REI has long made a point of establishing itself as a champion of fighting climate change and of committing itself in the fight for the rights of Indigenous people. Unfortunately, REI has a record of failing to live up to that legacy of protecting Indigenous peoples.

As workers, customers, and members of REI, we are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day by challenging REI leadership to live up to its stated values.

When partnered with US Bank, REI never condemned US Bank’s role in funding the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite DAPL being condemned by Indigenous activists and repeated calls for REI to take a stand.

In 2022, REI only has a single Indigenous group as a grantee through their REI Cooperative Action Fund.

REI has no transparency tool to identify if their incubator, Path Ahead Ventures, is supporting any Indigenous businesses.

No member of the Executive Team or Board of Directors identifies as Indigenous.

Our demands are as follows:

• Create a clear plan for directing support to Indigenous groups from the REI Cooperative Action Fund and Path Ahead Ventures.
• Create an accountability tool that makes it clear when, where, and how much funds are directed from the Action Fund and Path Ahead Ventures.

• Have Board member Bert Quintana publicly explain why the Nominating and Governance Committee has failed in nominating Indigenous people to the Board.
• Have REI CEO Eric Artz publicly explain why there is no Indigenous person on the REI Executive Team.
• Have Board Chair Beth Newlands Campbell and Eric Artz publicly explain why REI never condemned their credit card partner, US Bank, for their role in funding the Dakota Access Pipeline, and instead made a point of telling Coop Members that REI is “not currently soliciting feedback on this issue.”