Indigenous Arts Ecology

In April, we welcomed our 2023 Cultural Capital and Artist in Business Leadership fellowship recipients and Native Arts Ecology Building (NAEB) grantees to the Indigenous Arts Ecology - Cultivating Entrepreneurship in Indigenous Communities convening. Typically an annual gathering that provides reciprocal support to the professional and personal growth of our fellows and grantees, this was the first time since 2019 (pre-COVID) that we’ve been able to bring everyone together. Because of that several fellows and NAEB grantees from the two previous years (2021 and 2022) were also able to attend. The focus of the convening this year centered on how to best support the entrepreneurial spirit of the artists and cultural bearers.

“The Indigenous Arts Ecology convening was an excellent opportunity for all grantees under the FPF umbrella - Native artists and Native-led organizations - to meet and network while rejuvenating the Indigenous Arts Ecology as we finally step out of a global pandemic that greatly affected Indigenous communities,” said Ryan Parker (Northern Cheyenne), FPF’s Regional Program Manager of Community Development.

From the workshops we offered, grantees were able to connect and learn from each other through panels like what is the Indigenous Arts Ecology, Tax Preparedness for Artists, Native Community Development Financial Institutions, and the topic of climate change’s impacts on our artists and cultural bearers, among other conversations.

"I loved it and I was engaged throughout. Creating, networking, and strengthening our creative economy has been heavy on my mind." - James Pakootas, Cultural Capital Fellow

"I didn’t expect such knowledge from this session, very informative!" - Seth Brings Plenty (a community artist who traveled with our NAEB grantee Four Band Community Fund)