Who Pays Attention to Indigenous Peoples in Sustainable Development and Why? Evidence From Socially Responsible Investment Mutual Funds in North America

Resource extraction and development have had significant impacts on Indigenous Peoples (IPs), and states have been slow to respond. The need for better engagement practices with IPs has been recognized internationally and in the academic literature. We examine the extent to which IPs and their rights are being recognized by non-state market-driven governance mechanisms meant to promote more sustainable business practices, in this case North American socially responsible investment (SRI) mutual funds. These funds are influential in defining SRI principles, and through shareholder activism they influence broader standards on corporate social responsibility and firm sustainability. Using a survey and a review of secondary internal documentation, we find that while some SRI funds do address IPs, recognition remains low. We find SRI funds that do pay attention have both more capabilities and a different investment orientation than those that do not, which we hypothesize limits broader uptake at this time.