2023 Annual Report
Contents President/CEO
Message from President/CEO
SHIFT and LIFT Awards Programs Supported Activating The Center
Honoring Lulani
Financial Report Board of Directors Supporters
Cover Art
New Red Order, Jackson Polys, Adam Khalil, Zach Khalil Fort Freedumb, 2023 Image courtesy of Creative Time. Photo by
Native Arts and Cultures FoundationThe Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Shyla Spicer 800 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR, 97214
Cesarin Mateo.
Our Mission
The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation advances equity and cultural knowledge, focusing on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities and promote positive social change with American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples in the United States.
Lehuauakea (Native Hawaiian), Lupe Lā (Sun Kite), 2023, Earth pigments, Hau cordage and branches, bamboo, kapa.
A message from our President/CEO
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As we come together to reflect on the progress and achievements of the past year, I am filled with gratitude for the unwavering support and dedication that have propelled Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) forward. With every passing year, our commitment to uplifting Indigenous artists and communities grows stronger, and it is with great pride that I share our accomplishments in this 2023 annual report as your incoming President/CEO.
Throughout the past year, we have remained steadfast in our dedication to support and celebrate the vibrant diversity of Native arts and cultures across the country. Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic and other societal upheavals, our resilience and adaptability have enabled us to continue our work with renewed vigor and purpose. One of our proudest achievements of the past year has been
Shyla Spicer (Yakama), NACF President/CEO
the expansion of our grantmaking initiatives, which have provided critical support to Indigenous artists and cultural practitioners in communities large and small. From traditional arts to contemporary expressions of Indigenous identity, the projects funded by NACF have enriched lives, preserved traditions, and challenged stereotypes, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of Native peoples and their contributions to our shared cultural landscape.
In addition to our grantmaking efforts, we have also redoubled our commitment to advocacy and cultural preservation. By amplifying Indigenous voices and advocating for greater representation in the arts and media sectors, we are working to dismantle systemic barriers and create a more inclusive and equitable society for all.
As we look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that lay before us, I am inspired by the creativity of the Indigenous peoples we serve. Their stories, traditions, and artistic expressions remind us of the enduring power of culture to heal, inspire, and unite us across boundaries of time and space.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our dedicated staff, Board members, donors, and partners who make our work possible. Together, we have accomplished so much, but there is still much work to be done. With your continued support and collaboration, I am confident that we will build a brighter future for Indigenous arts and cultures, ensuring that they continue to thrive for generations to come.
Sincerely yours,
Shyla Spicer (Yakama) President/CEO Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Reflections
In 2023, NACF underwent a significant leadership transition as we bid farewell to our Founding President/CEO , Lulani Arquette (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi), who stewarded the organization for 15 years. We welcomed Shyla Spicer (Yakama) as our new President/CEO, following a rigorous search process. We also welcomed Andrea R. Hanley (Navajo Nation) as Vice President of Programs.
NACF hosted impactful events at The Center for Native Arts & Cultures, expanding outreach and fostering a deeper engagement with our community. In the fall we announced the 2023 LIFT and SHIFT awardees, reaffirming our commitment to Native artists and communities.
The year featured enriching Native art programming, exhibitions, community tours, and cultivating connections with the Portland community. As we welcomed new leadership, NACF embarked on a new chapter in our journey, committed to celebrating and preserving Native arts and cultures for the benefit of generations to come.
The Center for Native Arts and Cultures in Portland, OR
Programs + Reach
In 2023, NACF invested nearly one million dollars in grants which went directly into the hands of artists, arts organizations, and ultimately the communities they live and thrive in.
Total of 15 million over the last fifteen years
• 628+ awards
• 428+ artists and organizations
• Active in 36 states
• 2023 cohort of NACF SHIFT and LIFT grantees includes artists across a range of disciplines including fiber art, film, photography, performance, and traditional arts.
Arts Engagement
Working with artists and community, one of our projects included teaming with Portland based Marie Watt (Seneca Nation) who installed her monumental sculpture Chords to Other Chords (Relative) at The Center in 2023. This project was a part of Converge 45 Biennial Social Forms: Art as Global Citizenship.
Marie is a 2023 NACF SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts awardee and is partnering with New York based Forge Project. Forge is a Native-led organization that cultivates and advances Indigenous leadership in arts and culture. Through support from NACF they will create a series of three siteresponsive neon sculptures and programming about land, stewardship, and place.
Program Milestones
NACF offered artists and grantees opportunities to learn and hear from their peers as well as experts in the field. From exhibitions, performances, artist run workshops, and our Community Tours program, it has been a year marked by collaboration, and commitment to Native arts, culture, and meaningful connections with community.
• NACF continued to offer a series of webinars/panel discussions, trainings, and workshops to support artists professionally and build capacity.
• In addition to our programs, we expanded our reach with videos and storytelling around our Native artist awardees on social media, growing our audience to over 750,000.
• We uplifted our 250 Native artists and organizational awardees through our social media channels.
NACF in Germany
“In March of 2023, NACF staff traveled to Stuttgart, Germany, to participate in a twoday workshop discussion centering around the transfer of ownership of the Yale Union Laundry Building from the contemporary arts organization Yale Union to NACF, which led to the establishment of the Center for Native Arts and Cultures (the Center). The purpose was to bring together Native artists and arts administrators to discuss the significance of the land transfer in the context of the Land Back movement, and to envision how artists and communities could come together in spaces such as the Center to reclaim Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices.
The project was a partnership between Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, the Bishop Museum and NACF. Participants included: NACF’s founding President/CEO Lulani Arquette and then Director of Transformative Change Programs, Reuben Tomás Roqueñi ; artists Maile Andrade (Native Hawaiian), Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Mnicoujou/Itazipco Lakota), Allison Akootchook Warden (Iñupiaq), and New Red Order’s Zack Khalil (Ojibway - Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians); the former Yale Union’s Executive Director, Flint Jamison, and Künstlerhaus Artistic Director, Eric Golo Stone. The discussion was led by Healoha Johnston (Native Hawaiian), the Director of Cultural Resources and Curator for Hawai‘i and Pacific Arts and Culture at the Bishop Museum, who also edited the accompanying Reader. The publication includes poems from Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), Natalie Diaz (Mojave/Pima) and Brandy Nālani McDougall (Native Hawaiian), artist statements, an interview with Lulani Arquette and Flint Jamison and a thoughtful essay by Healoha Johnston.”
Supported Initiatives
NACF is a catalyst for cultural equity, promoting the work of our fellows and artist projects, and producing publications and national programming including panels, presentations, and workshops. We know that Native peoples need forums for telling their stories, and meaningful opportunities to build bridges between Native and nonNative stakeholders and audiences. NACF works to further intercultural enrichment with Native-led organizations and creatives whoe missions support increased awareness and appreciation of Indigenous arts and cultures across all disciplines. In 2023, NACF awarded three special projects and will continue to award local, regional, and national grants that share our values, vision, and demonstrate capacity in fostering a flourishing Native arts and cultural landscape.
The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM)
NACF was pleased to support the 2023 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Honoring Indigenous Culture and Knowledge Systems, which took place in October in Oklahoma City. This annual conference helps build institutional capacity of Native cultural institutions and is typically attended by 700 people from almost every Tribal institution in the United States, as well as representatives from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other countries.
Mead Art Museum at Amherst College Boundless Residency - Exhibition Programming
NACF had the opportunity to support a one-time artist residency which offered selfdirected research time, and resident and community dialogue. Organized and hosted by Mead Art Museum at Amherst College in collaboration with writer, guest curator, and NACF National Artist Fellow Heid E. Erdrich (Ojibwe/Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), the residency included artists Kohar Avakian (Nipmuc), Sierra Henries (Nipmuc), Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley (Nipmuc), and Jeremy Dennis (Shinnecock) who were part of the larger project called Boundless, which featured exhibitions of Northeastern Native authors and artists.
Brooke Swaney & Kendra Potter
Daughter of a Lost Bird - Film Screening
After screenings around the world, the film Daughter of a Lost Bird made its homecoming premiere at Portland State University’s Native American Student and Community Center in February 2023. A panel discussion followed with director and NACF National Artist Fellow Brooke Swaney (Blackfeet and Salish), protagonist and producer Kendra Potter (Lummi), protagonist April Kowalski (Lummi), Adoption Mosaic Founder and CEO Astrid Castro, and Director of the Office of Tribal Affairs for the Oregon Department of Human Services Adam Becenti (Navajo/Diné). NACF was pleased to support the programming of this event.
2023 SHIFT AWARDEES
In 2023, NACF successfully conducted a second cycle of its SHIFT - Transformative Change & Indigenous Arts program, awarding eight Native artists and partnering organizations with a two-year, $100,000 grant for community-driven projects responding to social change issues. Since its launch in 2021, the impact of this national grantmaking initiative has been profound, seeding projects that have undoubtedly made progress toward positive social change, environmental justice, racial equity, and visibility of truthful Native narratives. The incredible breadth of efforts and communities impacted nationally has been a source of inspiration and invaluable learning for NACF.
SHIFT offers essential resources for project development, production, and presentation for artists and collaborators.
From top left: Maile Andrade, Juanita
Growing Thunder Fogarty, Lani Hotch, Anthony Hudson, Felix Furby, Leilehua
Lanzilotti, Christen H. Marquez, Warren Montoya, Marie Watt
2023 SHIFT Awardees
Maile Andrade (Kānaka ’Ōiwi) in partnership with Ho’oulu ‘Aina.
Andrade’s Ho’oulu Maikoha will grow a network of cultural resource gardens and practitioners of kapa making, a Hawaiian cultural practice. Andrade will mentor artists on preparing kapa, tool making, and identifying gardens for cultivating wauke.
Growing Thunder Collective in partnership with Ephemera.
The Growing Thunder Collective’s Waksupi Waunspe: Dakota/Nakoda Beadwork Knowledges will engage the Growing Thunder family, spanning four generations, and Fort Peck Reservation youth in the co-creation of women’s regalia through workshops and hands-on learning that will be documented and presented in a traveling exhibition.
Lani Hotch (Chilkat Indian Village) in partnership with Takshanuk Watershed Council. Hotch will mentor four apprentices in the creation of five Chilkat salmon protector robes which will be utilized as a tool for advocacy and cultural education on the vital importance of the Chilkat River salmon and the prevention of industrial development that threatens the Chilkat River and watershed.
Anthony Hudson (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Siletz) & Felix Furby (Chinook Nation and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) in partnership with Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center and New Expressive Works.
Hudson and Furby’s The Shimkhin Project will be a touring exhibition and supporting programming about transfeminine Atfalati (Tualatin) Kalapuya healer Shimkhin (1820-1904).
Leilehua Lanzilotti (Kānaka Maoli) in partnership with Te Ao Mana. Lanzilotti’s Lili’u is a new opera celebrating the legacy of the last Queen of Hawai’i that will be presented alongside free hula, language, and cultural workshops to bring the community together and celebrate the diaspora.
Christen H. Marquez (Kānaka Maoli) in partnership with Hawaii Strategy Lab. Marquez’s Lucky We Live Hawaii is a feature documentary that highlights stories of Native Hawaiians whose lives and access to housing and land are impacted by white supremacy and will offer Native Hawaiian solutions for access to land, housing, and capital.
Warren Montoya (Tamaya [Santa Ana Pueblo] and Kha’po Owingeh [Santa Clara Pueblo]) in partnership with Santa Fe Indian School. Montoya’s Santa Fe Indian School Heritage Murals Project is a multi-phase program to design and permanently install multiple murals embedded with augmented reality coding technology across the Santa Fe Indian School campus.
Marie Watt (Seneca Nation) in partnership with Forge Project. Watt’s Chords to Other Chords (Relative) is a series of three site-responsive neon sculptures that aim to amplify stories and conversations about land, stewardship, and place.
Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty (Assiniboine/Sioux) Remembering the Quillworker Societies 2017
Smoked brain tanned moose hide, hand dyed porcupine quills, vintage size 16 micro seed beads, brass beads, brass cones, brass tacks, red trade wool, silk ribbon, brass hawk bells, antique Doctor's bag with brass fittings .Image courtesy of the artist and Nando Slivers Photography
Portrait of New Red Order, Courtesy of the artists
New Red Order
The World’s UnFair
On a cold autumn day on a vacant city lot in Queens, NY, visitors were welcomed to New Red Order's (NRO) The World’s UnFair. NRO is formed by Jackson Polys (Tlingit), Adam Khalil (Ojibway [Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians]) and Zach Khalil (Ojibway [Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians])
NACF supported this exhibition, film, and panel event through a SHIFT - Transformative Change & Indigenous Arts award. This project was NRO’s largest public project to-date. They invited audiences to play a part in decolonizing by offering a practical solution to growing calls for the return of Indigenous land: Give It Back.
Running from September 15 to October 22, 2023, it drew 600 attendees on opening day. The main event - Give It Back Gathering - featured individuals who had returned property to Indigenous groups. Panelists included NACF’s founding President/CEO, Lulani Arquette and Flint Jamison, who spoke about the historic transfer of the Yale Union building to NACF, as an example of land back.
The panel also featured government officials and remarks by Indigenous activists, emphasizing the call to action for land rematriation in New York City and beyond. Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache) 2016 NACF National Artist Fellow and musician closed out the event with a performance.
While it has taken over 500 years to colonize Turtle Island, it may take 500 more to decolonize it. The World’s UnFair reminds us that we are living in the future now.
New Red Order, Jackson Polys, Adam Khalil, Zach Khalil Dexter and Sinister, 2023, Animatronic tree and beaver sculptures. Image courtesy of Creative Time. Photo by Cesarin Mateo.
Anthony Hudson (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Siletz) and Felix Furby (Chinook Nation and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), We Did a History!, 2023
We Did A History!
Anthony Hudson and Felix Furby met each other while searching for what being queer and Grand Ronde means culturally. Through their research they found Shimkhin (18211904).
Shimkhin (pronounced “Shim-hen” or “Shum-hin”) was a respected 19th-century Atfalati Kalapuya healer in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) community. Together, Hudson and Furby curated an exhibition My Father’s Father’s Sister: Our Ancestor Shimkhin, at Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center, at the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation to display their findings.
After NACF staff visited the exhibition at Chachalu, we invited Hudson and Furby to The Center for a livestream broadcast discussion about their exhibit. From the ballroom, NACF collaborated with Hudson and Furby for a multimedia storytelling event.
Co-curators and SHIFT: Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts awardees Hudson and Furby offered their reflections on honoring Shimkhin and contemporary two-spirit and Indigiqueer contributions to the CTGR communities. They acted out historical transcripts and revealed a mock-up of their exhibition that Furby built in minecraft. NACF is grateful to Hudson and Furby for this unique and meaningful collaboration to share their insights and history.
Image courtesy of the artists
Image courtesy of the artist
Marie Watt (Seneca Nation), Chords to Other Chords (Relative), 2023, collage, plywood, neon.
Photo by Kevin McConnell courtesy of Marie Watt Studio.
Chords to Other Chords (Relative)
In August 2023, NACF worked with Portland, OR based Seneca Nation artist Marie Watt to install her monumental sculpture Chords to Other Chords (Relative) at The Center.
The installation, a large-scale sculpture with the bright neon words "Turtle Island And" spelled out and mounted on plywood and pasted with posters, stickers, flyers, and newspaper articles collected from the local Native community. According to Watt, the neon text is meant to "blaze like a sunrise." The title of the piece references United States Poet Laureate and NACF Board Chair, Joy Harjo’s poem Bird, which reads, “we are chords/to other chords to other chords, if we’re lucky, to melody.”
Watt says the sculpture demonstrates our relatedness, reverberating and expanding beyond the individual to empower and embrace the many. It is an affirmation of the land and the Indigenous people who are ephemeral monuments to this territory. It is a way of seeing ourselves in public places that have ties to our ancestors and to future generations. The work builds upon Seneca oral history traditions and the history of call and response. Conversations are intended to call back in time to our ancestors and forward to future generations, based on the belief that our present moment is inextricably tethered to the communities of past and future.
This project was done in partnership with the Converge 45 Biennial, Social Forms: Art as Global Citizenship which was founded by arts professionals and business leaders in Portland, OR. Converge 45 is committed to the region’s unique creative community and critical issues of contemporary art. NACF partnered with Converge 45 for the opening of Chords to Other Chords (Relative), with an attendance of over 250.
Watt is a 2023 NACF SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts award recipient. For her SHIFT project, Watt partnered with New York based Forge Project. Forge Project is a Native-led organization whose mandate is to cultivate and advance Indigenous leadership in arts and culture. Watt alongside Forge Project will create a series of three site-responsive neon sculptures that aim to amplify stories and conversations about land, stewardship, and place. Events will feature poets, artists, scholars, and other thought leaders in conversation with the themes of Turtle Island.
Watt in conversation with attendees of the opening reception.
Marie
Marie Watt (Seneca Nation)
Photograph of Turtle Island Iteration 1 2019, Photograph, Photo by Josue Rivas
Brenna Two Bears (Ho-Chunk, Navajo, and Standing Rock) and Erin Grant (Navajo Nation) pose in the neon light of Chords to Other Chords (Relative)
2023 LIFT AWARDEES
In 2023, we also successfully launched our third award cycle for our LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists program, awarding 15 early career Native artists with one-year, $10,000 grants to develop and realize new projects, and provided a suite of invaluable career training and professional development.
LIFT encourages artists to uplift communities, advance positive social change, point courageously toward environmental sustainability, and foster communal meaning making.
From top left: Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu, Jared Andreas, Angelique Kalani Axelrode, Kyle Kootswatewa, Ayuthea Lapier, Nanea Lum, Agalisiga Mackey, Kanani Miyamoto, Alica Mteuzi, Golga Oscar, Mikaela Shafer, Tomantha Sylvester, Zoë Urness, Alana Tiikpuu, Ashley Young
2023 LIFT Awardees
Film/Video
Alana Tiikpuu (Nez Perce and Navajo) — Narrative Film
Goat Song is a short film about a young Indigenous man who was adopted out of his family as a child and undergoes a spiritual transformation as he searches to reconnect with his community.
Alica “Sheyashi” Mteuzi (Black, Caddo, Cheyenne, and Arapaho) — Narrative Film
BILA is a sci-fi narrative set 50 years into the future.
Angelique Kalani Axelrode (Kānaka Maoli) — Performance
Kai Hali‘a is a semi-autobiographical, live cinematic experience that incorporates interactive technology with digital and film footage, direct film animation, embodied movement and choreography, and generative animations spawned by movement.
Multi-Disciplinary Arts
Golga Oscar (Yup’ik Nation – Kasigluk/Tununak) — Textiles Oscar will create two forms of Yup’ik fancy parkas to share with community members and feature in fashion shows across North America.
Nanea Lum (Native Hawaiian) — Public Art
Nu’uanu Streaming is a public art project that speaks directly to the issue of water diversion in Hawai’i’s post-contact society.
Tomantha Sylvester (Citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) — Theater Kiindaash naa bndamwin webkaamgak - and so began the prophecy is a site-specific theatre performance that explores the relationship between Ojibwe cosmology and women from other ancient matriarchal societies.
Traditional Arts
Kyle “Hokona” Kootswatewa (Hopi) — Textiles/Weaving Kootswatewa’s project will revitalize the ancestral Puebloan technique of yucca cordage weaving.
Visual Arts
Ayuthea LaPier (Hanis Coos, Blackfeet, Tlingit [Chookeneidi Clan], Metis) — Mixed Media
Land Back: Fire Back is a visual storytelling of Pacific Northwest Indigenous fire practitioners’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge that will open conversations around the meaning of land rematriation and land defense.
Jared Andreas (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians) — Painting
Illuminated will consist of twelve large-scale oil portraits of tribal members from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Kanani Miyamoto (Hawaiian) — Mixed Media
Weaving Angels will be an immersive installation combining printmaking, woven materials and carved wood blocks that will serve as a symbol of community, cultural survival, and resistance against assimilation.
Mikaela Shafer (Hopi, Coyote Clan) — Mixed Media
Down Road 264 is a journey of memories and healing in a matrilineal culture through a collection of mixed media art and poetry.
Zoë Urness (Tlingit Alaskan Native) — Photography
The Eternal Village and the Chilkat River is a photographic exploration that examines the symbiotic relationship the Chilkat Tlingit village of Klukwan has had with the Chilkat River for thousands of years.
Other Disciplines
Agalisiga “chuj” Mackey (Cherokee Nation) — Music/Performance
(Yuwasv Unatseli)” will be a country-folk album entirely written, sung, and performed in the Cherokee language.
Ashley Young (Tlingit) — Music/Composition
Young will write, perform, record, release, and promote a three - six track EP. Their process of lyric-writing will involve research and collaboration with fellow Tlingít language learners and teachers.
Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi and Of many Islands and Seas) — Dance/Choreography
A collaborative multimedia performance that will center Native Hawaiian and Filipino Indigenous methodologies and concepts.
E Ho’āla Ka Lupe:
To Awaken the Kite
2022 LIFT Awardee Lehuauakea is a māhū mixed-Native Hawaiian interdisciplinary artist and kapa maker from Pāpa’ikou on Moku O Keawe, the Big Island of Hawai’i. Through a range of traditional Kānaka Maoli craft-based media, their art addresses cultural and biological ecologies, Indigenous identity, and contemporary environmental degradation.
In partnership with the Ka'aha Lāhui O'olekona Hawaiian Civic Club, NACF hosted Lehuauakea on July 29, 2023 for a celebration of their LIFT project, E Ho’āla Ka Lupe: To Awaken the Kite, presenting their traditional kapa (barkcloth) kite recreation.
The project is dedicated to the revival and recreation of traditional Native Hawaiian kites, or lupe. Addressing the overwhelming absence of information and limited old samples of Hawaiian kites, the project aims to begin bringing this craft practice back to Kānaka Maoli people using traditional construction methods and materials, including kapa, gathered fiber for cordage, and natural pigments.
Lupe Hoku (Star Kite), 2023, earth pigments, hau cordage, bamboo, shell, kapa (barkcloth).
Left to right
Lehuauakea (Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian)Ka'ena's Kite, 2023, ochre earth pigments, bamboo, hibiscus cordage, shell, kapa (barkcloth).
Lupe Huinaha II (Four-Sided Kite), 2023, earth pigments, hau branches and cordage, kapa (barkcloth).
Loren Waters Restoring Néške’emāne
On March 25th, NACF celebrated and showcased a documentary short film directed by 2022 LIFT program awardee Loren Waters (Citizen of the Cherokee Nation and Kiowa tribe), in which community members gathered at the Portland State University Native American Student and Community Center for a screening of Restoring Néške’emāne
Waters is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked on projects including Reservation Dogs, Fancy Dance (2023), and the Martin Scorsese’s feature film, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Restoring Néške’emāne is her first short documentary, winning Best Short Documentary at North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival and Honorable Mention at the Tallgrass Film Festival. Restoring Néške’emāne is an 11 minute documentary short film featuring Damon Dunbar, a Tribal Environmental Professional who has worked for more than 20 years to coordinate a community-engaged effort to assess and remediate the toxic landscape of a boarding school shut down in the early 1980s by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Attendees screening Restoring Néške’emāne at the Portland State University Native American Student and Community Center.
Protection: Adaptation & Resistance
In May of 2023, NACF hosted a national traveling exhibition featuring Alaska Native art entitled, Protection: Adaptation and Resistance , organized by the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, Alaska. NACF hosted exhibition curator Asia Freeman at The Center who oversaw the installation and promotion of the exhibition prior to its opening on May 19th.
Freeman introduced the Portland community to exhibiting artists: Lily Wooshkindein Da.áat Hope (Tlingit), Dimi Macheras (Ahtna) and his creative partner Casey Silver, filmmaker Katelyn Stiles (Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska), Elli Tansy (Ahtna), activist Amber Webb (Yup’ik), and traditional tattoo artist and graphic designer Holly Mititquq Nordlum (Inupiaq).
The audience was filled with both supporters of Native art and members of the local Indigenous community. Artists spoke about their respective practices before remarks from NACF President/CEO Lulani Arquette, former Director of Transformative Change Programs Reuben Roqueñi (Yaqui, Mayo, and Mexican-American ancestry), a blessing from Alaska Native elder Frank Alby (Inupiat Inuit and Swedish), followed by remarks from Oregon State Representative Rob Nosse, and a song from the Alaska Native Singing Group. The artists featured in this powerful exhibition respond to violence against women, the pandemic, climate change, and additional threats to Indigenous communities.
“First Peoples, including our talented Alaska Native relatives, bring millenia of learning and perspective to a diversity of artistic mediums that electrify the imagination,” said Lulani Arquette. “Presenting the Alaska Native Protection exhibition in our Center aligns with our mission to support and lift up the work of Native artists and culture bearers who are creating positive social change and healing communities.”
<-- Community at Protection: Adaptation and Resistance exhibition opening as Yup’ik artist and activist Amber Webb speaks about her piece the Memorial Qaspeq.
Previous image K’asheechtlaa/Louise Brady (Lingit), Káakaxaawulga/ Jennifer Younger (Lingit), and Carol Hughey (Lingit), Herring pattern designed by Kitkun/Charlie Skultka Jr (Lingit), Lingit dance robes Kaxhatjaa X’óow Herring Protector, 2021, Wool felt, silk WW2 Japanese parachute cloth, metallic fabrics, ribbon, mother-of-pearl buttons, akoya shell buttons, abalone buttons, and dimes drilled and shaped into buttons.
Activating The Center with Tours & Artist Engagement
NACF was gifted an historic, 40,000 square foot building in Southeast Portland in 2021, now re-opened as The Center for Native Arts & Cultures (The Center). Transfer of the building and land into NACF’s care was undertaken as an act of intended restorative justice. We have since launched programming at NACF's new national headquarters, establishing The Center as a vibrant gathering place for Native creativity, cultural production, and community.
In July 2023, a new monthly Community Tour and Artist Engagement Series kicked off, welcoming in neighbors and supporters for educational tours and Native-centered creative engagement. This new, free monthly series has so far featured a broad variety of opportunities to engage with NACF staff, and connect with our community of Native artist awardees. Groups of all ages have gathered to be in conversation about our space, its history, and NACF’s vision for the future. Our activation of The Center continues to deepen relationships with the artists and projects we support, and has helped grow our circle of engaged supporters and local arts audiences.
Highlights from monthly gatherings in 2023 included a cooking demonstration with a local Native chef, Ramon Shiloh (Mvskoke, Cherokee, Filipino, and Black), a short horror film screening with a NACF LIFT artist, Olivia Camfield (Mvskoke), and a sit down discussion with renowned Seneca Nation and 2023 SHIFT awardee Marie Watt –opening our doors to increase visibility and impact locally.
Chef Ramon Shiloh plating Indigenous menu items during a First Foods demonstration at The Center.
<-- 2022 LIFT Awardee Olivia Camfield and NACF Program Specialist Amber Ball during a Q&A.
Honoring Lulani Arquette
Founding NACF President/CEO Lulani Arquette joined the organization in 2009 after the organization had been incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and was still a concept that had emerged from a Ford Foundation study. The study concluded there was a need for institutional support for Native artists and cultural bearers. Lulani was charged with helping to transform that vision into reality. She embodies NACF’s values of courage, generosity, creativity, respect and commitment. She embedded this in the work and blueprint of the organization that she co-created, handling the many obstacles along the way with compassion, integrity and grace.
NACF has been one of the early leading organizations uplifting Native artist voices for social change and equity. From our first awardees in 2011 to today, Arquette has closely worked with staff and diligently overseen NACF’s programs, innovating and adapting to best serve the needs of artists, culture bearers and the Native arts and cultures field.
Many of the artists supported by NACF over the past decade and a half have mentored other artists in their communities and gone on to garner broader national recognition from the MacArthur Fellows Program and United States Artists USA Fellowships, in addition to invitations from international venues in Australia, Europe, and Brazil.
Arquette recognized the need to engage with other organizations, partners and stakeholders to bring Native arts and cultures to the forefront. Many collaborations led to NACF having a voice and presence at the table when it comes to addressing methodologies and resources to support Native arts and cultures. NACF partnered with National Endowment of the Arts and National Endowment of the Humanities to co-host the first ever national gathering of Indigenous arts and cultures. Arquette’s leadership also led to the transfer of ownership of a historic building in Portland, OR, to NACF, which is now The Center for Native Arts and Cultures.
While Arquette may be stepping down from her role as President/CEO after 15 years of commitment and dedication, her legacy is one that has shaped NACF, and we stand on her shoulders as we move forward into the next chapter of this organization. Words cannot fully express our gratitude to Arquette. She will always be part of what she lovingly calls the NACF “Ohana”, which means family in the Hawaiian language.
2021 SHIFT awardee Sabra Kauka, (Native Hawaiian) and Lulani Arquette
Financial Report
Total Support & Revenue
Investment Income - $1,386,628 (62%)
Grants - $534,650 (24%)
Contributions - $253,197 (11%)
Other Income - $74,751 (3%)
Total - $2,249,226 (100%)
Summary
Overall, 2023 represented an important step forward in our longterm plans to diversify and grow NACF’s circle of philanthropic support and partnership. In the Spring, we launched an Individual Membership Program, focused on engaging Portland area donors, building important visibility and regional presence, as we activate our new home at The Center. Our national base of institutional funders also remains robust, as we welcome in new leadership and seek new partnerships to realize a bold vision for NACF’s next era of programming and visionary growth.
Total Expenses
Program Services - $1,787,556 (63%)
Fundraising - $655,734 (23%)
Management & General - $406,930 (14%)
Total - $2,850,220 (100%)
Excess Revenue over Expenses - ($600,994)
Net Assets (Beginning Balance) - $21,447,771
Net Assets (End Balance) - $20,846,777
NACF ended 2023 in a strong, long-term fiscal position, with a positive financial outlook for future years and planned growth. Fluctuations in annual operating expense, as well as contributed and earned revenue, continue to be well managed, with the organization’s overall financial health secured by significant operating reserves. NACF closed the year with net assets totaling over $20 million.
*Financials reflected are unaudited at the time of this report.
Board of Directors
Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), Chair U.S. Poet Laureate, Author, Musician
Valorie Johnson, (Seneca-Cayuga-Eastern Cherokee), Vice-Chair Consultant and former Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Raymond Foxworth, (Navajo Nation), Treasurer Program Director for Indigenous Knowledge Intiative, Henry Luce Foundation
Nadia Sethi (Ninilchik Tribe - Alutiiq), Secretary Program Director and Art Historian, The CIRI Foundation
Kamani Kuala’au, (Native Hawaiian) Senior Vice President, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC
America Meredith, (Cherokee Nation)
Publishing Editor of First American Art Magazine
Dr. Elise Paschen, (Osage Nation) Poet, editor, professor, and co-founder of Poetry in Motion
Betsy Richards, (Cherokee Nation)
Executive Director of the Abbe Museum & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations
Camilla Rockefeller David Rockerfeller Fund Board Member
Rob Sassor Principal, Water’s Edge Strategy
Charlene Teters, (Spokane Nation) Artist, Professor Emeritus, Institute of American Indian Arts
S. R. Tommie, (Seminole Tribe of Florida) Founder and President, Redline Media Group
Brian D. Vallo, (Pueblo of Acoma) Consultant
NACF STAFF:
Administration:
Shyla Spicer (Yakama and Seneca Cayuga), President/CEO
T. Lulani Arquette (Native Hawaiian), Honored Past President/CEO
Gabriella Tagliacozzo, Director of Operations
Kevin Washington, Director of Finance
Lovi Woods, Staff Accountant
Beckett Royce, Facilities Manager
Communications:
Mandy Yeahpau (Comanche, Cherokee, and Tarahumara), Director of Marketing & Communications
Robert Franklin (Diné [Navajo Nation]), Media and Communications Specialist
Development:
Katy Hilton, Director of Development
Rachel Hershey, Associate Director of Development
Annie Silver, Development Operations Specialist
Programs:
Andrea R. Hanley (Navajo Nation), Vice President of Programs
Laura (Cales) Matalka (Chickasaw Nation), Associate Director of Programs
Amber Ball (Dakubetede, Shasta, Modoc, and Klamath) , Program Specialist
Thank You Supporters
On behalf of our entire staff team, the artists we uplift, and the community we serve, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the partners who supported our work to uplift Native arts, cultures, and communities in 2023. The generosity of our circle of individual members, funders, and advocates are a source of inspiration and vital to our mission.
Thank you for helping us elevate Native artists and community projects that are changing the narrative for generations to come. We could not do this meaningful work without you.
Our Supporters
Individuals Lamar Fairley-Minthorn
Anonymous (3)
JJ Aalto
Mona Abadir
Tom Achor and Anne Trainor
Kathleen Adams
Merrilee B. Adams and John E. Adams III
Emily Aley
Lucy Allen
Nathaniel and Mandy Allen
Alys Allwardt
Roya Amirsoleymani
Ann Anderson
Stephany Anderson
Peggy Anet and John Whittlesey
Valentine Aprile in honor of Ginger Chavez, Antonia A Chavez, and Rupert E Chavez
Lyric Apted
Stephanie Arnold
Lulani and Ua Arquette
Evan Atwood
Kym Aughtry
Rupert Ayton and Stephanie Sarver in honor of Lulani Arquette
Erin and Evan Balbier
Bev Balliett and Ruth Szilagyi
Claire Barnett
Terri Barnett
Monica Beemer and Johanna Rayman
Rob Bekuhrs
Stephanie Benjes
Jennifer Bergstrom
Susan Berresford in honor of Lulani Arquette
Kathleen Birch
Chai Blair-Stahn
Matt Blair
Steve and Barbara Jo Blair
Deborah Bloom
Beth Bonness
Amanda Borja
Bobbie Lee Bowser
Constance Bracewell
Sara Bram
Robert and Chris Brands
Linda M. Brent Buckley
Julie B. Bunker
Kristin and Michael Butler
Trudy Saunders and Will Buttner
Ben Calabaza
K Dee Camp in honor of Tsim Schneider
Victoria Campbell
Ellen Cantwell
Priscilla Carlson
Tammy Carpenter in honor Shirley Carpenter
Ethan Chessin
Kathy Chumley
Andrea Chunga-Celis
Matthew Cleinman
Dudley Cocke
Graham Cole
Joy and Caitlin Collings-Domingo
Andrew and Kathryn Coltrin
Judy Cooke
David Copeland and Marna Hauk
Evan Cordes
James J. Costello
David and Colette Cottrill
Anna and Shawn Cowen
Elizabeth Craig
David and Sally Crawford
Marissa Csanyi
Keith Daily
Eloise Damrosch and Gary Hartnett
Michael Davidson
Rob Davies
Janine DeLaunay
Dev and Sumathi Devarajan
David A. and Helen L. Dichek
Mary and Dale DiLoreto
Amy Doering Smith
Jan Donald
Bryan Downey
Elisa Dozono
Martha Driessnack
Laura Dugan in honor of Elizabeth and Michael Wilber
Carla Dunn
Bryan Edgington and Tara Knierim
Deborah Edward
Ken and Ann Edwards
Andrew Ekman and Laurie Lundy-Ekman
Laural Engeman
Erica Erignac
Josh Essex
Rosie Estes
Katharine Evans
Nat Excoffier
Ginny and George Feldman
Ellen Ferguson
Dakotah Fitzhugh
Emily Flock and Lauren Truxillo
Lauren and Kristopher Fortín Grijalva
Raymond Foxworth
Ann French
Herbert Fricke
Mary From
Tina Frost
Andrew Fuller
Jen Fulwyler (Chickasaw)
Holly Furman and Frank Stiefel
Jeremy A. Fuster
Barbara and Jack Geltosky
Madeleine George
Martha Gerrity
Kariena Gibson
Nick Gideonse
Jason Glover
Drew Gonrowski
Marjorie and Donald Gonzalez in honor of Lulani Arquette
Meredith and Troy Goodman
Jack Gordon
Mindy and Craig Gramberg
Ann Grant
Suzanne and Ero Gray
Michelle and David Green
Brette Greenwood-Wing
Jere M. Grimm
Caroline Guin
Bija Gutoff and Daniel Koch
Justice Hager and Jen Mitas
Elizabeth Hardee
Marybeth Harms
Jeanette Harrison in honor of Lulani Arquette
Sandra Hart
Dorothy Haught
John Haworth in honor of Lulani Arquette
Dawn Hayami
Clark Hays in honor of the Jacobs baklava
Michael Heavers
Lisa Hershey and Rachel Hershey
Beth Herstein
Mary Jo Hessel
Josh Hetrick
Individuals
(cont)
Craig Hill
Lauren Hobson and Dan Hassler
William Hodge
Andrea Hollingshead and Matt Talavera
Alisha Horowitz
Sheryl Horwitz and Larry Knudsen
Faun Hosey
Margaret S. Hough
Eric Houghton and Erika Foin
Jeri Katherine Howell
Jacqueline Hoyt
Carrie Huffman
Kyle Huth and Rebecca Smith
Nancy Ives
Jeff Jackson and Sandy Moses
Susan Jenkins
Karen Shoemaker and Niels Johnson-Laird
Avery Johnson
Patricia Johnson
Valorie Johnson in honor of Lulani Arquette
Lisa Jordan and Judy George
Kathy Joylove
Dolores and David Judkins
Diane Kaplan in honor of Lulani Arquette
Julie Kaplan
Roberta Kaplan
Keith Karoly
Sabra Kauka in honor of Lulani Arquette
Shaun Keylock
Tracey Y. Kikut
Sarah Knudsen
Barbara Kommer and Kurt Koenig
Ali Krasnow
Rachel Kroll
Kamani Kuala’au
Karen E. Kun and Haskell Beckham
Amber Kurson
Nancy Lamb in honor of Lulani Arquette
Melissa Lang
Julianne Larsen
Chris and Alida Latham
George Ledyard
Yin-May Lee
Kristin Lensen and David Whitaker
Davidee Lewis
Wendy Lichtenbaum
Judith Lienhard
Susan Lienhart and Noel Holley
Rachel Lipton
Rosalie Lowe
Jennifer and Marce Luck
Frances Lynch
Kat Macpherson
Alexander Mahan
Brenda Mallory and Bruce Barrow
Richard and Elizabeth Marantz
Margaret Marriott
Bernhard Masterson
Maveret McClellan
Kristi and Robert McFarland
Anne McLaughlin
Deb and Erich Meihoff
Shatta Mejia
Gary L. Oxman and Kathryn Menard
Dave Mendenhall
Rebecca Mendez and Mark Evans
America Meredith in memory of Blue Clark (Muscogee)
Rae Middlebrook
Jan Mieszkowski and Sarah Roff
Joseph Miller
Barbara Millikan
Guenevere Millius and Thomas Ewers
Brian and Kate Mitchell
Chariti Montez and Andrew Sterling
Sean Mooney
Rachel Moore
Evelyn F. Morabe
Frank and Tirzah Morell
Vicki Mudd
Keil Mueller and Alli Bratt
Molly Jo and Dan Mullen
Dennis G. Mulvihill
Pamela Joy Mundrick
Shaina N.
Erica Naito-Campbell
Erin Neff-Minyard
Anne Nelson and Scott Rice
Jodi and Allen Nelson
Emma Nolan and Charles MacEachen
Jake Palu and Annie O’Dorisio
Cry’s O’Grady (Monacan Indian Nation)
Julie Oatfield
Sherry Oeser
Sherelyn Ogden
Deanna Oothoudt and Ben Waterhouse
Sallyann Paschall
Elise Paschen
Matt Pearson and Daniel Fogg
Heidi Perry
Tommer Peterson and Elizabeth Flett
Helene Phipps
Beth Piatote (Nez Perce)
Loretta Pickerell
Lisa and David Platt
Joanna Lynne Ponce
Elizabeth Poston
Lynne Preli
Naomi and Steve Price
Qacung
Jason and Megan Quigley
Jessica Quinette
Sarah Racker
Anjana Gigi Radhakrishnan
Kacper Rams
Clayton and Jacqueline Reckles
Tracy Rector
Peter Rengstorff
Joseph Revay
Betsy Richards (Cherokee Nation)
Amie Riley and Joe Buck
Marjorie Risi
C. Roberts
Kendra Roberts
Mitch and Rianna Robertson-LeVay
Camilla Rockefeller
Tirzah Rodgers
Terence Rokop
Courtney Romine Mann
Charles Rooks
Jennifer Rose
Carin Rosenberg and Erik Lawrence
Jennifer Rosenzweig
Emily Roth
Beckett Royce
Max Russell-Bonner
Sarah J. Ryan and Douglas D. Larson
Fran L. Ryback
Paul Sarvasy
Rob Sassor
Oliver Savetz
Mary Sayler
Jocelyn Scheintaub
Ryan Schneider
Gwendolyn Schrader
Estate of Mary Virginia Schreiber and Helen E. Schreiber
Donna Schuurman
Mikayla Seabaugh
Andrea Sebastian in honor of James Love
John Seggie
Sallejane Seif
Susan and Howard Selmer
Peter Sergienko and Ann Hargraves
Sharon Servilio
Nadia Sethi (Ninilchik Tribe)
Brian Setzler in memory of Jason Tom
Lori Severson and Stephen Douglas
Amanda Shannahan
Julie Sifuentes
Annie and David Silver
Jeremy and Shelley Simer
Celestial Sipes and Joshua Austin
Dresden Skees-Gregory and John Gregory
Adrian Smith
Bill Smith on behalf of Alexander Smith
Flannery Smith
Norrine Smokey-Smith and Terry Smith
Taylor Spencer
Evan Stanfill and Beans Flores
Philip Stein
Jennifer Stepanek
Amy Stout
Dennis and Linny Stovall
Alberto Sveum
Carl Switzer
Gabriella Tagliacozzo
Maryanne Tagney and David Jones
Sidra Tareen
Beverly Terry in honor of Lulani Arquette
Annie Tessar
Charlene Teters
Mitchell Thomas and Julie Perko
Myla Thomas and Mark Buchanan
William B. Thomas and Laura Berg
Mackendree Thompson and Garrett Burt
Greg and Cathy Tibbles in honor of Lulani Arquette
S R Tommie
Alisha Tonsic
Scott Urbatsch and Jessica Duke
Kristine and Jay Vallandingham
Brian Vallo
Erika and Casey Van Winkle
David Vicente
Mike and Bonnie Voss
Barbara Wagner
Laura Walsh
Karl Wardrop
Wendy Ware
Marie Watt and Adam McIsaac
Tim Webb and Stephanie Gorman
Robert L. Weisman
Karen Wells
Dayna and Richard Wenzel
Madeline Wilk
Shannon Wilkinson and Michael Tewfik
Bill Will
Margaret Williams
Ben Wilson and Simone Williams
Conan Witzel
Max and Tali Woodbury
James Woodworth
Elizabeth Woody and Dwight Ball Morrill
Athlyn Woolley
Jeana Woolley
Jeffrey Work
Kathleen Worley
Jean Wynn
Sara Yada
Jenna Yokoyama
Kristina Yokoyama and Caleb Cook
Micah Young
Agnieszka Zoltowski
Mallory Zumbach and Gordon Magella
Organizations
Anonymous Achievers
Allison-Hall Family Fund in honor of Greg Robinson
Arnerich Massena
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums
B. Bentele’s Fund of The New York Community Trust
The Boeing Company Gift Matching
The Brackthorn Foundation
C8 Charitable Fund
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Ciena
Circular
Community Foundation for Southwest Washington
Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts/Pamela
Uschuk
The Raymond Dale and Mary Hardesty
Charitable Fund in honor of Willi Lane (Lummi Nation)
Del’s Kids Family Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.
Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
Heard Museum Library
Hutchins & Skeggs Giving Fund
Intel Foundation
P.D. Jackson Family Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Killian Pacific LLC
Levi Strauss
Matter Communications
The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation
Merck Foundation
James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation
Moonflower Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Mythical Entertainment
Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation
Nalu Kava Lounge
B. and U. Tenny Fund of The New York Community Trust
Oaktree Capital
OnPoint Community Credit Union
Fred W. Fields Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
David and Patricia Page Family Fund
PDX Contemporary Art
Purl Soho
Quintana Galleries
The Roundhouse Foundation
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
Center Art Foundation at Seattle Foundation
Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition
Spur Experiences
Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Oregon Community Foundation
Lorraine Vinograd Donor Advised Fund at Schwab Charitable
Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation
Whitney Family Foundation
The Center for Native Arts & Cultures • 800 SE 10th Avenue, Portland, OR Generous support for the exhibition is provided by the Ford Family Foundation and The Standard.
Become a Member ⸺ Help catalyze Native artists and culture bearers to influence positive social, cultural, and environmental change by joining our community of members today! Learn more at nativeartsandcultures.org
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Dyani White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota), Dreaming, 2022, Lithograph, Edition of 20, Photo courtesy Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts
