Okanogan Basketweavers Association
Omak, Washington
First Nations established the Native Arts Initiative (NAI) in 2014 to provide direct grantmaking, networking opportunities, and training and technical assistance (TTA) to Native-led arts and cultural hubs who are working to preserve and advance traditional Native arts through programming focused on supporting artists and intergenerational sharing of artistic skills and knowledge.
Under the NAI, First Nations provides awarded grantees with organizational and programmatic resources, including direct grants and technical assistance and training. Since 2014, First Nations has awarded more than $3.5 million in grant funds to a variety of eligible Native-controlled nonprofit organizations and tribal government programs under the NAI.
Okanogan Basketweavers Association
Native Arts Donor-Funded Campaign: 2023-2026
The purpose of this project is to utilize the traditional knowledge and skills of master weavers to increase the number of masters in the next generations who in turn, then can retain the traditional arts of the peoples indigenous to the area. The Okanogan Basketweavers mission states the importance of basketweavers learning how to properly gather their own weaving materials, care for them and process them so they then can pass that knowledge to the next generations. They will also learn about plant habitat, and speak to the traditional ways of caring for the lands.