Tag Archives: Native American

Video Explores Changing Landscape of Native Food Sources

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First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) recently posted a new video on its YouTube Channel titled “Traditional Food Systems: The Changing Landscape of Native American Food Sources” at this link as part of our Native American food security effort that was underwritten by AARP Foundation.

The video features insights from elders and others involved in food-systems work at three pueblos in New Mexico: Cochiti, Nambé and Santo Domingo. In particular, it asks elders to describe what the food systems were like in the pueblos back when they were younger and how they have changed. Today, the goal is to reclaim control of local food systems for better health, nutrition, security and well-being.

The video was photographed and edited for First Nations by students and faculty in the Cinematic Arts & Technology Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts [IAIA] in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A second video from the project is completed and is now being finalized by IAIA.

Statistics indicate that approximately 12 percent of all Native Americans living in poverty are age 55 or older. Additionally, Native American seniors often suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related illnesses. Through First Nations, AARP Foundation has contributed significant funding toward improving the health and nutrition of Native American seniors.

AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is a charitable affiliate of AARP.

To watch this video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q3zrLdFbLE.  You’ll also find numerous other videos related to our work on our YouTube Channel.

New Grants Boost First Nations’ Reach and Mission

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Over the past few months, we have been extremely fortunate to receive two significant grants that will go far toward addressing critical issues in Indian Country.

“Forward Promise”

We were one of four organizations to receive grants of $415,000 each from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), in partnership with Public Interest Projects.  RWJF’s overall effort aims to promote opportunity and health for young men of color in rural communities in the South and Southwest, and it represent the nation’s largest private investment in rural young men of color to date. The program is known as the “Forward Promise” Catalyst Grants.

In First Nations’ case, we’ll use the funding for our “Advancing Positive Paths for Native American Boys and Young Men” project. It focuses on Native boys and young men in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. We’ll work with local partners on projects that address one or both of these areas of interest in a culturally relevant manner:

  • Early intervention strategies that focus on dropout prevention and increasing middle school retention and high school graduation rates.
  • Policy and programmatic efforts that elevate the importance of a caring adult to re-engage youth who may be disconnected from work or school.

 

We have already conducted an application period for grants under the program, and we are now evaluating the responses.  We expect to award four to eight grants ranging from $38,000 to $50,000 each.

“Simply put, Native boys and young men face big challenges in their rural and reservation settings, but these challenges – including poverty, lack of male leadership and involvement, rising drug and gang violence, and other risks that make success difficult – are not insurmountable,” noted Michael E. Roberts, First Nations president. “We are excited by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s investment in Native communities. It is exactly this type of investment that will allow these Native youth to move forward successfully with the support they need to become productive adults. By supporting organizations that address these issues with grants and our culturally-appropriate technical assistance and training, we’re positioning them for long-term success.”

“Catalyzing Community Giving”

We were awarded a $306,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan, under the foundation’s “Catalyzing Community Giving” effort. First Nations will use the grant to collaborate with smaller local or regional Native American nonprofit organizations to build their internal capacity while engaging new donors – both Native and non-Native – around those organizations’ efforts in building sustainable food systems and strengthening Native culture among youth.

First Nations will work with 10 organizations in its two-year pilot project, called “Nurturing Native Giving,” that is intended to strengthen their fundraising effectiveness, with a primary focus on individual giving. First Nations will create a web portal that profiles the 10 participants, highlights their work, and which allows convenient donations to each organization. Further, First Nations will assist them in publicizing and marketing the portal and all funds raised will be directed back to these communities.

We will also provide significant training and technical assistance to the participating organizations through coaching, webinars and an online learning community to share resources and build the group’s collective knowledge and best practices from their own organizations. We’ll also facilitate a dialogue between project participants and Native grantmaking tribes and other funding entities in hopes that mutually beneficial partnerships can be established. Three convenings and a white paper will summarize the learnings and policy recommendations that can lead to increased giving in Native communities and, ultimately, grow the body of knowledge about Native philanthropy.

“First Nations has long known that developing a strong and healthy nonprofit sector in Native communities is one key to economic diversification and service delivery,” Roberts said. “This program will expand the reach of local Native nonprofits and improve charitable giving to Native causes and communities.”

Strengthening Tribal Coalitions That Deal With Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence

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At the Strong Hearted Native Womens’ Coalition on the Rincon Reservation are, L to R, Keely Linton, Co-Director; Germaine Omish-Guachena, Executive Director; and Catherine Revelez, Office Manager

Since 2007, First Nations Development Institute has partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice through its Office on Violence Against Women Tribal Affairs Unit to provide critically-needed training and technical assistance to build the capacity of Native American nonprofit tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions in the United States.

In June 2013, First Nations visited the Rincon Reservation in order to provide one-on-one tailored training and technical assistance to a coalition in Southern California.  This training included presentations on best practices for financial management of a nonprofit organization, roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit board, and a refresher on the importance of bylaws and what information should go into a nonprofit’s bylaws.  All of the information provided will help this tribal coalition become a stronger nonprofit organization.  For the First Nations staff members involved, it was a pleasure to work with the coalition staff and board members and learn some history of the tribes in the area.

A second training was provided, also in June 2013, to an emerging tribal coalition in Maine.  First Nations assisted this emerging coalition through the steps to legally incorporating as a nonprofit corporation.  This training was used to draft articles of incorporation and vision and mission statements, identify key components of the organization’s bylaws, and, last but not least, we helped the group through the IRS Form 1023 in order to demystify the incorporation application process.  This training provided a forum to the group to have their questions answered and to further their goal of becoming a nonprofit organization to fight violence against women. The meeting took place in Bar Harbor, Maine, at the Abbe Museum, which contains exhibits focused on the Maine tribes.  It was the perfect location to learn about the history and the contemporary lives of the Wabanaki people, as well as provide direction and distinct purpose to their activities.

The tribal coalitions increase awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault against Native American and Alaska Native women.  First Nations is honored to support the coalitions’ work through training and technical assistance.  It is always an honor to meet these strong women who are dedicated to making a difference in Indian Country.

By Lisa Yellow Eagle, First Nations Program Officer

The Maine group at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor are, L to R, Tiffany Hammer, Consultant; Lisa Yellow Eagle of First Nations; Jane Root; Tonia Dana; and Nancy Soctomah. Not shown is Julia Walton.

VITA is Vital to Native American Communities

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Part of First Nations’ mission is to provide financial education for Native American communities so that people can save, invest, prosper, and regain control of their assets. The goal is to help people learn to avoid financial pitfalls such as predatory lending practices that especially prey on American Indian people.  As part of this effort, we recently completed a “how to” manual that provides instruction on how Native and rural communities can start a VITA site, or a “Voluntary Income Tax Assistance” program.

The publication is titled Tax Time Savings for Native Communities: Ten Best Practices for Effective Native VITA Programs. In compiling the report, we interviewed five model programs, and then captured lessons learned and best practices.  We were supported in this work by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.  The publication can be found in the First Nations Knowledge Center at this link.

Native VITA sites provide free income tax preparation services to tribal members living on reservations and in rural communities. These sites reduce the cost of tax preparation for low-income families and help them avoid expensive products such as high-cost loans against tax refunds. VITA programs also help tax filers access the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other credits. The EITC is a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income individuals and families with children. Unfortunately, millions of EITC dollars go unclaimed each year, especially in Native communities. In 2007, First Nations estimated that in some Native communities as many as 70 percent of qualified tax filers failed to claim valuable EITC refunds.

Most low- to moderate-income individuals have few options available to them as they try to fulfill their legal obligation to file their federal tax returns each year. Many turn to high-cost tax-preparation services that may encourage filers to take out expensive loans against tax refunds. Tax filers who qualify for the EITC use these high-cost tax-preparation services and loans at a higher rate than those who do not qualify, which means that they are more likely to lose a portion of their refund to unscrupulous or overpriced tax preparers. In an attempt to overcome these challenges, we created this report to encourage tribes, tribally-based organizations and other Native leaders to implement VITA sites in their communities and persuade Native tax filers to take advantage of the EITC.

Most rural or reservation-based Native VITA sites, unlike urban VITA sites, face a unique set of challenges. The geographic isolation, low volunteer retention rates, economically distressed communities, and overall distrust of the federal government among many Native Americans can limit the success of traditional VITA site models (models developed by the IRS). In this report, we proposed some best practices designed to address these unique challenges by developing culturally-relevant strategies, structures, and activities for launching and expanding successful VITA sites in Native communities.

First Nations derived these best practices from surveys and in-depth interviews conducted with five successful Native VITA sites last year, including:

The lessons and methods learned from these five model programs will be valuable resources for tribes, tribally-based organizations, and others serving Native constituents who are dedicated to improving the economic condition of their communities.

Related to this effort, we also recently awarded grants for innovative VITA programs.  The recipients and grant amounts were:

First Nations believes that sharing information and models is an effective yet underutilized tool in Indian Country. We hope the report, and the information shared by these five organizations, will help other tribal leaders learn more about how VITA sites can help empower their communities.

By Sarah Dewees, Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs