Updates on the Joint “Urban Native Project”

Posted on November 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Representatives from the Native American Youth and Family Center (Portland, Oregon), Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties (Buffalo, New York), Little Earth of United Tribes (Minneapolis, Minnesota), the Chief Seattle Club and the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC) (both in Seattle, Washington) met in Denver, Colorado, Oct. 20-21, 2015, to tap into the experience of nonprofit leaders, as part of First Nations Development Institute’s “Strengthening Tribal & Community Institutions” focus area and, specifically, the Urban Native Project.

Through a series of cohort meetings, participants utilize diverse areas of learning, build their professional networks, and gain valuable insights by talking with peers about the ways they have tackled particular challenges at their organizations. These meetings are sponsored by the Comcast Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. The meetings enable leaders to step back from the pressures of their jobs and to look at the big picture, learn new skills, strategize policy or action, leverage opportunities, and reflect on the unique perspectives of their organizations and their programs.

First Nations Senior Program Officer Montoya Whiteman and NUIFC Executive Director Janeen Comenote head up the Urban Native Project, which is a joint effort between First Nations and NUIFC.

Separately, on Nov. 9, 2015, the two organizations announced the newly-selected grantees for the 2015-2016 cycle, which is the third year of the Urban Native Project. Under the effort, First Nations and NUIFC, as partners, are working to build the capacity and effectiveness of American Indian and/or Alaska Native nonprofit organizations by providing project funding, training and technical assistance.

The project is made possible through a grant made to First Nations by The Kresge Foundation. It aims to help organizations that work with some of the estimated 78 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives who live off reservations or away from tribal villages, and who reflect some of the most disproportionately low social and economic standards in the urban areas in which they reside. Urban Indian organizations are an important support to Native families and individuals, providing cultural linkages as well as a hub for accessing essential human services.

The four projects selected for the 2015-2016 period are:

American Indian Child Resource Center, Oakland, California, $40,000, for the “Positive American Indian Directions” (PAID) program, which is an asset-building and self-sufficiency effort for urban Native youth. The target population is “disconnected” (out-of-school, out-of-work, and not served by any other agency) Native youth living in Oakland and surrounding areas, ages 14-21.
American Indian OIC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, $40,000, for the “Integrated Community Placement Project” that seeks to reduce unemployment for the Native community living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area by training students for specific occupations such as web designer/developer, computer support specialist, and administrative professional, and providing related apprenticeships in the agency’s own social enterprises.
Hawaiian Community Assets, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, $40,000, for the “Building Stability in Housing” project. The goal of the Building Stability in Housing project is to establish an integrated asset-building system within five Native Hawaiian-controlled nonprofit organizations and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that will increase access to affordable housing for Native Hawaiians residing in urban trust lands.
Little Earth of United Tribes, Minneapolis, Minnesota, $20,000, for a project to reform its corporate and governance structure in order to better support its mission through asset-based community development. By developing board and governance policies and improving its organizational structure, Little Earth intends to encourage the growth and expansion of the organization in a coordinated and integrated manner.

Largest $pending Frenzy Ever Held Is at Omak High School

Posted on May 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

In April 2015, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) in partnership with the Colville Tribes Enrollment Program and Omak High School in Omak, Washington, offered the largest $pending Frenzy financial simulation to date. Over the course of two days and six events, the entire student body of 517 students at Omak High School, situated adjacent to the Colville Reservation, participated in the financial reality fair.

The original concept for the $pending Frenzy reality fair was created by First Nations Development Institute and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to offer youth with large impending minor’s trust payments an opportunity to practice handling a substantial lump sum of money and spending it wisely. In the simulation, high school students are given $40,000 in fake money and are asked to make spending decisions to purchase a car, a house, groceries and other items. Students can practice visiting a bank to cash their check and deposit a share of their money into savings, and are also given the opportunity to learn about investing a portion of their money. The $pending Frenzy at Omak High School even featured a legal booth run with assistance from Colville Tribes Attorney Jamie Edmonds.

Since the first pilot of the $pending Frenzy with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians youth in 2010, the financial simulation has been offered about two dozen times in 10 different states and 13 unique communities across the country. In total, more than 1,200 Native youth have participated in the event and learned to better manage their money. The program has caught fire in 2015, with seven $pending Frenzy events already in the books, including three in the month of April.

First Nations is grateful for the support of Raylene Swan and Margie Hutchinson of the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians in helping the $pending Frenzy reach a growing number of tribal communities and Native youth across the nation. To meet the increasing demand to offer the financial reality fair, First Nations is in the process of developing a $pending Frenzy workshop kit. The full workshop kit will be available for sale and will contain everything a facilitator needs to organize and run a $pending Frenzy event – including instructions, booth materials, play money, budgeting cards, and $pending Frenzy merchandise. Stay tuned for news on the release of the $pending Frenzy kit!

By Benjamin Marks, First Nations Senior Research Officer

Registration Now Open for L.E.A.D. Conference

Posted on July 14, 2014 by rblauvelt

First Nations Development Institute will hold its 19th Annual L.E.A.D. Institute Conference and pre-sessions September 24 to September 26, 2014, at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Tulalip, Washington. Registration is now open at https://www.regonline.com/2014-lead. Attendance is limited, so sign up soon to ensure a spot at the event.

For nearly 35 years, First Nations has worked with Native nations and organizations to strengthen American Indian economies, which supports healthy Native communities. As an extension of this mission, the L.E.A.D. conference is designed to help emerging and existing leaders in Indian Country network, share ideas and learn new skills related to asset-building.

The L.E.A.D. Institute Conference was originally created as a major component of First Nations’ innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development (L.E.A.D.) fellowship program, which is designed to provide training, mentorship and networking opportunities to emerging and existing Native American nonprofit professionals.

Who should attend?

Native American nonprofit professionals
Native Americans interested in launching or expanding nonprofit and/or philanthropic organizations
Tribal leaders or those who work in tribal organizations
Anyone interested in Native American nonprofits and philanthropy
Anyone interested in Native American food sovereignty
Tribal economic development professionals

Final Meeting Held for 4 Tribes in Asset-Building Project

Posted on May 19, 2014 by rblauvelt

Representatives from all project partners at the final meeting, plus First Nations President Michael Roberts (far left) and First Nations Program Officer Lisa Yellow Eagle (fourth from right, back row)

On May 2, 2014, First Nations brought representatives from the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Hopi Education Endowment Fund (Arizona), the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Minnesota) and the Spokane Tribe of Indians (Washington) together in Denver, Colorado, for a final meeting of the Native Asset-Building Partnership Project.

The project was meant to strengthen tribal and Native institutions through peer learning and model development that will help improve control and management of assets for the Oneida Tribe and the Mille Lacs Band. First Nations found tribal mentors to help the Oneida and Mille Lacs design programs that will support, educate and strengthen the capacity of the youth of each tribe.

The Hopi Education Endowment Fund (HEEF) is an Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7871 program that raises funds for Hopi students’ education. This means HEEF is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as being a division of a tribal government that can receive tax-deductible donations. HEEF has mentored the Oneida on designing and implementing an IRC Section 7871 program. Oneida has chosen to put together a framework for an Oneida Youth Leadership Institute to encourage, empower and provide leadership training to tribal youth. Oneida has chosen to use the IRC Section 7871 designation rather than the 501(c)(3) designation because it supports tribal sovereignty while still allowing donations to be tax-deductible.

The Spokane Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources has conducted a summer youth and mentorship program for more than a decade. The department incorporates traditions and culture into its summer programs and learning camps to teach youth how their ancestors used science to fish, hunt, build housing, etc. The department mentored the Mille Lacs on designing and implementing a summer youth program in Minnesota. The Mille Lacs designed a curriculum for high school students as extra-curricular science classes that will incorporate traditions and culture. The Mille Lacs also will implement a summer internship program at its Department of Natural Resources during June 2014. This will allow a tribal youth to work with the staff and learn about the different programs within the department as well as learning about career opportunities.

At the final meeting, all partners presented on their projects to First Nations and to the other partners involved in the project. First Nations also helped the two partnerships come up with action plans for the next year (after the grant is complete). The meeting was a success and the two projects developed more definite plans that will help them implement their projects in the upcoming months.

By Lisa Yellow Eagle, First Nations Program Officer

Supporting Tribe’s Quest for Youth Degrees & Jobs

Posted on November 20, 2013 by rblauvelt

At the Spokane reservation in November are, L to R, Scott Hansen (Mille Lacs), Katie Eaton (Spokane), Andrew Boyd (Mille Lacs), Brian Crossley (Spokane), Warren Seyler (Spokane) and Brent Nichols (Spokane).

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) has given a grant to support the strengthening of tribal and Native institutions through peer learning and model development, which will, in turn, improve control and management of assets for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. The Native Asset-Building Partnership Project has paired up the natural resources departments of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

The Mille Lacs Band’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been partnered with a mentor, the Spokane Indian Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Mille Lacs DNR wants to implement a summer internship and mentorship program for tribal youth. There is a low graduation rate from college and little knowledge of the many tribal departments that offer employment. The ultimate goal is for tribal youth to gain interest in the environmental, scientific and natural resources fields, to attend college and to study those fields. The final and ultimate goal is for the tribal youth to return to the Mille Lacs DNR for employment.

The Spokane Tribe’s DNR has a summer youth mentorship and internship program in place. The program has been in operation for more than a decade. The Spokane Tribe’s DNR incorporates culture and traditions into their summer internship and summer learning camps in order to teach their youth how their ancestors used science to fish, hunt, build housing and achieve other goals. They have been developing their program through the years and are very willing to share that knowledge with the Mille Lacs Band.

The first in-person meeting was hosted by the Mille Lacs Band at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, Minnesota, in August 2013. The Spokane Tribe presented on their summer internship and mentorship program. Specifically, they brought a summer intern with them to present. She described how the summer internship program is run, how many weeks each student dedicates to each program, and the outreach the tribes conducts to recruit interns. She also presented on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) summer programs for the younger kids, 4th to 6th grade. This presentation was part of her internship requirement of learning to speak in public. The Spokane Tribe’s DNR also shared information on the history of the tribe to familiarize the Mille Lacs Band with the culture and tradition of the Spokane Tribe. The Mille Lacs Band’s DNR staff was able to ask in-depth questions about the internship program as well as learn about their mentor’s cultures, traditions and history.

At the beginning of November 2013, the second in-person meeting was hosted by the Spokane Tribe in Wellpinit, Washington. The Spokane Tribe’s DNR brought in their partner, the University of Idaho, to present on the Summer Learning Camp and the STEM Curriculum Development. The university has partnered with the tribe to help develop the curriculum. The tribe provides the culture, tradition and historical knowledge that they want incorporated into the curriculum. Further presentations included staff members from each DNR program discussing the impacts of the internship program and sharing best practices from their unique and individual points of view. During this meeting, the Mille Lacs Band shared information on their history, culture and traditions.

The face-to-face meetings are a critical way to build trust between the two tribes, to share tribal culture and tradition, and a way to learn the critical knowledge that is needed to help the mentee tribe reach their goal. Helping tribal youth see the value of college and learn about employment opportunities with their own tribe is a great way to lower the tribal unemployment rate, to build the knowledge base of tribal youth, provide opportunities for the youth, and to build up tribal sovereignty and independence.

The First Nations Native Asset-Building Partnership Project is supported by the Otto Bremer Foundation and The Nathan Cummings Foundation.

By Lisa Yellow Eagle, First Nations Program Officer

First Nations Supports Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty

Posted on July 18, 2013 by rblauvelt

This issue of the Indian Giver e-newsletter spotlights one of First Nations’ Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI) grantees that is doing tremendous work on the Muckleshoot reservation in Bellingham, Washington – Northwest Indian College and its Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project (MFSP).

With a population of 3,884 American Indians living on or near the reservation, college created the MFSP with the aim to “build local and systemic infrastructure in the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to improve food systems, address food insecurity, and eliminate food deserts.” In its early stages, the project was able to create and implement many community activities, including cook’s camps, for-credit college courses on basic nutrition and traditional foods, seasonal food celebrations, community gardens, and educational trainings on traditional foods and medicines.

Now in the middle of its first year of being funded by First Nations, the MFSP is reaching for more goals in order to expand the program. With the success of the community gardens, the project is now trying to incorporate more of its locally grown foods into the seven tribal kitchens, attain better quality products from vendors, develop a “menu development toolkit,” and create more educational events for the community.

Right now the program is working on its latest initiatives through surveys, consultation and planning. It has been challenging for the seven community kitchens, largely because each of them faces “unique barriers to making meals on a daily basis.” Additionally, with their location, it is often difficult getting deliveries of fresh products.

Establishing and growing the program has been no easy feat, and the coordinators have often had to face the reality that, sometimes, plans are not always easily translated into reality. However, they have seen progress, such as the elders of the communities benefiting from improved diets because of the gardening projects, watching community participation in the effort increase significantly, and a general relearning of cultural knowledge. Though they have run into some challenges, they are persistent and keep the project moving forward.

It has been well worth their efforts. According to Miguel Hernandez of Northwest Indian College, “After speaking with some elders and explaining to them about the project, they had mentioned to me, ‘this work is a response to the ancestors’ prayers.’ After hearing this from an elder, it makes me realize how important people from the community think this work is and how the project affects them. We try to keep these things in mind when things get difficult or energy is low.”

By Katy Gorman, First Nations/Ogallala Commons Intern

Nooksack Youth Carry On Traditions

Posted on March 18, 2013 by rblauvelt

“We hope to see our youth become engaged in cultural activities that will become a life-long pursuit for them. We want to offer them traditions that will help them reconnect to their Nooksack heritage. Our youth, in particular, need another avenue to step away from unhealthy behaviors and addictions. We need to mentor tomorrow’s leaders and we need to equip them in our ways so that they can lead future generations.” ~ George Swanaset, Jr. — Director/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Nooksack Indian Tribe

During 2012, the Nooksack Indian Tribe based in Deming, Washington, was awarded a $20,000 grant under First Nations’ Native Youth and Culture Fund, which is part of our effort to strengthen Native American nonprofit organizations. In particular, the fund looks for projects that focus on youth and incorporate culture and tradition. They can include efforts to preserve, strengthen or renew cultural and spiritual practices, beliefs, values and languages, or which engage both youth and elders in activities designed to share or document traditional knowledge, or increasing the leadership capacity of tribal youth.

The funds support the renewal of Nooksack traditions through intergenerational activities with youth. Through the grant, numerous tribal youth ages 14 to 19 are engaging in three workshops that are intended to fuse Native traditions with the community. The workshops are canoe building, net making, and cultural awareness. The cultural awareness workshop also involves intergenerational Nooksack members, and includes activities such as traditional games, drumming, singing, talking circles and healing events.

“The canoe-building and net-making workshops are specific to our youth, as these skills need to be passed down to this generation in order for them to be sustained for future Nooksacks.” George noted. “Traditional Native war canoes and salmon-netting are a part of our cultural identity and build leadership. Today, many tribes in the Pacific Northwest race against each other in these canoes in annual races, and we join them for this important reconnection to the past. We see much value in performing this series of workshops for the extension of cultural preservation and awareness within the Nooksack tribal community.”

And while the youngsters learned – and are learning – much from the workshops and from construction of two canoes, there was a lot more going on in the background. The effort bolstered the future success and well-being of the Nooksack people and their community by preserving traditions and providing mentoring and leadership skills to the youth group.

The Nooksack Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of 2,000. Its culture is preserved through multiple disciplines including language instruction, canoe journeys, elder programs and a variety of cultural events.

By Montoya Whiteman, Senior Program Officer