On the Matter of Foundation Giving: Examining the Inequity of Private Philanthropy’s Investment in Native Communities

Native people are no longer willing to be the subjects of colonial patterns of community development. They are no longer letting outsiders define how Native communities can or should be developed, or frame Native communities in a deficit lens. Native people are saying loudly that they have their own solutions, frameworks, and knowledge systems that can and should be at the forefront of any community, economic, and social development agenda in Native communities. Further, these Native solutions should be supported, uplifted, and implemented for the benefit of Native people and their communities.

This new research from First Nations highlights the importance of publicly available data in the Investing in Native Communities data map. It raises questions about how data is measured to more accurately capture philanthropic giving to Indian Country. While giving to “Native American Organizations and Causes” is a broad category to fully understand philanthropic giving, the report asserts that more attention must be focused on giving to Native-led organizations, which includes Native nations. It is these organizations that are at the forefront of colonialism and paternalistic development and putting Native-led and -designed community solutions in action within Native communities across the U.S. These are the organizations that need critical investment to reverse the damages caused by American colonial development.