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By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Cecily Engelhart (Ihanktonwan and Oglala Lakota) has lived a life as though by design. Each step she’s taken opened up a path to the next one, leading her to the communications manager position at First Peoples Fund. But it started with a solid foundation from her youth.

Raising her in two separate households, Cecily’s parents aimed to work together to raise their daughter. She lived with her gentle, determined mother in Vermillion, South Dakota, and her warm-hearted, hardworking father in Greenwood, South Dakota on the Yankton Sioux Reservation. Her dad’s love for music, film and media helped to create the soundtrack of Cecily’s life.

“I credit him for helping me appreciate me how the world expresses itself,” Cecily says.

Part of that foundation were her grandmothers. As a retired dietician, her paternal grandmother Madonna Archambeau (Inhanktonwan) shifted the patriarchal structures on the Yankton Sioux Reservation when she became the first tribal chairwoman. Cecily’s maternal grandmother Ellen Libby (Oglala Lakota) was a tireless learner, gaining her Ph.D. and working as a speech-language pathologist.  She eventually became a professor at Northern University and received a Bush Foundation fellowship to help prospective teachers learn about fetal alcohol syndrome.

“Seeing my Grandma Madonna elected was a lesson that even if the odds seem insurmountable, you have to put one foot in front of the other and keep building relationships that strengthen your communities,” Cecily says, “And my Grandma Ellen’s drive to understand how we communicate with one another taught me that there is such a power not only in language, but in all ways of expression. Communication shapes what we believe about each other, what we believe about ourselves, what we hold as our values. I think that is part of why I ended up in this field.”

Her grandmothers, both powerhouse women, were foundational in Cecily’s life, feeding the desire in her to go to college. Her mother helped guide her along every step of the way, pushing her to finish high school and learn to navigate the demands of college, where she realized the power of the arts to promote social change.

Cecily was part of a team of Native students that created a short film with a title that played on the University of South Dakota’s diversity statement of “Everybody Belongs.” With the American Indian studies department located in a basement featuring duct-taped pipes and moldy walls, their video was titled, “Everybody Belongs…Out of the Basement.”

The next year, the American Indian studies department was moved to another facility — above ground. Though the school insisted the video hadn’t been the reason for the move, she was amazed at the stir it caused and the inspiration she felt from collaborating with her classmates. Motivated to keep learning, she applied for a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship which she used to investigate Indigenous issues on a global scale in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

From there, she would meet someone who would change the course of her life through a single conversation. Another Rotary scholar mentioned a Masters program at the University of California Santa Cruz that combined social justice issues with filmmaking, meaning that the experience she had making a documentary with her classmates could become a career path.

While filming her thesis documentary (Siouxtable Food), Cecily began with her home reservation, interviewing community leader Faith Spotted Eagle (Ihanktonwan). Then through connecting with other communities she eventually interviewed Linda Black Elk (Catawba), Karlene Hunter (Oglala Lakota), Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) and Nick Tilsen (Oglala Lakota), the latter of which would later recruit her to the team at Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation in Porcupine, South Dakota.

When hearing that Sean Sherman aka “The Sioux Chef” would be catering 2016 First Peoples Fund’s Community Spirit Awards ceremony, Cecily jumped at the chance to volunteer preparing food, helping with kitchen clean-up and gathering footage during the event. It was there she learned that Sean was First Peoples Fund’s first-ever culinary artist fellow and learned more about the work First Peoples Fund does.

Though it was hard to leave her Thunder Valley CDC family, the communications manager position at First Peoples Fund fit Cecily’s skill set, fusing together her passion for communication, expression and art.

“First Peoples Fund recognizes art as an integral, core element of our communities, inextricable from who we are,” she says, “Whether creating networks within and between communities or providing direct support for individual artists, it’s so inspiring to see how First Peoples Fund is really aware of how the work of artists and culture bearers ripples out to impact our indigenous communities. I’m excited to help share those stories.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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The Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Awards (CSA) recognizes exceptional artists who have shown a lifetime commitment to perpetuating their art and sharing it within their communities. These practicing artists embody the Collective Spirit®, and are nominated for the award by members of their communities.

“These culture bearers quietly, selflessly give of themselves in their communities year after year,” says Lori Pourier, president of First Peoples Fund. “Through the Community Spirit Awards, First Peoples Fund honors and shines a light on their work to restore and pass on ancestral knowledge and traditions, connecting their peoples to their greatest assets.”  

We are honored to introduce you to these culture bearers well deserving of their 2018 Community Spirit Award.

ELAINE GRINNELL

Jamestown S’Klallam and Lummi

Sequim, Washington

It began in frightening times for young Elaine. She sat near a potbelly stove with her grandfather, David Prince, during World War II blackouts along the Jamestown Beach. But as he calmly peeled apples and told stories, Elaine listened, her fears forgotten as she pressed each word into her mind. He gave her the gift of storytelling.

Today, this art medium overlaps with traditional cooking and basketry for Elaine.

She spent much of her life living around the Straights of Juan de Fuca (also known as the Salish Sea) where she digs clams, picks oysters, catches salmon, crab and octopus and prepares them in traditional ways.

“I have taught two generations of my family to do the same and am beginning to teach our third generation.”

— Elaine Grinnell

She is also showing them how to gather, prepare, and weave Western Red Cedar bark along with their stories.

Because of that dedication, Khia Grinnell (Jamestown S’Klallam and Lummi) nominated Elaine for the CSA.

“My grandmother has worked tirelessly to preserve and share our culture. She has served as an ambassador of our people in a manner that has made not only her family but her community proud.”

— Khia Grinnell

Following in the steps of her grandmother Elaine, Khia is a storyteller and serves on the Northwest Native American Basketweavers Association board alongside Elaine.

Elaine also serves on the Jamestown S’Klallam Culture Committee, the Native Elders Committee of the University of Washington, Northwest Native American Storytellers Association board, and is a certified Klallam language teacher.

KANOELANI DAVIS

Native Hawaiian

Kaunakakai, Hawai’i

For 37 years, Kanoelani has practiced hula, the Hawaiian dance form instilled in her being, along with other cultural practices like wood carving, weapon making, and gathering shells for lei. Her daily occupation, though, is bringing these practices into fashion design through her company, PōMahina Designs.

“It took over 34 years of understanding traditional wear to really grasp the meaning of integrating traditional and contemporary wear,” Kanoelani says.

She values the importance of understanding art and life lessons through the lens of her ancestors, and how vital it is to share those lessons.

“Once that is understood, it allows the creative to create contemporary art forms using ancestral thought process,” she says. “The idea is to allow an individual to take some ownership in the traditions of their ancestors and yet be an individual in today’s time. I foresee balance.”

In her role as Hawaiian Arts Program Director for the Molokai Arts Center, Kanoelani plans to continue holding classes with interested learners.

“Kanoelani Davis is a tireless advocate, supporter and practitioner of Native Hawaiian arts and culture,” Brandon Jones says. He is the executive director of the Molokai Arts Center. Brandon honored Kanoelani with the CSA nomination.

“Anytime she or her students perform hula, the community is confident they are witnessing an authentic act,” he says. “Kanoelani’s company, PōMahina Designs, was recently invited to show at the Pacific Fusion Fashion show in New Zealand. This sent a message to the young people of Molokai that success and recognition are possible for someone who is dedicated to culture.”

MARIE MEADE

Yup’ik

Anchorage, Alaska

“With flashes of color and escalating drum beats, Yup’ik dance envelopes the audience in a celebration of traditional sounds and culture, a blending of music, language and dance,” Marie says.

A traditional dancer, Marie embodies her belief that this gift of dance has taught her who she is as a Yup’ik person.

“Yup’ik dance can be a form of prayer that helps me connect to the core of my soul and spirit as a human being,” she says.

While maintaining strong relationships and family ties with her homeland and the Yup’ik community in Southwest Alaska, Marie travels to practice her art at public and private gatherings, festivals and celebrations. She also shares her dance with the larger global community.

Joy Demmert (Yup’ik) knows her through Marie’s son, Stephen, who performs worldwide with his Inuit soul music group, Pamyua.

“Through Marie, the traditional dancing and singing to tell stories of Yup’ik traditions and ways of life continue to be shared as they have for thousands of years,” Joy says. “She has not only strengthened our communities in Alaska through her art forms, but has spread them all over the world.”

Along with mentoring her sons, grandchildren and many relatives, Marie has taught Yup’ik dance at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus for many years. In 2015, Marie was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Alaskan community. She currently works at the University of Alaska Anchorage as a professor for Yup’ik Language, Yup’ik Orthography, and Alaska Native Dance.

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PETER B. JONES

Onondaga

Versailles, New York

Peter is a clay artist of the Onondaga tribe in New York State. Returning to his homeland in 1977 after studies at the Institute of American Indian Art, he has worked to bring Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) pottery back to life in his home communities.

These pots reflect what was originally made with clay gathered from stream beds and altered with the addition of crushed shell, crushed granitic rock and sand to create a clay body that was useful and durable after it was fired.

Peter works within the Six Nations Iroquois communities of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora people.

“Because pot making had died out in our culture, I have studied our ancient pottery for over twenty-five years, trying to understand not only how it was made but also what it was used for and sometimes what the designs meant,” Peter says.

He shares this knowledge in classes and workshops throughout the Six Nations Communities. He says, “This returns to our people something that is uniquely ours.”

Carol Ann Lorenz nominated Peter for the CSA. She serves as a faculty member and museum curator at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.

“I believe it is safe to say that Peter nearly single-handedly revived the making of clay pots in Iroquois country,” she says. “Largely through his efforts, there are dozens of Haudenosaunee artists working in clay today.

“Peter epitomizes the ideals of community connectedness and the giving spirit that the Community Spirit Award is designed to recognize and honor.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Award-winning artist Dana Warrington (Menominee / Prairie Band Potawatomi) was born and raised on Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin. His primary art medium is porcupine quillwork. His art also includes beadwork, bustle-making, moccasins, and cradleboards while adding silver work as a new form in the coming year.

Dana relocated with his family to Cherokee, North Carolina, in August 2016.

Whatever Dana’s mother touched she could do, but the time came when she transferred the work of making his powwow regalia to him. His dad told him, “You can have anything you want, as long as you’re willing to make it yourself.”

At seventeen, Dana picked up a needle and thread and began creating through trial and error over the next ten years. Then he bought his first quillwork pieces, and the dream of having a full set of quillwork was born.

“You can have anything you want, as long as you’re willing to make it yourself.”

Dana had absorbed his love of art through his grandmother. “She always stressed to never abuse your craft, and to always do right by people,” he says.

He followed her teachings through his beginning years, and it brought him to great places. After he spent several winters making new pieces for each powwow season, people began asking Dana who made his regalia. Orders came in.

Over the past two years, Dana has pursued art full-time. At his first major event, Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market, he received Best of Show. It left him speechless.

He renamed his art business — Young Blood Artwork — in honor of his grandmother, Dorothy Young. The business is a way of keeping her legacy alive.

In 2018, Dana is looking forward to more great places. With a tribal loan, he and his family are completing a studio next door to his house, giving him space to create his art. His First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership fellowship will cover travel expenses for prestigious Indian art markets. This fellowship also opens network connections he’s never had.

Currently Dana is reaching out to other Native artists and inspiring them through his story to take their business and art to the next level. “The talent is definitely there,” he says.

In it all, he strives for balance between his business and his family while acknowledging the center of everything he does.

“I want to stay 100% focused on my art, my family, and what’s right in front of me,” Dana says. “I believe God is the center of everything, of our lives every day. I believe we have God-given talent — that’s what is pushing me to pursue it. The rest, I’ve just got to work hard for.”

Matilda “Tillie” Wilson has made traditional Atsugewi Indian Baby Baskets for fifteen years. A member of the Hat Creek Atsugewi Band of the Pit River Tribe, she was born in Redding, California and raised in Central Valley (now incorporated as Shasta Lake City). She has 30 years of work experience in education, health management systems, contract health service and health clinic transportation, and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Matilda shares her knowledge and passion for traditional arts whenever she can. She has sold baskets to people all over the U.S. She is a 2018 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital fellow.

“Wear old shoes and long pants.” These are the instructions Matilda gives students as they prepare to traverse brushy and wet areas for the springtime harvest of chokecherry, gray and red willow. Before the class on weaving traditional Indian Baby Baskets begins, Matilda scouts out ideal places for harvesting. Their tribe’s natural resources have dwindled, which is one reason she advocates the tribe to grow its own willow.

“If we cannot gather in our traditional spots we must create new ones,” she says, "otherwise the art and tradition of baskets and cradleboards will be gone."

When selecting local harvest locations, Matilda keeps in mind that some of her students have disabilities, or difficulties getting around because of age. She wants her classes to be accessible for all, with no restrictions. If the terrain still proves a challenge to someone, she gathers material for them. Anyone who wants to learn can.

“After we bring our harvest in, we make them (the students) do everything hands on, from framing to cross boarding and making the bonnet — putting everything together by stages,” Matilda explains. Her husband helps her with the harvesting and classes.

Materials have changed over the years — pitch is traded for wood glue, red willow shavings for red yarn. But the process and the heart of the work remains the same, including how Matilda teaches students to thank the Creator for the willow. She sees her students becoming the future teachers of traditional baby basket making.

“I am concerned that the next generation will only read about keeping babies in baskets,” she says.

But when Matilda watches young mothers using baskets they made themselves, she knows this work will live on.

“The main goal is to carry on our traditions so that they are no longer a thing of the past,” she says.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015  

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Roxanne Best (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation) is a photographer, culinary artist and storyteller. She grew up on the Colville Indian Reservation, then spent a season of life as a scuba diving instructor where she took underwater photos and video at the Turks and Caicos Islands. She later moved to Kauai, Hawai’i where she honed her cooking and photography skills.

After the birth of her two sons, Roxanne returned to her home area so they could learn the traditions of her family. They now reside in Okanogan, Washington.

Roxanne is a certified Northwest Native Development Fund Indianpreneurship trainer and a First Peoples Fund trainer.

Sitting down for a comfortable chat with Grandma to learn the traditional foodways of her people. This is the feeling Roxanne wants to convey to readers through an Indigenous food blog that she can eventually publish as a book.

She is combining her passion for photography and food into the project to pass on ancestral knowledge to those who, like her, feel disconnected from their people. Though raised on the Colville Reservation, Roxanne was encouraged to get an education and not worry about the traditional ways.

“They won’t get you a job,” she was told.

So Roxanne set out on a journey that eventually took her to Hawai’i where she combined her love of teaching, scuba diving, exotic foods, and photography. But it was a trip to Fiji that ultimately brought her back home.

The warmth of the Indigenous people’s embrace and their ease of living within their cultural practices birthed a desire in Roxanne to learn about her own culture. But even when she moved back to the reservation area, it was hard to find reliable information. There was only one way to truly learn — from elders. Yet Roxanne felt like many in her generation. Disconnected. Unqualified. Afraid to ask.

For ten years, she held onto the dream of documenting the foodways of her people through photos and stories. Then a way opened through an encounter with Leon Rattler (Blackfeet) at a First Peoples Fund training last fall.

“He heard my story and approached me,” Roxanne explained. “He said he would love for me to be on the committee working on an elder’s heritage manual for the Colville Confederated Tribes. That’s huge. We’re talking about traditions around food, burial, every aspect of our people. It’s been amazing. I’m the only non-elder on the committee.”

With support from her 2018 First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership program, Roxanne is gathering information into a reliable resource for traditional foods. It will help others begin to fold their Native heritage into their lives.

“What you consume becomes a part of you,” Roxanne said. “I’m inspired by the stories that people have surrounding food. Being able to create those moments as a cook and also capture the process on film or in story brings me great joy.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Peter Williams (Yup’ik) produces high-end fur garments that blur the line between art and fashion. He has demonstrated the technique of sewing seal and sea otter fur by hand at museums, cultural centers, and to Alaska Natives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In 2015, he presented at New York Fashion Week and was profiled in The Guardian. His first runway show was at Brooklyn Fashion Week, 2016.

Peter completed a Rasmuson Foundation Artist Residency at Santa Fe Art Institute, an Artist in Residence at the Institute of American Indian Arts and has guest lectured at Yale University, Portland Art Museum, and 516 ARTS. He is based in Sitka, Alaska.

Known as the “sea otter guy,” it’s hard to tell at times where Peter’s art ends and he begins.

“The deeply holistic nature of my culture not only informs my art but is the reason I create it,” Peter said.

From Alaska to New York, bridging two states at the opposite ends of the country has allowed Peter to grow connections between disparate cultures. This came from walking pathways in deep healing and his role as a Yup’ik man.

When Peter lost his father in an alcohol-related boating accident, it broke his connection with his cultural identity.

“What it meant to be a healthy Yup’ik man wasn’t modeled for me,” Peter said.

This spiraled into substance abuse and self-loathing that nearly destroyed him. Coming back to the traditional practices of sea otter hunting, sewing skins, and oneness, Peter experienced healing.

“My father, my culture, my spirituality, sobriety, and healing all became tangible through the sacred act of hunting and sewing with marine mammals,” he said.

Stretching this identity across the country, he began cold-calling fur and fashion businesses on the East Coast.

“High-end, high dollar products will allow me to hunt and create less,” he said. “I can get to a comfortable living wage while making and selling unique, high-quality products.”

Peter is now taking the next steps. Consulting with a potential sales representative, he’s pursuing wholesale outlets in New York. He was recently accepted into the Capsule fashion trade show as part of his goals with his First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership program to expand into new markets.

Peter’s art goes beyond crafting a quality product. It tells a story, a narrative of who he is, who his people are, and how they have evolved with their culture intact, thriving, and ready for the future.

“Through my culture and tradition, I found what it means to be a healthy and proud Yup’ik man.

— Peter Williams

Photo credits: Runway images provided by the artist, header image and outdoor modeling images from Gregory Thompson and Max Myers, images of Peter Williams hunting/fishing by Fabio Domenig.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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“There’s a huge need for Native artists to be bankable. They need supplies, but they have no credit history, no collateral, no local bank that works with them. The fact that First Peoples Fund opened the door for us to be able to reach out and start getting the artists bankable is exciting.”  

— Felecia Freeman (Citizen Potawatomi, Sac and Fox, Kickapoo), commercial loan officer at the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation

Now in its fifth year, the Indigenous Arts Ecology (IAE) program reaches into tribal communities with grants and technical assistance to community-based organizations, supporting them to assist Native artists to grow as entrepreneurs and leaders in their local Indigenous arts ecosystems. Through the Indigenous Arts Ecology program, First Peoples Fund partners primarily with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (Native CDFIs). The two-year cohort-based program builds understanding of the critical role of artists and culture bearers in tribal communities, and helps build capacity to better support artists with services, training, and mentoring.

It is our privilege to announce the 2018 Indigenous Arts Ecology Grantees. FPF invited the grantees into the program, knowing they understand and embrace the value of artists who hold one of our most significant assets — cultural knowledge.

Four Bands Community Fund

Located in north-central South Dakota, this Native CDFI conducted the Cheyenne River Artist Market Survey in 2015. This survey revealed a great need for artists to improve their business financial skills. It also acknowledged a thriving informal arts economy amid high unemployment rates and poverty on the reservation.

Four Bands uses a model called Icahya Woecun (The Place to Grow) to deliver its programs. Icahya Woecun brings together Lakota values and tradition with the wisdom of best practices to support Native entrepreneurs.

In part through their IAE grant, Four Bands envisions a thriving creative economy inclusive of  artists of all ages, and will support artists to gain access to niche markets outside the reservation.

Kawerak, Inc.

A non-profit tribal corporation, Kawerak, Inc. provides services within the Bering Strait Region in Alaska. Through the IAE grant, Kawerak is continuing a relationship with First Peoples Fund to advance the region’s art community.

At the heart of the work lies Kawerak’s goal to partner with tribal members and communities to achieve the highest quality of life while living and celebrating their Native cultures.

In partnership with First Peoples Fund, Kawerak envisions offering relevant support for artists and crafters in the Bering Strait Region so they can continue their art, pass on their knowledge, and support themselves, their families, and community.

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

Founded in 2001, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) is a statewide and national network of well over 100 Native Hawaiian organizations.  

CNHA’s network of artists in the community consists of local artists from abstract to contemporary artists, colorists, digital artists, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, weavers, wood carvers, other artists and cultural practitioners.

CNHA wants to direct a funding trend toward supporting the economic and professional development of its artists for the sake of impacting the community’s economy, interconnectivity, but most importantly, inspiring stories from every family (‘ohana) and elevating Hawai’i’s cultural preservation.

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Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation

It is the mission of the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation to finance, promote, educate and inspire the entrepreneurial growth, economic opportunity and financial well-being of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Community and other underserved Native populations.

Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation collaborates with tribes and other Native CDFIs across the United States. It shares policies, procedures, impacts, and programs to enhance economic development in Indian Country.

With the IAE grant, it is poised to provide professional development training, credit building, asset building, and matched savings for Oklahoma’s Native artists.

Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and the IAE Grants

IDAs are a theme for this group of Native CDFI partners.  Matched savings programs not only dispense funding into the Native artist’s business but also teach financial management.

In addition to IDAs and unique goals within each organization, these Native CDFIs will continue to conduct the First Peoples Fund’s Native Artist Professional Development training for their artists.

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Experiencing the Heart of an Indigenous Arts Ecology

During site visits and convenings hosted by First Peoples Fund throughout the year, the IAE partners will have the opportunity to see Indigenous communities undergoing change through well supported creative economies.

“At the convening, we invite one staff member and one community artist champion,” First Peoples Fund Program Manager Jeremy Staab (Santee Sioux) said. “It’s an opportunity to collectively share knowledge and experiences that they’ve had with supporting artists in their community.

“We can always put the partners in front of a lecture, a webinar series, or go through helpful models. But every community is a little different. When we think in terms of adaptive models — learning from the experiences, successes, and failures of other communities — it helps us grow faster.”

Note:

Our previous Indigenous Arts Ecology cohort began their program in 2017 and will finish after their second year in 2018: Four Directions Development, Inc., Lakota Funds, Northwest Native Development Fund, and Native American Community Development Corporation.

The IAE grant is supported through the Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

First Peoples Fund is thrilled to welcome a new cohort of 25 artist fellows who embody the Collective Spirit® and whose lives reflect the traditional values at the heart of our work — generosity, wisdom, respect, integrity, strength, fortitude and humility. Each year, we offer two fellowship grant programs for artists: Artist in Business Leadership and Cultural Capital.

“We have such a range of mediums,” First Peoples Fund Program Manager Mary Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota) said. “Everything from Indigenous foods to performing artists. We have artists using traditional techniques in modern ways. I’m excited about working with the artists, seeing them grow, and their projects come to fruition.”

Artist in Business Leadership Program

Out of a record 75 applications from Native artists across the country, 15 artists were selected to receive the Artist in Business Leadership (ALB) fellowship to assist them in furthering their art career aspirations. Through projects of their own design as well as assistance and training provided by First Peoples Fund, the artists will develop skills to help them grow a thriving business for themselves and their families.

When an individual artist is uplifted and supported, they impact their families, communities and the benefits can ripple out regionally and nationally. This inspires artists to fully honor their cultural creativity and frees them to embrace their Native identity and voice.

“The Artist in Business Leadership fellows are doing work within to stabilize themselves as artists,” Mary said.

The artists moving through the ABL in 2018 are:

Nanibaa Beck (Dine)
Metal worker and jeweler. Carrboro, North Carolina

Roxanne L. Best (Confederated Tribe of the Colville Indian Reservation)
Culinary arts, photography, and writing. Okanogan, Washington

Heidi K. Brandow (Dine / Native Hawaiian)
Drawing and mixed media artist, painter, and photographer. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Alexandra Buffalohead (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate)
Musician and singer. Eagan, Minnesota

Jaida Grey Eagle (Oglala Lakota)  
Photographer, beadworker, filmmaker. Prior Lake, Minnesota

Pauline Klementson (Stebbins Community Association)
Basketry artist. Nome, Alaska

Traci McClellan-Sorell (Cherokee Nation)
Writer. Olathe, Kansas

Jeff Peterson (Native Hawaiian)

Musician and songwriter. Kailua, Hawai’i

Fox Spears (Karuk)
Drawing and mixed media artist, painter, and printmaker. Seattle, Washington

Jack Wallace Gladstone (Blackfeet)
Musician, composer, and storyteller. East Glacier, Montana

Dana Warrington (Menominee / Prairie Band Potawatomi)
Quillwork artist. Cherokee, North Carolina      

Peter Williams (Yup’ik / Sitka)
Interdisciplinary artist. Sitka, Alaska

Rico Worl (Tlingit / Athabascan)
Interdisciplinary artist. Juneau, Alaska

Laura Youngbird (Minnesota Chippewa Grand Portage Band)
Printmaker. Breckenridge, Minnesota  

Raye Zaragoza (Pima / O’odham)  

Singer/songwriter. North Hollywood, California

Cultural Capital Fellowship

Cultural Capital (CC) fellows focus their valuable time and resources on projects which benefit their communities by sustaining or revitalizing cultural practices. These artists and culture bearers ensure generations to come have access to traditions that might otherwise be lost.

The CC fellowship reinforces their goals to pass on ancestral knowledge in their community with financial and technical support throughout the year. These artists are generous with their time and abilities, sharing their knowledge with all who desire to learn.

“I’m looking forward to the classes that are planned,” Mary said. “Young people are working with elders to document the work. It’s that transference of ancestral knowledge. There are some young artists conducting classes. While they may not be the experts, they make sure everyone is in the same place, including the experts: culture bearers alongside the young people.”

We are pleased to welcome these Cultural Capital fellows into the program this year:

Bernice Akamine (Native Hawaiian)

Weaver, basketry and textile artist. Volcano, Hawai’i

Cecelia Fire Thunder (Oglala Lakota)

Storyteller and doll maker. Martin, South Dakota

Lisa Iron Cloud (Oglala Lakota)

Beadwork, quillwork, and sewing artist. Rapid City, South Dakota

Arlo Iron Cloud Sr. (Oglala Lakota)

Filmmaker and storyteller. Rapid City, South Dakota

Wesley May (Red Lake Band of Chippewa)

Painter. Red Lake, Minnesota    

Kandi McGilton (Metlakatla Indian Community)

Weaver, basketry and beadwork artist. Metlakatla, Alaska

J. Waylon Miller (Northern Cheyenne)

‍Storyteller and tribal music preservationist. Rapid City, South Dakota

Joseph Brophy Toledo (Jemez Pueblo)

‍Carver, painter, and storyteller. Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico    

Micheal Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota)

Filmmaker, mixed media, and music. Rapid City, South Dakota

Matilda Wilson (Atsugewi Band of the Pit River Tribe)

Basketry artist. Burney, California

Family Connections

Receiving either the ABL or the CC fellowship goes beyond support for a year or a single project. Artist fellows are brought into the First Peoples Fund family and introduced to a vast network of artists, new market opportunities, and a chance to build relationships while they continue to grow in their confidence and ability as Native artists.

This proved the case for singer / songwriter Cary Morin (Crow/Assiniboine), who received an Artist in Business Leadership grant last year.

“Cary’s First Peoples Fund award was critical to his level of success in 2017,” Celeste Di Iorio said of her husband. “Without it, we would not have been able to achieve the publicity and grow his fanbase to the level it is today. Cary is now on the worldwide map in a way that he has never been before. He is teetering on the brink of the next level of success, for which we are very hopeful for in 2018.”

We will continue to follow Cary’s success and others as we bring the 2018 ABL and CC fellows into the family.

Learn more about this year's Fellows in our monthly eSPIRIT newsletter, which highlights two fellows every month. You can subscribe to eSPIRIT by scrolling to the bottom of any page on our website and entering your email address. Don't miss this opportunity to hear more about these exceptional artists and culture bearers, their work and their communities.

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Photo credits:
Header Image, "Hi" by Heidi Brandow, Mixed Medium (wood, plaster, acrylic, graphite, paper, resin)
Image of Cary Morin provided by artist.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Through this series, we highlight the extraordinary people who serve as First Peoples Fund’s board of directors. They are the culture bearers and leaders from national nonprofits within and beyond Indian Country who graciously guide First Peoples Fund and strengthen the Collective Spirit®.

Originally from South Dakota, Sherry Salway Black (Oglala Lakota) has worked for more than 40 years in American Indian issues at the American Indian Policy Review Commission, Indian Health Service, First Nations Development Institute, and with the National Congress of American Indians.  

She has also served or is serving on boards and committees for the following works: Johnson Scholarship Foundation; Prosperity Now (formerly CFED); First Peoples Fund; the Hitachi Foundation; Honoring Contributions in the Governance of Tribal Nations of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development; the Council on Foundations; First Nations Development Institute and Oweesta Corporation; American Indian Business Leaders; Native Americans in Philanthropy; the Hopi Education Endowment Fund; Trillium Asset Management Corporation; Women and Philanthropy; President Obama’s Advisory Committee on Financial Capability and the President’s Advisory Committee on Financial Capability for Young Americans.

Sherry has a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s from East Stroudsburg University where in 2013 she received the Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2016, Sherry received a Special Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Congress of American Indians.  

Q&A

Sherry, we appreciate your taking time for this Q&A. Who taught you the values you hold closest? What role did that person play in your life and what lessons did you learn from them?

I don’t think it’s any one person. We’re so affected by many people. My parents came first in terms of basic values that I hold. And also friends throughout my whole life. Teachers I’ve had. People I’ve worked with, like Lori Pourier. We started working together back in 1985 at the First Nations Financial Project, which is now First Nations Development Institute. That work with First Nations taught not only about honesty, but reciprocity. It’s such a critical value, especially in this work that we do. It’s that doing a good job for a good cause, and giving back is an important part of that.

What professional accomplishment do you believe says the most about who you are and what’s important to you?

I’m going to answer this question in two parts. The first part ties in Lori and First Nations Development Institute again. I believe the work has done so much good in Indian country through grant making, research, and policy change. We helped start the movement for Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs). It’s great, just knowing these organizations exist for Indian country and that I was a part of that.

The second part would be in seeing the people I’ve worked with and often mentored and how well they’re doing. And the fact that they’re helping in Native communities as well.

How long have you served on the First Peoples Fund board and why did you get involved?

I joined the board in 2008, and have served as Chairperson since 2010.

I got involved because of Lori Pourier. Lori started slightly before me at First Nations, and we worked together many years. She left sometime in the 90s, and I left in the 2000s. We stayed in touch.

I think some of what First Peoples Fund does grew out of the work at First Nations. Not all of it, but some. The fact that arts and culture are such a critical part of Native communities is sometimes overlooked in development efforts. Some of the early curriculum that was used to work with artists (at FPF) was developed at First Nations in the early 90s. We did grant making to arts related groups at that time.

I’ve always admired Lori and how focused she has been on that sector. That’s why I’m on the board. Can’t say no to Lori! [Laughs]

What are the most significant challenges Native nonprofits face?

There are a couple. One challenge that often arises for Native nonprofits is being taken seriously. I’ve done a lot of working with Native nonprofits over the years, working with foundations and especially ones with Native women at the head of them. I won’t say that I know this applies across the board to all women, all minority women, but I know it does for Native women. Your organizations don’t rank up there with some of the big non-Native nonprofits, especially if they’re headed by women. They think it’s a “cute little project.”

Words make a difference. For example, First Nations was called First Nations Financial Project until 1990. Ten years of working, ten years of raising funds from foundations, and we finally acknowledged we weren’t a project anymore. We were an Institute. We needed to frame the work differently, using those words to gain notice.

The other challenge all nonprofits face is securing the resources they need to do their job.

What has First Peoples Fund done to overcome those challenges?

Doing good work. That has to come first. Then consistency. Being visible, being involved, being at the table. I have a friend who says, “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

Lori is at the table in conversations where she needs to be. She has longevity in the field. She knows the Native arts and culture area. She has the knowledge that people turn to.  

Having people like Lori involved in an organization is important. You have some nonprofits, regardless of whether they’re Native or non, who don’t have consistency in leadership, who are ever-changing.

What do you wish other people knew about First Peoples Fund?

I had an example of this the other day. [Laughs] A friend, who has known Lori and me for a long time, and who I thought knew First Peoples Fund, said, “You know, they ([FPF] should train artists in business practices.”

I said, “They do! They have this curriculum, Native Artists Professional Development Training. They do workshops, and they train the success coaches at Native CDFIs to help artists in business. What do you think they’ve been doing?” [Laughs]

How do you see First Peoples Fund changing lives and communities?

First of all, by recognizing arts as integral to who we are as a people. Sometimes we get carried away with some of the mechanics of the economy and government, and don’t recognize that art and culture are who we are as a people and to focus on that.

I think First Peoples Fund has really changed that. Helping people understand how to better their lives, and helping people with information and knowledge is so critical. One of the things we did religiously at First Nations that has carried over to First Peoples Fund was connect groups with other groups, people with other people. It’s such an important element.

That’s how I think First Peoples Fund works — bringing people together, sharing information and resources.

By Lori Pourier, President of First Peoples Fund

“I thank culture bearers for their leadership and their wisdom. They enrich us all by the knowledge and profound insights they share. They don’t do their work for themselves or their children, or even their grandchildren. They do what they do for their grandchildren’s grandchildren. I think that is a good way.” — Jennifer Easton, 1947 -  2017, Founder of First Peoples Fund.

Dear Friend of First Peoples Fund,

2017 has been a year of reflection for First Peoples Fund. In August, our founder Jennifer Easton passed away, far too early. First Peoples Fund has changed the lives of thousands of Native artists, culture bearers and their families — as they have changed ours — since Jennifer’s founding in 1995. We are proud and deeply grateful to be part of carrying on her vision.  

2017 was also an exciting year of growth at First Peoples Fund. Just a few highlights:

• The fire and hope in the voices of First Peoples Fund’s youth team of Dances with Words poets at the Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam in San Francisco: “I see people use my problems for their pleasure… My people’s problems are not a romantic tragedy.” — Ohitika Lock (Standing Rock Sioux). “We are the hope our ancestors dreamed of.” — Marcus Red Shirt (Oglala Lakota).    
• Our growing staff worked with our national partners to bring the first Intercultural Leadership Institute cohort of 30 artists, culture bearers and community change-makers from across the country to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the He Sapa (Black Hills)  for a week of immersive learning about Lakota history, culture and movements within the Oceti Sakowin.  
• Nearly 25 years of good work by First Peoples Fund was acknowledged and celebrated on a national platform through my being awarded a Ford Foundation Art of Change fellowship.
• The National Endowment for the Arts featured us on the cover of their November magazine, and this summer the New York Times included First Peoples Fund and the Rolling Rez Arts bus in a story about support for the arts in rural America. We are grateful for the national recognition of our good work.

Looking ahead to 2018, we can hardly believe that the groundbreaking for Oglala Lakota Artspace on the Pine Ridge Reservation is just six months away. Through a partnership among First Peoples Fund, Artspace Projects and Lakota Funds, this wholly unique 8,500-square-foot artspace will provide a home for Rolling Rez Arts and build on its momentum, expanding opportunities for artist entrepreneurs and culture bearers as well as young and emerging artists on Pine Ridge by offering working studio, production and performance space in addition to business training, retail opportunities and banking services offered by the Lakota Federal Credit Union.  The Oglala Lakota Artspace will be the first of its kind in Indian Country and builds off the collaborative efforts of Lakota Funds and FPF since 1999.

We hope that you are proud to be part of First Peoples Fund’s circle, and that you will continue to stand alongside us. Our work would not be possible without friends like you, and your long-term investment in our mission - to honor and support the Collective Spirit of Native artists and culture bearers.

As we welcome the New Year, we will carry on Jennifer Easton’s original vision, guiding our work by our hearts to create tangible change. We invite you to join us in the impactful work we do alongside artists, culture bearers, Native CDFIs, and other stakeholders to grow the Indigenous Arts Ecology nationwide by partnering with us today. Click here to donate.

You can receive artists and community stories by joining our eSpirit newsletter.Keep up with weekly news and photos by following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Wolakota (Peace),

Lori Pourier
President
First Peoples Fund

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

It was a down-home, rez style gathering. That was how First Peoples Fund trainer and board of director, Ron Martinez Looking Elk (Isleta / Taos Pueblos) described the recent Community Spirit Award honoring for Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo). Held in the New Mexico Jemez Pueblo community, the gathering recognized Cliff’s service, life, and art.

A talented and well-respected artist, Cliff received a 2017 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award (CSA). This is First Peoples Fund’s longest running program and includes a cash award for artists to continue their good work in their communities. We held a special event in Cliff’s community to honor not only his art but his leadership and spirit of generosity he expresses to all.

“Artists appreciate that they can come to my studio for help, advice, or learn tips,” Cliff said. “My door is always open.”

Over the past 40 years, Cliff has demonstrated his dedication to helping Native artists whether through his award-winning art, committee and volunteer work, or teaching. In 1990, he was instrumental in founding the Towa Arts and Crafts Committee which evolved into the Jemez Arts and Crafts Association. Cliff saw the need for such an organization early on to help local Jemez Pueblo artists. The association facilitated venues and shows for artists to sell their work, creating an art economy so they could provide for their families. Now Cliff helps other Indigenous communities set up their own associations.

This year, with funds from his CSA, Cliff is building a series of mosaics and developing a lamination process with stone. He updated his equipment and acquired new tools to help him create with this technique.

“My ancestors did stone overlay and stone lamination in their jewelry,” Cliff said. “It still continues among some of the artists in the region. I want to take that technique and form to another level, to apply it to my stone sculptures. It produces a dramatic effect and allows me to combine the colors of the stone and to create scenarios or visual enhancement with the use of different colored stones and shapes when I apply stone on stone."

Cliff presented several of his art pieces at the CSA honoring, a representation of his impressive body of work and accomplishments within his community.

“He did it,” Ron said about Cliff’s honoring. “He maintained that artist’s life and came out the other end as a master artist.”

But the special honoring for Cliff in his community nearly didn’t happen. He came down with a temporary health condition shortly before the event. But he knew how much effort everyone had put in, and he wanted to move forward.

“There were quite a few artists in the room that Cliff had mentored,” Ron said. “They spoke about what a tremendous gift Cliff is and how much his creativity and inspiration drove them to become the artists that they are.”

When those artists spoke, words intertwined with emotion. Several of the men teared up.

“That’s how much impact he’s had on different artists within the community and how he gives selflessly,” Ron added. “I don’t think people realize the effect artists like Cliff have. When we played the video about his work, it showed what a huge impact Cliff has had on the community. It was beautiful.”

Surrounded by family and friends at the gathering, what surprised Cliff most was the emotion.

“Among us, we’re all good friends, and we joke around, have a good time,” Cliff said. “But at that moment when it got emotional, I wondered, ‘has my friendship really influenced their lives so much as artists?’ It touched me.”

A member of First Peoples Fund’s staff read from Cliff’s original CSA application about what his community means to him, of why it’s important to represent them, and his gifts to the community.

Cliff followed that with speaking about the economic disparities of living on a reservation and the challenges of having access to employment. His life shows what it truly means to be self-employed as an artist.

“That’s his gift he can give,” Ron said. “His knowledge and ability to sustain an artist’s lifestyle and show the community that it’s relevant and a part of the cultural sustainability of the community. He talked about hardships, but really how that defines who the people of Jemez are. He was so proud to represent them and be a part of the community.”

“That’s his gift he can give –– his knowledge and ability to sustain an artist’s lifestyle and show the community that it’s relevant and a part of the cultural sustainability of the community.

These are the kinds of artists we honor through the Community Spirit Award. We recognize the work of culture bearers who uphold the Collective Spirit®. These artists live the traditional values of First Peoples Fund — generosity, wisdom, respect, integrity, strength, fortitude and humility. Cliff humbly embodies these values, and acknowledged First Peoples Fund’s partnership and influence in his community.

“I try to express to others that when somebody helps you, that person is a part of the progression of your culture,” Cliff said. “When you help others and they take that help and use it, it moves the community up another level. I felt that with First Peoples Fund and what they are doing for the artists. It’s everybody helping each other. Whatever help you receive, you in return give to others.”

At the honoring, Cliff’s final surprise was the star quilt presented to him by First Peoples Fund. Embroidered with his name, it flared with several color combinations unique to the Southwest. The act of honoring someone with a star quilt goes back to the buffalo robe traditions of the Lakota people.

His family surrounded Cliff during the honor song played by the Grammy award-winning Black Eagle Singers drum group.

“I think this (CSA) recognition is quite an honor,” Cliff said. “To recognize those in the different communities and to encourage artists who have love for their work, their art, their culture; that’s honorable for an organization to do.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Alternative R&B recording and performing artist Gunner Jules Krogman (Sicangu Lakota) writes, sings, raps, and produces original music. He performs and speaks widely, while also collaborating with other artists, including Tanaya Winder and Rollie Raps. He was recently featured in the music video “Good Way” by Frank Waln.

Gunner is a Dream Warriors artist and 2017 First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership fellow.

Trying to make a grade in high school with piano, Gunner changed to making beats on a computer instead. He started singing, rapping, and hoping. That hope became his dream. The dream turned into a vision. That vision is becoming reality.

Growing up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, the music scene was non-existent for Gunner. What listeners hear of his music comes from years of teaching himself. He creates stories through his songs, even tragic stories.

But he stays true to his values, keeping in mind his desire to be a positive example. He performs at youth-centered events like the Black Hills Powwow Youth Day and, recently, the Standing Rock Youth Empowerment Summit. Gunner tells youth his story through songs, being that role model they can see who is chasing a dream.

Gunner is focused on producing his first album, tentatively titled U R U.

“I want to influence people and youth to do better while telling a story of my own and our people’s tribulations and triumphs,” Gunner said. “My art doesn’t fit into a single category of music genre. Creating this album will be a journey in and of itself as an artist.”

Calling himself an artist came easier for Gunner after the 2017 First Peoples Fund Fellows Convening in Minneapolis. He said, “Being around artists in other mediums solidified the thought in my mind that I am an artist. It helped me embrace that.”

“Being around artists in other mediums solidified the thought in my mind that I am an artist. It helped me embrace that.”

Gunner’s First Peoples Fund fellowship covered much of his equipment upgrade expenses, and travel for building connections in places like Toronto and New York while he prepares to market his upcoming album. Native Hope in Chamberlain, South Dakota, funded the purchase of a new laptop for him to keep up with business work while on the road.

It’s all coming together.

A decade past trying to make a high school grade, Gunner is showing youth it is possible to accomplish your dreams while staying true to your morals and beliefs. This philosophy has brought him a long way, and proved that hope can indeed become reality.