Awarded Grants

Program Opportunity Statement (Recommended 300 words or less) The Oceti Sakowin Writers Society began with retreats at the Oak Lake Field Station near the Minnesota border in Brookings County, SD. When we became a Native-run, Native-led 501(c)3 the staff and leadership envisioned moving the retreat around to the communities and reservations of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate. This has provided a logistical challenge for an organization still building staffing and organizational capacity. With this grant, we would be able to research and build relationships with new venues allowing us to do a rotation of He Sapa, Mni Sose and further East. Access to the land is the primary aspect, however this is gatekept by settler colonial institutions and Western capitalism. Money for staffing, venue deposits, fundraising and awareness would go along way in ensuring the sustainability of our annual retreat for Oceti Sakowin writers.

Program Opportunity Statement (Recommended 300 words or less) The Cahuilla Language and Archival Collection Preservation Project aims to further the goals of the current archival project and language preservation initiatives at Malki Museum. Over the last 5 years we have aimed to focus on furthering the Cahuilla Language learning and programs that are taking place hosted at Malki Museum. This has come in the way of teachers taking various language classes to improve their knowledge of the Cahuilla Language. We have also been able to focus on hosting smaller numbers of enrollment classes over the 2022-2023 years to serve the Morongo Band of Mission Indians tribal members and their families. This funding will assist in the research and purchase of a transcription program. It will also assist in the hiring of a contracted employee to input and develop the transcription program to our needs. We would like to begin transcribing into readable text several historical recordings that we have in our collection at Malki Museum. We would also like to purchase an additional a manual projector to assist in future Cahuilla language classes. The second goal within this project is the further development of our Archive and Collection Capacity Building initiative that we have been working on during 2020-2023 as part of a 5 year plan developed with our Executive Board Members and staff. With previous funding from First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) we were able to hire two consultants to help plan for a new archive and library facility at Malki Museum. This information has been developed into a report of findings that detail: the layout, budget, professional contacts, and fundraising ideas for the project. This report was completed between July 6, 2023 and August 8, 2023. It is currently under review by our Executive Board Members and staff. The hiring of an archival professional through this round of grant funding from FNDI will assist in preparing our collection for moving into a new building when the building project is completed (projected to be completed in 2025-2026). The contracted employee will work to clean, organize, label, and rehouse the collection of artifacts, photographs, documents, and books that are housed at the museum. With these tasks completed the collection will not only be up to date in its storage systems but will also be ready for temporary housing and for movement into the new archival facility.

Program Opportunity Statement (Recommended 300 words or less) Research was gathered from community surveys and qualitative interviews to create a Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians Strategic Prevention Plan in 2020. This plan was researched and written by tribal members who have either themselves or have family members that have experienced being at-risk youth and the consequences. These individuals have drawn upon their family and community experience to contribute to the development of this Tribal data. This research guided the creation of a strategic prevention plan where strategies and programs were identified that would increase the protective factors of our youth and families. One youth shared, ‘Bringing our elders, aunties, uncles, parents, and youth together will increase our strength in family and community.’ A community member shared, ‘the bottom line is healing. Recognizing that as we become healthier, healing is still necessary. Communication and coming together is still necessary.’ This grant provides the opportunity for our local community members, elders and community adults, to be recognized as cultural knowledge experts in a society where older humans are often discounted. It provides the opportunity for an interchange of encouragement and empowerment to be shared amongst the community. This will provide strength as relationship bonds are created and strengthened.

This project will support the first year of the Hupa Language Immersion Nest, which will create a new generation of Hupa Language speakers.