strategies.
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Facilitated partnerships among Tribes, municipalities, and nonprofits for a $6M grant to restore River Herring and other migratory fish species to culturally significant, Long, Bush, and Lantern Hill Ponds along with a $350K application to finalize project design.
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Secured $55K to hire Eastern and Mashantucket Pequot tribal members for a Living Atlas project sharing Pequot worldviews on watershed restoration through story maps, multimedia, and a compilation of maps of historical, current, and potential future conditions to support tribal member participation in the state of CT planning and policy development.
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Working toward relationship building between Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Build Green CT, The Biobased Materials Collective, the BioFi Initiative to plan a 2026 conference on Regenerating Land, Regenerating Buildings: From Indigenous Governance, Knowledge, and Land Relations to Vernacular and Place Based Building Systems to bring together those working at the forefront of land restoration and affordable healthy high performance housing.
A current finds its power
in the joining of streams
Through collective strength and shared cultural priorities, Northeast Tribal unity can centralize efforts to protect our waterways and preserve our traditional waters. Together, we safeguard sacred lands, revitalize waterways, and uphold the traditions that sustain our communities
The Natôquhsunônak Alliance extends an invitation to our Tribal relatives
to contribute to this mission
Key Areas of Support Needed:
3 volunteer representatives from each Tribal Community
that may act independently from Tribal Government.
Knowledge Focus:
Historical Preservation
Natural Resources Protection
Land Conservation
Cultural Preservation
Advocacy, Communications
Community Social Outreach
Please contact us for information, or to learn more about this project and it's mission.
The information compiled on this page on behalf of the Inter-Tribal Alliance is the intellectual property of Tribal people
and all rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or distribution is prohibited.
A Project Supported by:
