Our Values guide the way we work with our community partners, our supporters, and each other, creating a respectful, compassionate, and vibrant organizational culture.
Native-led: We are a Native-led organization working in partnership with Native communities, united in advocacy, purpose, and possibility to support Native-led solutions.
Strengths-Based: We seek every opportunity to present and promote an accurate, positive, and powerful narrative to create a new era of equity, respect, and empowerment for Native peoples, and a richer and stronger society for people everywhere.
Community: We believe that Native communities are creating a path to their own cultural and economic sustainability through their innovation, ingenuity, and community-driven solutions.
Truth: We affirm our own stories and historical narratives as the truth, valuing each Tribe’s traditions and beliefs with a deep understanding of our relationship with life’s creations and our shared cultures.
Equity: We commit to achieving equity and justice in all aspects of our work, addressing historical inequities and advocating for policies that promote fairness and inclusivity.
Intergenerational: We uphold the importance of sharing, investing in, and perpetuating Native knowledge and lifeways among and beyond Native communities, youth, and elders.
Collaborative: We create and strengthen relationships with like-minded people who are dedicated to the wellbeing of Native people and communities, and we seek opportunities to create new relationships.
Reciprocity: We believe in the honor of receiving and the responsibility of giving, and that the connection between both makes all things prosper.
Culture
Resolved
We believe that Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable, economic, spiritual, and cultural wellbeing of their communities.
Respectful
Our engagement with Native communities is grounded in mutual respect, listening rather than telling, and with an approach that is responsive and inclusive of communities’ needs and solutions.
Our People
We believe in the potential, talent, knowledge, and skills of our staff and board, and we create opportunities for them to develop professionally.
Confident
We are willing to act with courage and challenge the status quo. We are open to exploring new models and strategies.
Transparent
We nurture trust and responsibility with our funders, supporters, and community partners by exercising transparency, high ethical standards, and accurate and timely communications.
Responsible
We treat the resources entrusted to us as sacred, exercising a high level of responsibility in their care, recognizing that these values belong to Indian Country, not us.
Positive
We trust in the genius of Native people, and we take care to always convey a positive, asset-based approach in every interaction and communication.
Kind
We value integrity, accountability, passion, and humility in all our interactions, and we treat others and ourselves with courtesy, dignity, and respect.