Public Interest Research Groups, or PIRGs, are non-profit organizations that advocate for social and environmental justice, and employ grassroots activism to affect policy change. Historically, PIRGs have been tied to college and university campuses, and thus have been rooted in setter institutions. However, in recent years, PIRGs have formed alliances and coalitions with Indigenous groups and Indigenous PRIG members to take decolonized approaches to building social justice movements and influencing public policy.
Examples of PIRGs working in alliance with Indigenous communities include the Waterloo PIRG Grand River Indigenous Solidarity Group, Vancouver PIRG’s territory acknowledgement and tar sands work, Simon Fraser PIRG’S Truth-Telling and Decolonization Work, and more. As a whole network, PIRGs have taken the initiative to work to decolonize social justice movements
