Sister Susan Francois didn’t expect to get emotional discussing her congregation’s shareholder resolution at Citibank last week, but as she spoke to a room full of supporters about the role of the Catholic Church in Western colonization, tears sprang to her eyes. 

“As a Catholic sister, I feel a particular responsibility to listen to the voices of Indigenous people because of my church’s impact,” Francois said at the People vs. Citi environmental justice hearing on Earth Day.  

Francois referenced Pope Francis’ 2023 disavowal of the “doctrine of discovery,” the historical legal justification for Christian colonization. “A renewed dialogue with Indigenous peoples, in particular regarding their sufferings, past and present, due to the expropriation of their lands as well as forced assimilation, constitute a powerful summons to abandon the colonizer mentality and to walk with them side by side, in mutual respect and dialogue,” she said.

A Catholic nun, Francois is the treasurer for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, a small congregation of New Jersey nuns who have spent the last three years pushing Citigroup to issue a report outlining the effectiveness of its policies and practices in respecting Indigenous peoples’ rights, as determined by international human rights standards.

“We believe that peace is not the absence of conflict; peace takes work and dialogue and negotiation and compromise,” Francois said. “Why would we not also apply that to our financial systems?”

The nuns—who invest some of their retirement funds—divested from fossil fuel assets in 2022 and are now focused on investor advocacy. This year, for the third year in a row, they introduced a shareholder resolution focusing on Citibank’s financing of several companies that are building multi-billion dollar pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and other fossil fuel projects on Indigenous lands in what global leaders say is in violation of the internationally recognized right to free, prior and informed consent. First inspired by tribal attorney Tara Houska and buoyed by a conviction that their faith necessitates advocacy and, as Francois outlined, an understanding of the Church’s historical harms, the Sisters aim to amplify the voices of Indigenous leaders who say Citibank is financing the exploitation of their land and expediting climate disaster.  

The resolution failed at Citibank’s annual general meeting on Tuesday for the third year in a row, receiving 26 percent of the shareholder vote. But the nuns are not deterred, and say they plan to reintroduce the resolution in next year’s meeting.

“For three years in a row, support from investors for our resolution has remained steady at Citi,” Francois said in a statement after the vote. “This is a clear message to the bank that human rights violations are bad for business. Today’s vote allows us to resubmit the resolution and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace will continue to voice concerns over present and future generations impacted by oil, gas and coal projects.”

A Tradition of Faith-Based Investor Activism 

The Sisters’ resolution is part of a broader movement of faith-based investors using their shares in major U.S. banks and corporations to advocate for climate action and human rights with support from the nonprofit organization Investor Advocates for Social Justice. In addition to the resolution at Citibank, IASJ has also supported Indigenous rights resolutions at Wells Fargo and JP Morgan, and human rights-related resolutions at major weapons manufacturers Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. Actions by IASJ against the oil and gas giant Chevron focused on allegations of corruption and harassment through litigation as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

IASJ, founded in 1975 by a coalition of Catholic organizations using investment advocacy to oppose South African apartheid, has always been rooted in faith-based financial advocacy, said executive director Courtney Wicks. 

“Our community thinks of their ministry very holistically,” Wicks said. “It’s very hard to preach the good word and do ministry in communities … that are also being impacted by bad corporate behavior, while you’re simultaneously investing in those companies. Our sisters really felt like it was important to be true to their mission through every single activity, including their finances and their investment activity.”

At Citigroup’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Juan Mancias, tribal chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, spoke on behalf of the Sisters’ resolution. Mancias focused on Citibank’s financing of Enbridge, the company behind the proposed Rio Bravo pipeline, which would supply gas to an LNG terminal at Port of Brownsville in South Texas. The pipeline and LNG system cut close to the tribe’s sacred burial grounds and could destroy acres of wetland and endangered plant and animal species’ habitats, Mancias said.

“What gives you the divine right to build these projects without our consent?” Mancias asked at the virtual meeting. “We urge Citi to stop investing in companies that steal Indigenous land and exploit our environment.”

In the shareholder resolution, the Sisters cited Citibank as a lead financier of the Dakota Access Pipeline operated by Energy Transfer Partners and for providing $5 billion to Enbridge, which in addition to the Rio Bravo pipeline, also owns the Line 3 and Line 5 pipelines that were recently involved in controversial reroutes and replacements impacting Indigenous lands. The resolution also named Citibank as a top financier of destructive oil and gas operations in the Amazon rainforest. The Sisters noted consistent opposition to the pipelines from Indigenous leaders, poor environmental track records and lack of alignment with the bank’s stated climate goals. 

Citibank’s board recommended a vote against the resolution, stating that it believes “Citi is already fulfilling the primary concerns outlined in the Proposal.”

In response to the nuns’ 2023 resolution, Citi said it has not given any project-related funding to Enbridge for Line 3 and that it only provides general corporate financing to the pipeline and energy company.

Support for the resolution dropped slightly this year, to 26 percent from last year’s 31 percent, which activists attribute to a report that Citi released last month titled “Respecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The report outlined the bank’s process for assessing potential risks to Indigenous people, and reported that, in 2023, Citi’s environmental and social risk management team flagged 37 proposed transactions as posing potential risks to Indigenous communities, although the report did not identify the specific transactions. According to the report, the bank declined seven of these transactions due to concerns about risks to Indigenous Peoples’ rights. 

Citibank declined a request for more information about the 37 flagged transactions.

“We urge Citi to stop investing in companies that steal Indigenous land and exploit our environment.”

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the report was released, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace called the report “wholly unresponsive” to their shareholder proposal, and urged stockholders to still vote for their proposal. In a letter, Indigenous representatives from the Peruvian Amazon—the Peruvian Federation of Achuar Nationalities, the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis and the Autonomous Territorial Governments of the Chapra Nation—and Amazon Watch also rejected the report, arguing that it fails to comply with international FPIC standards.  

“Given that Citi acknowledges its recognition of the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, it should understand that this implies a formal dialogue process with the social and political entities that legitimately represent each of the peoples affected by potential projects of its clients,” the letter states. “If its procedures are rigorous, it should not accept informal dialogues with a small portion of potential affected individuals as valid. Likewise, it should recognize that the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) also means the right to say no to projects that do not align with the self-determined way of life of Indigenous peoples.”

At the Annual General Meeting, an attendee asked if CEO Jane Fraser would commit to meeting with Juan Mancias and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe, and Fraser said that Citi would not comment on any specific meetings.

Amplifying Indigenous Voices

The Sisters are working with international Indigenous leaders who are targeting banks financing projects on their lands. 

Last week at demonstrations targeting Citibank, Chief Na’Moks of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in Canada and Senar Irar, President of the Peruvian Federation of Achuar Nation in Peru, gave speeches focused on the harms of fossil fuel projects. Irar is among a delegation of Indigenous leaders from Peru’s Amazon region who are in New York City to meet with major bank representatives and urge them not to finance Petroperú, the Peruvian state-owned oil company that is linked to oil spills and violations of Indigenous land rights. The group has met with representatives of Citibank and Goldman Sachs, and was planning to meet with others from J.P. Morgan until the bank, which activists say is giving billions in loans and bonds to Petroperú, canceled the meeting.

In response to questions about the canceled meeting, a J.P. Morgan spokesperson said that the bank has met with Amazon Watch in the past and remains willing to talk. 

“We couldn’t agree on the terms for this meeting and we don’t comment on clients,” read the statement, sent by J.P. Morgan Chase’s head of sustainability communications, Charlotte Powell. “We support fundamental principles of human rights, including Indigenous People’s rights…we assess the substance of allegations, to make informed decisions based on facts, as we strive to meet our responsibilities to our clients and our shareholders while managing risk appropriately.”

J.P. Morgan also faces a resolution, introduced by United Church Funds, demanding a similar report on the effectiveness of Indigenous rights policies and practices. The resolution will go to a vote at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting on May 21.

“We have traveled from far away to explain to the banks that have invested in Petroperú that this company is trying to open new oil wells in our territories in order to pay them back,” said Irar in a statement. “The desperation to pay back the money lent by the banks for the construction of their refinery is causing conflicts and even death threats among those of us who reject the activity.”

For Francois, who joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 2006, advocating for ethical investing is core to her ministry, and to the congregation’s mission of promoting peace. 

During the Trump administration, Francois tweeted a nonviolent prayer for the president every day, and she said she noticed a certain “privilege” that her position as a nun brought her in public discourse. In terms of shareholder advocacy, Francois said she has been told by colleagues at IASJ that when she or another Sister is present at calls with corporate leadership, people seem to be better behaved. Francois is reckoning with her privilege as a white woman and with the legacies of the Catholic church, but she feels a responsibility to use her position for a common good. 

“Some people still have some faith in us, that we’re honest and true,” Francois said. “Now that’s a lot of responsibility.”