The "Unplug America - Give Mother Earth a Rest Day" tradition was started in 1992 by Indigenous Peoples and is observed on October 13 each year. It is a day to live simply and off grid, enjoy the nature around you and breathe fresh air. Unplug your TV, computers... and take a walk. The campaign focuses primarily on America because of massively high per capita consumption in the US.
In the early 1990s, the UNPLUG from Mother Earth Campaign was initiated by three Indigenous-based organizations. These organizations and leaders were Tom B.K. Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN); Winona LaDuke, Indigenous Women's Network (IWN)and Christopher Peters, 7th Generation Fund (SGF). Nilak Butler (deceased), member of IEN and IWN also assisted in the development of this UNPLUG Campaign during the 1990s in her capacity as an Indigenous staff organizer within the Indigenous Nuclear Free Campaign of U.S. Greenpeace. Periodically throughout the 1990s and 2000s the UNPLUG from Mother Earth Campaign was initiated by these organizations, expanding to include other organizations such as Honor The Earth and White Earth Land Recovery Project. There is no ownership of the concept of this campaign. It has been the principle of IEN, IWN and SGF for people of the United States, Canada, other industrialized countries and of the world to adopt this campaign.
Tom B.K. Goldtooth is a Native American environmental, climate, and economic justice activist, speaker, film producer, and Indigenous rights leader within the climate and environmental justice and indigenous movement. Tom is active in local, national and international levels as an advocate for building healthy and sustainable Indigenous communities based upon the foundation of Indigenous traditional knowledge. Tom has served as executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) since 1996 after serving as a member of the IEN National Council since 1992.
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. Group members have represented Native American concerns at international events such as the United Nations Climate Change Conferences in Copenhagen (2009) and Paris (2016). IEN organizes an annual conference to discuss proposed goals and projects for the coming year; each year the conference is held in a different indigenous nation. The network emphasizes environmental protection as a form of spiritual activism. IEN received attention in the news as a major organizer of the fight against the Keystone Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
Winona LaDuke is an American environmentalist, economist, and writer, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In a December 2018 interview she also described herself as an industrial hemp grower.
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