The Caretakers Alliance – Naa-yvlh-te

Naa-yvlh-te: "To care for, watch over, protect, and take care of"

Mission Statement:

The Caretakers Alliance – Naa-yvlh-te is a Native-led program dedicated to protecting lands, waters, ecosystems, and cultural lifeways through stewardship, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), collaborative advocacy, and community consensus.

Our homelands are living relatives, not resources to be exploited. The Caretakers Alliance works to ensure that Indigenous perspectives—including both federally, non-federally recognized and inter-tribal communities—is centered in policy, land use, development, and environmental protection decisions. We uphold the responsibility passed down from our ancestors to care for these places for generations to come.

Purpose & Core Values:

• Caretaking – Upholding our Indigenous responsibility to care for, watch over, and protect the lands, waters, and all living beings entrusted to us.

• Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) – Elevating Indigenous knowledge, history, science, and ecological relationships as central to environmental stewardship and decision-making.

• Collective Advocacy – Ensuring Indigenous rights, cultural sovereignty, and community well-being remain at the center of environmental governance and policy frameworks.

• Alliance – Creating a respectful, shared space where tribes, watershed councils, scientific partners, and community organizations work together in the protection of our shared homelands.

  Through direct action, collaborative partnerships, and cultural stewardship, The Caretakers Alliance works to defend Indigenous sovereignty, challenge harmful development, and promote the resilience and healing of our homelands. While our focus is deeply rooted in Curry County and the surrounding Southwestern Oregon coastal region, our work extends to regional, state, and federal arenas to advocate for Native-led environmental protection, climate resilience, and policy reform.

The Caretakers Alliance Focus Areas:

• Alternative Energy & Land Use Decisions: Ensuring that tribal sovereignty, environmental protections, and community interests are central to development and policy discussions.

• Ensure Transparency in Decision-Making – Holding governments, agencies, and corporations responsible for ethical and equitable decision-making.

• Promote Indigenous-Led Environmental Stewardship – Protecting lands, waters, and shared homelands through culturally informed practices.

• Ethical Resource Extraction – Advocating against exploitative resource extraction and unsustainable development.

• Data Sovereignty & Climate Resilience – Promoting Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Science (TEKS) to inform climate policy and strengthen community resilience.

• Inclusion of Indigenous Members with Ties to the Area’s Homelands – Honoring and amplifying the voices of Indigenous people with ancestral, cultural, and historical ties to the region, ensuring their perspectives are prioritized in advocacy and decision-making that impacts their homelands.