This Week at First Nations: October 7, 2022
Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day
At First Nations, we honor Indigenous ways of life, resiliency, ingenuity, tradition, and culture every day and with every opportunity. In line with this, on Monday our offices will be closed for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to celebrate the cultures and contributions of Native peoples. Join us in remembering and honoring the role of Indigenous people in our lives and throughout the world. Here is a list of Indigenous Peoples’ Day events happening across the country:
Now Accepting Applications for Native Youth and Culture Fund
The 2022 application window for funding is now open for Native-led nonprofits and organizations that provide youth opportunities that support the perpetuation of traditional knowledge, spirituality and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge systems. First Nations will award 15 to 18 one-year grants between $5,000 and $20,000 to use for general operating support or to build organizational/programmatic capacity, increase sustainability, or lead specific youth project-focused activities.
Apply here by November 10, 2022. Questions about the application process? Attend the Q&A Webinar, October 18, 2022, at 11 am MT. Learn more here.
‘Fighting to Reclaim Native Foodways’ Event Raises Awareness
Last week, First Nations staff joined other Native food sovereignty advocates at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center to share knowledge of the importance of Native food systems. Hosted by the Indigenous Communities Engagement Group, an employee resource committee at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the event featured hors d’oeuvres and refreshments by Indigenous chefs and a viewing of our award-winning documentary GATHER. First Nations’ President and CEO Mike Roberts also led a panel discussion with Indigenous leaders, including First Nations’ A-dae Romero-Briones, who leads our Nourishing Native Foods & Health program.
$pending Frenzy Gives Students Financial Skills
The $pending Frenzy financial skills simulation was presented last month for more than 50 students at Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer High School, and St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana. The program was created by First Nations and is presented nationwide with assistance from FINRA Investor Education Foundation. First Nations’ consultant Shawn Spruce shared with Four Points Press coverage of the event, which organizers described as a great three days of financial skill building. Read more!
Photo credit Four Points Press, Tommy Robinson
Reminder: Apply Now for Food & Agriculture Scholarship
To encourage more Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian college students to enter agriculture and food systems fields so that they can better assist their communities, First Nations will award 20 to 25 $1,000 to $1,500 scholarships to Native college students majoring in agriculture and agriculture-related fields. The application window for scholarships for the 2022-2023 academic year is now open. Apply here by October 18, 2022.
Reminder: Apply Now for Funding to Support Native Language Immersion Programs
First Nations is now accepting grant applications to strengthen Native language immersion education programs that preserve Indigenous languages and cultures throughout the U.S. Through our Native Language Immersion Initiative, First Nations will award 6 to 10 grants ranging from $45,000 to $75,000 to Native-controlled nonprofit organizations and tribal government programs actively supporting Native language immersion programs.
Apply here by November 2, 2022. Questions about the application process? Attend the next Q&A webinar session, October 20.
Join Tribes in Cleaning Waterways and Honoring Long Man October 19
The Cherokees have always viewed the river as “Long Man (Ganvhidv Asgaya),” whose head lay in the mountains and the feet in the sea. On October 19, 2022, organizers working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will bring people together to Honor Long Man by joining in festivities and caring for the lands and rivers of the Qualla Boundary. People are invited to come to the event or devote some time to cleaning up waterways near them.
Tribes are also encouraged to host their own Honoring Long Man celebrations on the rivers of their lands and share photos of river cleanups and river connections. Add to the growing collection here.
Ancestral Land in Butte Creek Canyon Returned to the Mechoopda Tribe
First Nations is happy to share that the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria and Chico State Enterprises completed a landmark agreement that returns the 93 acres of the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve back to the tribe. As reported by Chico State Today, the agreement is the first of its kind in California. John Donnelly, executive director of the California Wildlife Conservation Board, acknowledged that the tribe is uniquely qualified to improve and manage the preserve and that its sophisticated restorative land management practices will help create a healthy ecosystem that is resilient, fire-adaptive, and beneficial to the entire community. First Nations is honored to support other related projects of Mechoopda Indian Tribe through our California Tribal Fund.
Photo Credit California State University, Chico, Jason Halley, University Photographer
Registration Open for Unlocking Our Full Economic Potential
Stakeholders who care about better research that can help tribes achieve their economic and social objectives are invited to the virtual 2022 Center for Indian Country Development Research Summit December 1 and 2, 2022. Themed Unlocking Our Full Economic Potential, the 2022 summit will feature panels of tribal leaders and federal policymakers discussing tribal sovereignty in research and data collection as well as opportunities to inform policy and fiscal decisions. Learn more and register here.