This Week at First Nations: March 4, 2022

In Case You Missed It: First Nations Awards Grants for Native Food Sovereignty

This week, we announced the 2021-2022 grantees under our GATHER Food Sovereignty Grant Program. With this funding, each organization will be able to advance its work toward food sovereignty by investing in local Native food systems, leading to improved economies, health and community policies. The 32 Community Partners were chosen from over 108 applicants. Read more about the Community Partners here.

Note: Stay tuned for news on the upcoming 2022-2023 cycle!


Apply Now for Strengthening Native Programs & Feeding Families Grants

The application period for Round 2 of First Nations’ Strengthening Native Programs & Feeding Families Grants is now open. The grants are part of First Nations’ Food Pantry Initiative, which aims to sustain Native American communities, organizations, and programs addressing community needs with a particular focus on food insecurity. Through this second round of funding, First Nations expects to award 12 tribes or Native-run nonprofits or Native community groups, which are addressing food insecurity through food distribution, with grants averaging $10,000 each annually over four years. Learn more and apply by March 31, 2022.

Questions about applying? Register here for the grant application Q&A webinar, Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 2 pm MT.


New “Unpacking Jargon” Webinar on Conservation, Protected Areas, and Indigenous Homelands

First Nations’ Program Advisor Mary Adelzadeh opens this second webinar in the “Unpacking Jargon” series, which explores the ways the terms conservation and protected areas have been in conflict with practices of maintaining Indigenous people’s homelands, and how philanthropy might reconsider these terms and consider Indigenous words and understandings instead or alongside them.

Hear the conversation Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 10 am PT. Register here.

Miss part one of the series on Agroecology and Restorative Agriculture with First Nations’ A-dae Romero-Briones? Watch it here. 


‘Beyond Normal: Reimagining an America with Truly Universal Prosperity’

This week concludes the series “The Promise of Targeted Universalism: Community Leaders Respond,” presented by NPQ and Prosperity Now, with insights from Bernie Mazyck, president and CEO of the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development.

Bernie asserts that, after 245 years as a nation, the time has come to reimagine America. He describes how achieving this will require creating permanent systems that give people of color the ability to pursue prosperity. This means “addressing the equity gaps, one by one, until the principle of equal opportunity is matched by daily practice.” Further, reimagining America will call for a thorough audit across all systems, including organization, governance, financial health, and policies, programs and resources.

Read the full article here.


Join First Nations’ Marisa Page for “Shifting the Narrative”

This month, Development Officer Marisa Page is presenting a RENESAN class to talk about the origins of our country and the myths that have led to today’s realities. In “Shifting the Narrative: Uncovering the Suppressed Truth of Native Americans,” Marisa will address the stories surrounding Native Americans — from the vanishing Indian to the first Thanksgiving, to ancient aliens — to help change those narratives and make an intentional effort to provide a voice to Indigenous peoples.

The online class takes place March 17 and 24, 2022, 1 to 3 pm. Price: $40. Register here.


Haven’t Seen GATHER? Join the Watch Party with First Nations’ A-dae Romero-Briones

Food Tank, Huston-Tillotson University, and Driscoll are presenting Food Viewing Parties at SXSW 2022. On Monday, March 14, 2022, at 2:30 pm CT, watch the First Nations-produced documentary GATHER and tune in for a panel discussion with First Nations’ A-dae Romero-Briones, film director Sanjay Rawal, and Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank.

This event is free and open to the public with registration, both in-person in Austin, and virtually. Learn more and register here.


Speakers Announced for “Beefing Up the Southwest” Webinar

Reminder: The final installment of the Protein Supply Chain Webinar Series is Wednesday, March 9, 2022, 12 to 1 pm MT. Hear from Manny Encinias, Ph.D., of Trilogy Beef Community, LLC, and Darrell and Shaun Tsabetsaye, of Major Market Inc., who will share their experiences in providing support to local ranchers, working with community retailers, training local butchers, and educating consumers.

Learn more about “Increasing Meat Access in New Mexican Native Communities.” Register here.


Save the Date — March 18, 2022: Next Native Farm to School Webinar

First Nations’ Native Farm to School Webinar Series continues this month with “Sicangu Food Sovereignty and Farm-to-School Through Lakota Immersion.” In this webinar, Sicangu Food Sovereignty Director Matte Wilson and Lakota Foods Coordinator Foster Cournoyer Hogan will highlight their work in the areas of food sovereignty and farm to school programming with Rosebud’s first Lakota Immersion School.

Watch for more details and register here.


Gimiwan Dustin Burnette, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Keeping the Ojibwe Language Alive – Luce Fellow Collaborates for Language Education

A special report at Indian Country Today highlights the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Immersion School on the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation in northwestern Wisconsin, as well as the work of author, speaker and professor Anton Treuer. Treuer’s efforts to keep the language alive include ongoing classes at Bemidji State University and a YouTube playlist. He is also working on a set of children’s books and a collection of Rosetta Stone lessons, with the help of First Nations’ 2021 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow Gimiwan Dustin Burnette, who is also on the board of the Waadookodaading school. Read the full article here.


More Luce Knowledge Makers in the News: Fellow Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu  

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, also of cohort 2 of the Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship, and partners are providing an online sneak peak of their documentary, The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu tonight, March 4, at the Smithsonian’s Mother Tongue Film Festival.

The film chronicles the mistreatment of four stones on Waikiki Beach meant to honor four legendary mahu, individuals of dual male and female spirit who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii long ago. The film ponders questions about how historical wrongs can be made right. Watch it here.

The official world premiere will be at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu on June 17, 2022.


Rematriation: A Novel Step in Tackling Food Insecurity in Indian Country

Citing First Nations’ reports that most reservations are “food deserts,” where fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods are in short supply, Popular Science highlights a new food movement called “rematriation” that has developed within Tribal communities. To build more food security and preserve traditional foods, Indigenous farmers and seed keepers are gathering long-lost heirloom plants from museums and seed banks and returning or “rematriating” them with their original Tribal stewards. As one seed farmer says about the rematriation movement, “We all deserve to be reconnected with our food.”


Call to Philanthropy: Prioritize Native-Led Solutions

First Nations is happy to share this Center for Effective Philanthropy blog post by Carly Bad Heart Bull, J.D., executive director of Native Ways Federation. In it, Carly describes a known truth: Indigenous communities are not receiving the support they need, and Native-led organizations have the solutions to address the issues our communities are facing. She calls on foundations to engage directly with Native-controlled nonprofits, trust that they have the expertise to contribute fully to every funding conversation concerning Indigenous issues, and support systemic change efforts that are led and guided by Native people. Read the full blog post here.