FPF's Resilience Fund Supports Native Artists & Culture Bearers

As our artists and culture bearers adjust and adapt to this unprecedented and challenging time, First Peoples Fund (FFP) is pleased to announce that we have established a Resilience Fund to provide support to those artists who have experienced a loss of income due to the COVID-19 crisis.

With initial funding from key foundation partners, First Peoples Fund has awarded more than 100 artists and culture bearers in 24 states from throughout the lower-48 states, Alaska and Hawai'i with up to $1,000 in emergency relief funding to help with their housing, food, medical and caretaking expenses.

““Thank you First Peoples Fund for this grand grant. I’m not able to travel to teach through the University of Alaska-Bristol Bay campus at this time, where I teach carving and sell to interested peoples. This grant is much appreciated and my family thanks you all. God bless you for thinking of us during these limiting times.”

— Alfred Twilly Gosuk (Togiak Tribe, Yupik Eskimo), Carving Artist

The Resilience Fund is currently focused on the 350 artists and culture bearers who are already affiliated with First Peoples Fund -- Community Spirit Awards honorees, Artist in Business Leadership, Cultural Capital and Emerging Poets fellows, Rolling Rez Arts instructors, Native Artist Professional Development artist trainers, and community partners through our Indigenous Arts Ecology and Our Nations' Spaces initiatives.

Since the pandemic hit the U.S. earlier this spring, cancellations of performances, art markets, cultural gatherings, workshops, speaking engagements, etc. have resulted in 97 percent of First Peoples Fund artists surveyed reporting income losses ranging from $150 to $35,000-plus. Performance artists have been hardest hit and impacts have been swift, completely wiping out most income sources. Visual artists are experiencing a drop in demand from direct sales, as well as wholesale purchases from gift shops and the like. As spring and summer markets cancel or postpone, they will experience even more significant losses. For example, nearly 100 of FPF artists rely on Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest in the country, for a significant amount of their annual income. Just last month, the market, usually held in August, was cancelled.

Beyond providing monetary support, First Peoples Fund continues to fulfill its work of providing workshops and training, convenings and network building -- working closely with its artists and instructors to pivot and adapt its delivery of services and programs to the challenging times. The Native Artist Professional Development group is launching a series of Resilience webinars this week to help artists adjust their way of conducting business during the pandemic. Rolling Rez Arts will be hosting Facebook Live arts demonstrations, and Fellowships are facilitating virtual gatherings, as well as providing outreach and technical support where needed. Through social media, First Peoples Fund is also helping to promote the creative offerings FPF artists are delivering online -- live storytelling and performances, instructional videos, etc.

First Peoples Fund is guided by the conviction that culture bearers and artists are the heart and center in reclaiming and revitalizing art and culture to strengthen Indigenous communities through teaching, healing and creating holistic, shared wealth. The organization, founded in 1995, honors and supports Native artists and culture bearers who are vital in nurturing culturally informed, locally-led community development that enhances tribal economies, guides cultural healing, creates positive narratives and contributes to the rich cultural fabric of vibrant Native communities and the entire Indigenous Arts Ecology.

"We are working hard to raise more funding for the Resilience Fund so that we can provide additional emergency relief in the coming weeks and months," says First Peoples Fund President Lori Lea Pourier (Lakota). "We are resilient peoples, because we have a long history of working together and always lending a hand of generosity. The impact of COVID-19 is going to have a lasting effect on the world and our communities. First Peoples Fund wants to make sure we are a steadfast source of support to our Native artist and culture bearer community. They are critical to linking our past, present and future."

To make a contribution to the First Peoples Fund Resilience Fund, please visit the giving page.

““Wow!!!! Ahéhee!! Thank you so much! With everything going on in our lives as a whole I’ve been praying for healing and protection of all our communities and had placed this ask in the back of my mind. My family & I are beyond full of appreciation on this notice! The support and care of First Peoples Fund is widely known throughout the Indigenous Art world. I’ve always been honored to be a past fellow!”

— Shawna Shandiin Sunrise (Diné (Navajo) / Kewa (Santo Domingo Pueblo), weaver, filmmaker, producer, organizer, actor, multi-media artist, floral designer