Current Issue

March 2023

Highlights from First Nations, Gratitude for You

Dear Friends,

We are happy to bring you the first Indian Giver quarterly newsletter of the new year. We have so many stories to tell and people to acknowledge, like you.

We hope you will enjoy reading about one of our 2022 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellows, and in honor of Women’s History Month, we present all the other amazing women of this prestigious fellowship who have come before and after her. This issue also features an update on two community partners, the Stronghold Society and the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island.

Thank you for your interest in First Nations. Enjoy the warmer weather, and happy spring!

The March 2023 Indian Giver features:

Stronghold Society Ramps Up Youth Empowerment – The Stronghold Society is on a mission to inspire creativity, confidence, hope, and ambition in Native youth. How? Through skateboarding and arts programs. To date, it has built two state-of-the-art skate parks on the Pine Ridge Reservation, with plans for many more across Indian Country.

Regional Dialogues On the Path to Climate Justice — First Nations has been collaborating with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) on a series of climate summits and convenings. Watch the video that captures the stories and perspectives of some of the 500 participants from one of the latest events.

Restoring Health to the Bering Sea ─ Native fishermen from the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island make a living catching halibut in the Bering Sea, but they are competing with large-scale industrial fishing. With First Nations’ help, the tribe is providing more equitable access for fishermen by bringing more Indigenous voices and knowledge to the fishery management process.

Plus:

Knowledge Makers, Knowledge Sharers ─ When she was 22, Jessa Rae Growing Thunder (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation) had a dream about a porcupine that led her to traditional porcupine quillwork ─ a rare Indigenous art form using dyed porcupine quills to embellish clothing, bags, and other items. The Luce fellow’s “heart-work” involves promoting and preserving natural materials associated with this traditional quillwork.

Meet All the Amazing Women of the Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship! In honor of Women’s History Month, First Nations proudly presents all the strong, inspiring women who were awarded Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowships since the program first launched in collaboration with the Henry Luce Foundation in 2019. Access the full list here.

Donor Spotlight: THANK YOU to Supporters of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund ─ First Nations thanks the more than 5,560 supporters who donated to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund since its launch in 2020. To date, it has raised more than $7 million in gifts and contributions that have been distributed directly to Native communities.

Read the full issue here.