Tag Archives: Longmont

Do You Know Elizabeth Peratrovich? You Should!

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For the second year in a row, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) will be closed on February 16, 2016, in honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. First Nations, headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, is likely the first entity outside of Alaska to recognize this as an annual holiday.

Elizabeth Jean Peratrovich (Tlingit), who died in 1958, was an important civil rights activist who worked on behalf of equality for Alaska Natives. In the 1940s, she was credited with advocacy that gained passage of the Alaska territory’s Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the very first anti-discrimination law in the United States. To quote her at the time: “I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of ‘savagery,’ would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them, of our Bill of Rights.” She was responding to earlier comments by a territorial senator who asked, “Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites, with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?”

In 1988 the Alaska Legislature established February 16 as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. First Nations President Michael Roberts (also Tlingit), who is from Alaska and related to Elizabeth, thinks Native organizations in the Lower 48 should also start recognizing this groundbreaking Native woman of national and even international significance.

According to the Anchorage School District, “Elizabeth Peratrovich Day provides an opportunity to remind the public of the invaluable contribution of this Native Alaskan leader who was an advocate for Native citizens and their rights. This courageous woman could not remain silent about injustice, prejudice and discrimination.” Further, in the school district’s board resolution of 2012, it was noted: “Her efforts came nearly 20 years before the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Because of her eloquent and courageous fight for justice for all, today’s Alaskans do not tolerate the blatant discrimination that once existed in our state.”

Back in the 1940s in Alaska, it was not uncommon to see “No Natives Allowed” signs at stores and public accommodations, or even “No dogs or Natives allowed.” But those were simply the most visible manifestations of pervasive discrimination against the original Alaskans. Learn more about Elizabeth Peratrovich online, or particularly on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Peratrovich or on the National Women’s History Museum site at https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/elizabeth-wanamaker-peratrovich/.

35 Years of History: A Look Back at Some Milestones

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In observing our 35th Anniversary during 2015, we’ve been taking a look back at some of our history. We’ve been sharing some of these historical tidbits over the course of this year. Here’s our third installment:

  • In 1986, First Nations testified before Congress on land, trust funds reform, and BIA asset management.
  • In 1987, the Umatilla Land Project begins. Based on the model established at Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, First Nations provides technical assistance for land consolidation efforts at other reservations.
  • In 1991, First Nations is a founding board member of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. That same year, First Nations initiates a series of tribal investment workshops.
  • In 1993, First Nations provides information that the U.S. Justice Department will rely on in bringing successful legal actions against two border town banks for their lending policies toward Native Americans.
  • In 1998, First Nations formed its Native Assets Research Center, consolidating the organization’s long concentration on research as an instrument of policy reform.
  • In 1999, First Nations created a program called International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP). Today, IFIP is a separate 501(c)(3) organization based in San Francisco, California.
  • In 2002, First Nations establishes its Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative, or NAFSI.
  • In 2003, First Nations launches its Native Youth and Culture Fund.
  • In 2013, First Nations acquires its own building at 2432 Main Street in Longmont, Colorado.
  • By mid-year 2015, First Nations had given 1,039 grants totaling $23.7 million to Native American projects and organizations in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territory American Samoa. (We announced our 1,000th-grant milestone with this press release on July 16.)

Shown at First Nations' 25th Anniversary event in 2005 are, L to R, First Nations President Mike Roberts, Peter and Jennifer Buffett of NoVo Foundation, and First Nations Founder Rebecca Adamson.

 

First Nations Hosts Training for Maine’s Wabanaki Women’s Coalition

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Left to right are Montoya Whiteman, Julia Walton (WWC board member), Susie Fink (WWC board member), Nancy Soctomah (WWC board member), Tonia Dana (WWC board member), Jane Root (WWC executive director), Whitney Kizer (First Nations consultant) and Lisa Yellow Eagle of First Nations

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) is a technical assistance provider for tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions nationwide. First Nations provides nonprofit capacity-building support for the tribal coalitions by strengthening the organizational capacity and program-management capabilities of the coalitions. We are proud to have hosted a recent financial management training for the Wabanaki Women’s Coalition at our office in Longmont, Colorado.

The Wabanaki Women’s Coalition, a Maine tribal coalition, became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in October 2013, and they were notified they were a grantee of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in October 2014. Their mission is to increase the capacity of tribal communities to respond to domestic and sexual violence and influence tribal, national and regional systems to increase awareness, safety, justice and healing for all our relations.

Four board members and the executive director traveled to Colorado for a Financial Management Training to assist them in learning the basics of QuickBooks financial management software. They also received training on the roles of a nonprofit board of directors regarding fiscal operations; budgeting; and they reviewed their draft policies and procedures with First Nations Senior Program Officer Montoya Whiteman and First Nations consultant Whitney Kizer to gain insight and advice on those draft policies.

First Nations enjoyed hosting the Wabanaki Women’s Coalition to illuminate the nonprofit’s current success while looking ahead to their budding future.

By Lisa Yellow Eagle, First Nations Program Officer

Open House Celebrates Permanent Home of First Nations

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Some of First Nations' staff members at the Open House. L to R are Montoya Whiteman, Marsha Whiting and Lisa Yellow Eagle

On Sept. 6, nearly 100 people came together to celebrate First Nations Development Institute’s new permanent home and office building in Longmont, Colorado.  The occasion was an open house featuring good food, friends, supporters and, of course, lots of fun.

First Nations actually moved into the existing building in the north part of Longmont back on April 26, but it wasn’t until early September that we were ready and able to pause and celebrate.  We had to get everything situated and make a few updates and repairs (and we’ll continue to make improvements in the future), plus we had to do our regular work in the meantime.

John Emhoolah Jr. (Kiowa and Arapaho) offers his song

Some of the attendees included Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs and other local elected officials, state officials, representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, area business people, the professional and business tenants in our building, some of the funders, foundations and individual donors who help sustain us, and numerous representatives from other American Indian organizations in Colorado and New Mexico such as the Native American Rights Fund, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the Notah Begay III Foundation, the American Indian College Fund, the Denver Indian Center, and Native American Bank.  We even had a few of our Facebook friends and Twitter followers drop by for the event.

Besides ample and delicious food and the chance to reconnect with many friends and professional Native connections, the highlights of the observance were remarks and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by First Nations President Michael Roberts (Tlingit), and a Kiowa song and blessing by noted Colorado Indian leader John Emhoolah Jr. (Kiowa and Arapaho).  Then we celebrated with cake!

John EchoHawk, left, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, chats with First Nations President Mike Roberts

We’re planning to call our building the “First Nations Professional Building.” It’s located at 2432 Main Street in Longmont, Colorado.

As the chairman of our board of directors, B. Thomas Vigil (Jicarilla Apache/Jemez Pueblo), noted in our recent annual report, “First Nations purchased its own headquarters building after years of leasing space and dealing with seemingly endless rent increases. It became obvious that First Nations needed to seize control of its own physical space. The building is now a key asset of the organization, providing operational space as well as rental income from other tenants. I believe it’s a sign of the continuing growth and maturity of the organization, and is testament to its growing presence, impact and credibility in Native communities.”

A Sign of the Times?

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First Nations Development Institute moved into its new building in Longmont, Colorado, at the end of April 2013.  We’re pretty much settled in, but still doing some fine-tuning and minor rearranging.

And finally — on July 10 — we got our new street sign installed, after obtaining city permits, getting bids from vendors, discussing the project with some of our building tenants, and working with our graphic designer.  The new signboard includes smaller signs for some of our tenants as well as our sister organization, which is First Nations Oweesta Corporation.

We think it’s a sign of the times … that we’ve settled into our permanent home, and that we continue to grow and expand our mission of strengthening Native American communities and economies.