Attorney General’s Office: Winona LaDuke made unauthorized transactions and mishandled harassment claims as head of her nonprofit

Winona LaDuke, co-founder and former executive director of the environmental group Honor the Earth, mishandled sexual harassment claims and used organization funds to make unauthorized payments to family members, according to allegations in a court petition filed by Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office following an investigation into the nonprofit.

The Attorney General’s Charities Division investigation of LaDuke was made public as part of the petition for an “assurance of discontinuance” order released Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court. The findings are broken down into several sections on alleged misconduct and violations by LaDuke and Honor the Earth, which she founded along with Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers in 1993.

According to the court documents, LaDuke allegedly made frequent financial transactions between Honor the Earth and four family members who worked for the nonprofit “for purposes that did not benefit the corporation.” The transactions were made without board approval and often without proper documentation.

The released findings do not say how much money LaDuke was supposed to have sent, but the transactions allegedly included several interest-free loans that family members used to make “large purchases” such as vehicles, and to pay for rent and bills. The family members included her daughter, two sons and a sister.

Honor the Earth officials told investigators the group lacked a systematic recordkeeping procedure to track its transactions, and that many transactions were approved on an “ad hoc basis via email, rather than a board decision.”

Nadya Tannous, deputy director of Honor the Earth, said in a news release that the group has worked in the past five months with the Attorney General’s Office to get back into compliance with nonprofit regulations.

“This assurance is a big step for it allows us to be focused on the real, broader issues at hand, with a renewed emphasis on Land Back initiatives, the struggle against ‘green colonialism’ and resistance to militaristic, settler-colonial projects that lie at the center of many Indigenous struggles,” Tannous said. “We remain committed to helping people understand — and to act — against these struggles.”

Before she resigned as Honor the Earth’s executive director last April, LaDuke made an annual salary of roughly $88,500. The nonprofit received more than $7 million in contributions and grants in 2021, according to the most recent tax return provided to the Attorney General’s Office.

LaDuke declined to comment immediately on the released findings and allegations Thursday night, saying in an email that she would respond later after reviewing the findings.

Another section of the petition focuses on the organization’s alleged failure to properly handle internal complaints of misconduct and sexual harassment. LaDuke’s resignation last year came shortly after Honor the Earth lost a sexual harassment case, with a Becker County jury awarding former employee Margaret Campbell $750,000 for lost wages and emotional distress.

In a 2019 complaint, Campbell alleged that the group’s board took “no action to investigate or remedy” her claim that another employee had sexually harassed her and others, the Attorney General’s Office wrote. Campbell alleged she notified board members and made “repeated complaints” to LaDuke, but that no action was taken. Documents provided to the Attorney General’s Office showed that LaDuke issued memoranda to the board dismissing additional complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct without investigating.

The filing also alleges that the nonprofit violated state law by continuing to solicit donations from Minnesotans despite having its registration as a soliciting charity withdrawn in 2021.

The “assurance of discontinuance” order represents an agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and Honor the Earth, and includes steps the nonprofit is required to take to remedy past alleged misconduct, recover and move forward. It also lists fixes that have already been made.

Since the sexual harassment case ended, the nonprofit has adopted “significant” policies and procedures to improve compliance and to prohibit harassment, discrimination and retaliation, the order states. It has appointed two new board members and has a plan to replace all directors that served prior to April 2023 by the end of this year.

None of LaDuke’s family members still work for the nonprofit, and most of the staff has been replaced since she resigned, according to the petition. Additional steps taken by Honor the Earth include hiring lawyers with experience in counseling nonprofits on staying in compliance with charities laws, and hiring a human resources consultant. Honor the Earth discussed additional steps it has taken online at honorearth.org/news.

If the nonprofit misuses funds or violates the governance rules, the Attorney General’s Office can request a court order for it to dissolve, issue fines or ban it from operating in Minnesota. One requirement listed is that the nonprofit must fully separate from Anishinaabe Agricultural Institute and Akiing 8th Fire, which LaDuke founded and with whom Honor the Earth partnered before 2023.