Building Native Assets

Building Native Assets

Building Native Assets ©2015 All Rights Reserved Published by Seventh Generation Fund Indigenous Peoples, Inc. Authored by Dr. William Harjo (Nv-Ce Mvs-ko-ke), Red Paper, Being a Good Ancestor, Written by Dr. Henrietta Mann (Southern Cheyenne), Additional Edits & Text by Christopher Peters (Pohlik-lah/Karuk), Tia Oros Peters (Zuni), and Heather Freitas (Lusitanian) Cover Artwork by Sam Eli (Schitsu’umsh), Coffee Label Artwork by Brian D. Tripp (Karuk), and Do:sho:we Artwork & Text by Edward Wemytewa (Zuni) Layout and Design by Christopher Hollis, Wingspan Media

Table of Contents Letter from Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples ...... 1 Keeping the Homefires Burning 2015 Report ............................. 2 Organizational Strategic Elements ............................................ 10 Being a Good Ancestor, by Dr. Henrietta Mann ........................... 12 Survival Protocols for the Seventh Generation .................................. 24 Firekeepers Awards and Good Ancestor Awards for 2015 ................. 26 Eagle Feather Fellows and Internship Program .................................. 28 Do:sho:we Fund ................................................................................ 33 Seventh Generation Fund Board of Directors, Staff and Interns ........ 34 Special Thanks .................................................................................... 35

Letter from the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Warm Greetings Friends, On behalf of the Board of Directors and the committed staff of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, we are honored to share this report highlighting our 2015 Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering (KHB) which took place in the homelands of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Nation. Along with other Native and non-Native ally organizations, this year’s gathering featured programs and keynote speakers dedicated to Building Native Assets. We extend a warm greeting to all of our amazing community and grantee partners, dedicated Affiliate Projects, and the many community leaders and nonprofit innovators that have joined us in this movement. We especially recognize the many foundation partners, sponsors, and friends who have made this a very successful year of community organizing and asset building, and helped support the many projects and initiatives that are illuminated in this publication.

The Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering has been organized since 1995, when our first such event took place in New Mexico entitled: Building Native Sustainable Communities. At this year’s convening, Seventh Generation Fund gathered participants from diverse experiences and expertise in community development, language revitalization, youth leadership, traditional governance, economic development, artistic expression, advocacy, diplomacy and community organizing. This incredible event spanned the generations, and brought together 200 participants originating from six countries, three continents, and over a hundred distinct Indigenous Peoples, communities, and nations of the world.

As an expression of our Gourds of Wisdom – Indigenous Think Tank, this document features a special Red Paper, Being a Good Ancestor, authored by Dr. Henrietta Mann (Southern Cheyenne) a Seventh Generation Fund Board Member. This exceptional Red Paper was the first of our 15-16 fiscal year and illuminates on fundamental thinking and tone of the gathering as well as our organizational work. Also included in this document are our Survival Protocols for the Seventh Generation, which emanated from the collective intelligence and commitment of the KHB Gathering.

These describe how to be a better ancestor for the children of the Seventh Generation to come.

We hope that illuminating on this in credible work will also inspire you to be a good ancestor.

All Our Relations,

Christopher H. Peters President and CEO

Tia Oros Peters Executive Director

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Keeping the Homefires Burning 2015 Schitsu’umsh Territory - Coeur d’Alene Reservation, Idaho We of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples exist as a network of relationships and life affirming Indigenous processes, traditions, goals and ways of being. We also exist as an oral tradition or story that is being told and retold by each of our relatives. We were privileged to gather together in the ancient and welcoming lands of the Schitsu’umsh to “share our breath” (as our esteemed elder and Board member Henrietta Mann would say). We shared stories of hope, challenge, strategy, resilience, loss, pain, joy and resurgence. We often see these stories separately but coming together allows us to see the interwoven and imaginable power of Indigenous Peoples, places, languages and beings. As you continue reading you will see several stories unfold and hear the voices of the participants throughout. You will see: Stories of Beginnings A Story of Values A Story of Partnership Stories of the Present A Story of Collectivity A Story of Assets and Economies A Story of our Gathering Stories of the Future A Story of Outcomes A Story of Going Home These stories are of individual, collective and organizational experiences celebrated as part of a greater story to be told over Seven Generations. By reading this you are joining us in their telling and we thank you.

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Stories of Beginnings The Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering (KHB) or Homefires, as many participants refer to it, emerged in 1995 from the Seventh Generation Fund’s Native Sustainable Communities Program as an Indigenously centered training ground of mutual learning, organizing and exchange for community based initiatives. Over the nearly two decades since KHB has been in existence, the Homefires has been a forum, convening and a place for reflection and grounding. This gathering is also a source of rejuvenation and revitalization for Indigenous Peoples and allies in locations throughout the hemisphere seeking to strengthen and advance the work for their respective peoples, cultures and sovereign nations.

A gathering of the hearts, minds and spirits of Seventh Generation Fund Affiliates, projects, sister organizations, allies and partners, KHB has been where we can join together, express and strengthen our “Re-Indigenizing� strategies. We have learned from one another, shared our triumphs and challenges, developed new ways to work together, and connected our dreams and aspirations for the health and vitality of our communities and nations. At KHB we have celebrated our achievements, reflected on struggles and begin to heal our wounds from lost battles. We have explored new partnerships to support our efforts and prepared for action so we may stand in solidarity for the sometimes seemingly overwhelming challenges we engage in today, tomorrow, and for all the generations to come.

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The Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering has provided a unique opportunity to bring together leading edge activists, Native philosophers, culture bearers and youth leaders, to contribute and shape aspects of the essential dialogue on issues of peace, sustainability and holistic well-being for our shared planet.

A Story of Values The 2015 Homefires gathering took place June 25-27 in Schitsu’umsh Territory on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation in Worley, Idaho.

It began as all events from the Seventh Generation Fund do, as a story of values. Homefires celebrated the values of Indigenous economy, creativity, healing, relationship and resilience. The focus of the 2015 conference was “Building Native Assets.” Critical findings from the gathering were rooted in the values of the communities. It was still apparent that Native Peoples hold a distinct view of economics that diverges from the mainstream.

The goal of Indigenous Peoples, as stated by many participants, remains to be to have a “good and honorable life.”

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Different Indigenous Nations and communities define this life in different ways and some of the commonalities that emerged from the conference include: • Protection of Native assets. These assets may be physical, intellectual, nonmaterial, environmental, cultural and spiritual. The theme woven throughout the conference and its participators.

• The idea of individual ownership in a Western sense is still extremely problematic for many Indigenous communities and Peoples. The idea of individual gain as an economic goal was viewed by many participants as fundamentally destructive to native cultures and economies, and was directly rejected and repudiated by many as antithetical to their personal and community values.

• The economics of colonization overshadow many efforts to harmonize Indigenous economics and Western economics. Many voiced the concern that these economic development efforts are ultimately another attempt to extract assets from the community.

These understandings exist however within a context of extraordinary optimism, efficacy and self-reliance.

As one conference goer put it, “We’ve always worked hard for everything we have. Working has never been our problem. Jobs are not our problem. How to live a good life in this universe is our challenge.

And European-style economics makes that much more complicated than it used to be.

But that’s the world that we live in and we are fully entitled to take the positive from that as well.”

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Stories of Partnership Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering was brought into being by a unique set of partnerships.

The primary partners have always been the Seventh Generation for Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous communities, Elders and Children. In contrast to many other “conferences,” Elders and Children were active, vital and focal participants throughout Homefires. A fundamental partner for this gathering was the Schitsu’umsh or Coeur d’Alene Nation. The Schitsu’umsh embodied the spirit of generosity, reciprocity and hospitality; traits which one conference goer stated are “primary indicators of a healthy Indigenous economy.” They also represented other traits considered “healthy” including resilience and continuity. As their website states “The Coeur d’Alenes are who they always were and who they will always be.“ This gathering brought many key philanthropic partners together to discuss, explore and build Native assets. Such partners are included in our Special Thanks section alongside additional supporters of this work.

Stories of the Present As represented in the Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering, the stories of Indigenous communities and organizations are stories characterized by struggle, creativity, strategy and an overriding faith that Indigenous language, culture, identity and wisdom provide the answers and the tools necessary to meet the often daunting challenges of (re)creating healthy, vibrant, resilient and adaptable Indigenous economies.

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Participants shared stories of continuity amidst changes in organizational leadership, funding, seemingly intractable socioeconomic indicators and fluctuating cultural indicators of community health and well-being. The stories were characterized by a focus on: Hard Work. Many participants reported working “from morning till night” and had gone “months or years” without significant periods of rest, reflection or recovery. As one participant stated, “We set ourselves on fire to help our tribes but at least that provides a little light and warmth for others.”

Constantly fluctuating streams of funding. Much of the current work of community sustenance is accomplished in marginal conditions with little or no external support. “I worked for six months with no salary but I couldn’t stop the community depended on me.”

Creativity. One of the strengths of Homefires is the constant sharing and exchange of creative solutions to the most difficult problems. “I think all native people are artists in the way that we live our lives and even the way that we run our organizations.”

A Story of Collectivity

A Story of Assets and Economies When asked to define what the primary assets of their communities were, the conference participants’ response was overwhelmingly, “children, elders, culture, language, spirituality and the land.” This represents a fundamental divergence from the prevailing American view of assets, which include monetary assets, personal property, real estate and investments. This Native-centered training ground of mutual learning, organizing and exchange for our Peoples, projects, organizations and tribal communities brought over 200 participants together from throughout the Indigenous World spanning six different countries. These participants characterized the diversity of Indigenous communities and also the diversity of Indigenous economies. Participants noted that while Indigenous communities have many commonalities (the history of colonization for example), each community and economy is unique and functions in a different way given of their unique circumstances of history, geography, differential impact of colonization, access to external resources and organization of internal resources.

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There was a significant concern that Native Americans are seen as a “monolithic” group and that community development initiatives, aside from the Seventh Generation Fund and very few others, fail to take this diversity into account.

Therefore, many grassroots organizations are limited in their success. A failure to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ histories and sovereignty, and to understand local cultural governmental and community systems, was also discussed at length by participants and suggested as a significant barrier in the assistance of external efforts.

A Story of the Future

A Story of Outcomes

Participants in the conference represent a high level of sophistication and experience when working with grant contracts and program development. They suggested that the primary outcomes of the Homefires gathering were: Intellectual Exploration: Conference participants referred continuously to the necessity of a critical examination (from an Indigenous perspective) of “efforts to help” Indigenous communities and why they so often meet with failure in community terms and in the terms of the sponsoring organization. One youth participant said, “It’s not that we don’t understand them. I live in the city; I live with them every day. I understand them well. They don’t understand us and I’m not sure that they care. But they sure waste a lot of money by not caring.”

Decolonization: Conference participants expressed a keen understanding of the relationship of development efforts and the history of colonization and “extractive” interactions with the larger socioeconomic system. Neuro-decolonization efforts and techniques were shared extensively throughout the conference and were considered essential to developing healthy Indigenous communities and leaders. One elder attending the conference shared, “We don’t have a word for failure in our language. It got inside our head a long time ago and stuck there. We have to get it out.”

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Prosperity: Many conference participants pointed to the divergent and sometimes antithetical definitions of prosperity held by Indigenous communities and the larger socioeconomic system.

As one participant stated, “In Indian country we move together or not at all. We don’t appreciate stingy people and being seen as a hoarder is a sign of sickness not of success.”

Wisdom Keeping & Elders: A key outcome many conference participants pointed to was the multigenerational networking and sharing of professional development, intellectual resources and creative strategies for community change. This was described by one participant as an “intergenerational and intertribal transfer” of Indigenous knowledge from elders to youth. Another conference participant observed “If you don’t involve the elders you won’t do things the right way and you won’t succeed no matter how much big your grant is.”

A Story of Going Home The Keeping the Homefires Burning conference was summed up well by one elder. Her story embodies the story of so many others participants and her words stand entirely on their own: I’ve never been to anything like this conference. Been to other really good ones but not like this, one centered around us. By us and for us. My biggest fear in leaving is that I’ll never get to be a part of something like this again. I guess it’s not a fear really but we lose so many good things to lack of money. White people are fickle and go find something else to support. They don’t want to support what we want. Foundations like the Northwest Area don’t listen to us. I know who they are. We are not children - we know how this works. It’s a dance we’ve all done. They want us to do what they want and be happy about it and grateful. They want us to get jobs and live the lives that they want. It’s boarding school. It’s assimilation and we all pretend because we do want jobs but we want jobs that matter but don’t take our language and break up our families. I appreciate them and I was raised to be appreciative but these things only last as long as the grant lasts. Foundations are shortsighted they don’t stick with you. It takes 18 years to raise a kid but they think you can change a community in a year. m. But I think Tia and Chris have done this before and they’ll do it again with or without money but money does make it easier and you get to bring more people. But I’m taking these ideas back to my grandchildren and they are to going do something with them. They’ve still got their culture and they are going do something with them.

Tell them thanks. Wopila. And if they do it again please invite me back!

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Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples Organizational Strategic Elements for January 2015 – December 2017

Mission Statement Promoting Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations.

Guiding Principles 1. Emerges from a Native community. Its purpose, design and implementation strategy originates from the Indigenous Peoples it serves.

2. Engenders leadership and decision-making that are vested directly in the community that will be impacted.

3. Promotes the Native language, traditional knowledge and cultural lifeways of the community.

4. Builds capacity that impacts the largest number of people and broadest segments of their society including Indigenous women and youth leadership.

5. Upholds equity. Does not perpetuate racism, sexism, nor oppression of humanity, or violates the Rights of Mother Earth.

Catalyzing Change -

Envision, Action, Reflection, Innovation

Gourds of Wisdom: Keeping Indigenous Knowledge Collective engagement to examine and research social, political, economic, technological, and cultural issues and theories pertinent to Native Peoples, communities, and Nations.

Design and advance local, regional, national and international policies that safeguard sovereignty and sustain Native cultures, knowledge systems and empowerment through publication and advocacy.

Advance Indigenous Peoples’ philosophies and perspectives to inform policymakers, civil society, and other decision-makers to catalyze change.

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Program Pathways Art & Creativity - Enhancing tribal identity and cultural vitality through individual and collective creative expression and practices.

Health & Well-being - Achieving physical, mental and spiritual wellness through traditional healing practices, cultural engagement and food security.

Leadership Development - Strengthening Native leadership strategies by building the skills and knowledge systems that fortify organizational and community-centered work.

Rights of Mother Earth - Protecting Earth’s natural systems and ability to nurture and sustain life by supporting Native stewardship practices and traditional ecological knowledge.

Sustainable Communities & Economies - Developing culturally-relevant and ecologically-sustainable Native community assets.

Peace, Equity & Justice – Securing harmony and parity for and within Native communities and nations and the right of self-determination.

Strategies Strengthening tribally-specific cultures and identities by: 1. Recognizing that Indigenous Peoples, communities and nations understand their issues and are best suited to design solutions and programs that remedy their concerns.

2. Advancing the unique wisdom, knowledge, cultures, and practices that shape and inform the vitality of future generations and which support Mother Earth’s abilities to nurture and sustain life.

3. Mobilizing resources through strategic placement of program related support with grants, technical assistance, and organizational capacity building to increase assets, knowledge and skills.

4. Engaging civil society, the philanthropic arena, and pertinent partners to advance Native issues, strategies and perspectives.

5. Building collective power and multi-generational leadership through focused campaigns, issue advocacy, intergenerational mentoring, convening and peer learning.

6. Optimizing impact and success through culturally relevant asset development for self-determined, collective prosperity.

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Being a Good Ancestor

Presented at:

Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering Coeur d’Alene Nation, Worley - Idaho

June 25, 2015 Battle of the Little Big Horn Anniversary, 1876 Written by:

Henrietta Mann, Ph.D. - Board Member Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples As we journey through life, we need to be cognizant of the fact that each of us is but a cultural extension of generations upon generations of Xamaa-voestaneo’o, “the natural people of our beloved homelands.” Our good-hearted ancestors wrapped us lovingly in our protective cultural ways—good resilient ways that have carried us to today and will carry us until the end.

It almost defies one’s ability to think about the fact that our respective national languages are as old as time itself, and that they are rooted in creation. Creation also marks the beginning of our respective cultural histories, which in spite of the version of American history we learned at school, did not begin in 1492. The truth is that we are ancient peoples, who are the grandparent generations of our home continents.

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As ageless peoples: We are spiritually rooted in our lands.

We possess strong value systems and good lifeways.

We followed instructions and instituted democratic forms of governance.

We know to live within the sacred circle of life.

As Indigenous Peoples, our traditional knowledge contains much that is profound and which teaches us to live in concert with everything in our environment. Simply stated and understood, we are to stand in sacred kinship on and with our lands—this earth. Standing in good relationship requires living respectfully with all that exists within this revered, honored circle of life.

We are taught that all life exists within an interdependent, inter-related world, characterized by inclusivity. In this encompassing view of the universe, everything has a place within the circle and depends upon everything else for its very existence. Thus, voestaneo’o, human beings, the “humble, upright two-legged walkers with five fingers” depend upon everything else to live. This concept appears to be a missing elment in the basic understanding of the majority of global leaders and the corporate world.

To illustrate this kinship, let us just consider the four basic elements of which all life is composed: Earth, Air or Wind, Fire, and Water. Not only do they constitute our physical makeup, we are dependent upon them and cannot live without them.

EARTH Man has yet to find that place, perhaps in some far-flung galaxy light years distant from our beautiful Blue Planet where humans might live. Unfortunately, there are those of our relatives who have not lived in respectful co-existence with earth, and tragically, we are beginning to experience the negative impact of escalating mindlessness in the rapid and dramatic earth changes called climate change and global warming.

Thus, as good relatives should, we must intensify our solemn stewardship responsibility to this earth from whom we are made. As stated in some Indigenous creation stories, human beings were created from earth, which is variously referred to as dirt, mud, soil, clay, dust, or as the Cheyenne say, ma-omotse, “red salt.” Succinctly, there is no denying that we are earth.

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AIR or WIND There also is no denying that we are air, which resides in our lungs and keeps them from collapsing. According to some oral traditions, the wind spirits were called from their homes in the four directions to come give humans the breath of life. Breath is the sacred wind of life. It is the breath of Earth. We are dependent upon air and its oxygen for life.

Not only is air necessary for life, it is necessary for speech, as well. Therefore, with their great wisdom, our oldest relatives naturally associated breath with speech, with life, and ultimately sacredness. This knowledge was handed down as a part of their original teachings, and we know breath, language, and life are intertwined, inseparable, and sacred.

Thus, it is that words are sacred and carry a power of their own, and our natural teachings emphasize that the utmost care be taken in the way one utilizes air for creating words. Words carry the power to bring about happiness and understanding, and if used carelessly, they can inflict great mental and emotional pain and harm.

We know as indigenous people the negative self-esteem or poor self-concepts that can result, and have resulted, in the use of demeaning language and stereotypes, in words such as “lazy, dumb, backward, drunken, or dirty Indians.”

It comes as no surprise that our oldest grandparents used their words carefully. Imagine the time it took for them to design interdependent cultural and linguistic systems that provide quality lives and the means to survival. Our respective languages are critical because of the embedded codes of persistence and purpose. All we need do is to look at military “Code Talkers,” who used indigenous languages to win two World Wars.

FIRE There would be no life on Earth without the heat and light of that colossal star we know as the sun which provides solar energy. Today, some solar farms are harnessing the sun’s light. Without this heat and light, planet earth would be cold, dark and devoid of life. At a miniscule level, the human body intricately produces human energy resulting in warmth and a “normal” temperature of around 98.6° Fahrenheit.

Although we carry a fire within, we also are dependent upon sunlight and firelight to sustain ourselves. Difficult to imagine, we are related to the powerful spirit sun and to the sacred fire spirit that burns during our ceremonies. The intense heat from the rocks in a sweat utilizes that powerful heat source to purify the participants, physically and spiritually.

As humans we convert light energy into the resultant warmth of body energy, which is necessary for sustaining life. Thus, fire, just like air and earth, are the basic kinship building blocks to the one universal family that exists within the sacred circle of life. Such kinship ties obliterate all differences that exist between human beings and the many different peoples of Earth, such as: the water people, the tree people, the ant people, the flower people, the hummingbird people, the buffalo people, the star people...and on and on. In short, all those many unique peoples that flourish within the one planetary community we call home.

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“The water people, The tree people, The ant people, The flower people, The hummingbird people, The buffalo people, The star people, And on and on.”

WATER Finally, there is the fourth and vital element of water, H20 that combination of oxygen and hydrogen that falls from the clouds as rain, hail, or snow; which flows in rivers and streams; stands in ponds, lakes, or oceans; or is stored in deep underground aquifers. Water in its solid form is ice and it can be gaseous as steam or fog.

Regardless of its state, it is a common indigenous belief that water is life and life is water. Our bodies have rivers and streams within, just like those that flow upon Earth. The liquid in the blood called plasma, which is primarily water, causes the blood to flow throughout our body’s cardiovascular system. This flow is a life force upon which we are dependent and can truly call “lifeblood.”

Water that has been prayed over can bring blessings to those that drink it, whether it is at a special meal, the morning water ceremony in a Native American Church service, or water that people stand in line to drink when sun dancers and sun dance women break their fasts at the conclusion of their renewal ceremony. Our first grandparents with their wisdom knew and passed down their teachings for us also to respect water because it is sacred and essential for life.

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As is true for Earth, Air, Fire and now Water, the four comprise all life. We as humans share this basic commonality, as do all other life forms, which results in a gigantic, all-encompassing kinship system, in which there is no hierarchy. Everyone and everything is alive and stands in sacred and proper relationship to everything else in this relational world. We must emulate our ancestors, who serve as powerful role models, and also be good-hearted people—relatives— who sustain our kinship obligations and responsibilities.

Like them, we must focus upon our life’s purpose which is nothing short of “being a good ancestor.” We each have an obligation to walk gently upon this earth and to honor all that lives within the spacious circle of life.

The foregoing cultural philosophical knowledge teaches us about our place in the universe. It teaches us about the necessity of maintaining a delicate balance between independence and interdependence. We each are expected to develop self-reliance and confidence, but “being a good relative” also means being consistently concerned about the whole. As Indigenous Peoples, our greatest assets are our cultures, spirituality, and environmental ethic, especially as it concerns our lands and more specifically, our sacred places of power.

Contemporary dominant society has continued to treat its indigenous population as if we are invisible and does little to better our quality of life, despite the government to government relationship indigenous nations have with the United States of America. However, we become visible when the corporate world decides to exploit our territorial resources.

As Cheyenne’s, our great prophet Sweet Medicine warned us long ago about the strangers who would come from the east, who did not follow indigenous ways. He said these strangers would want the land that would result in many wars, but they would eventually take it. He also said they would be looking for a certain [yellow] stone that the Grandfather Great Spirit had put on earth in many places. These strangers eventually found that stone in such places as:

California, Mexican Territory in 1848 [49ers] Pikes Peak Region, KS/NEBR/CO Territory in 1858 Montana, Idaho Territory discovered 1852, inactive till 1862 The Black Hills of Dakota Territory in 1874-1876

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As Sweet Medicine predicted, aggressive westward expansion resulted in confusion, conflict, loss of lands and mass relocation of indigenous peoples.

This unconscionable land seizure was justified by the 19th century concept of Manifest Destiny, believing it was Anglo-Saxon America’s divinely ordained right to appropriate and occupy this continent from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Pacific.

Manifest Destiny is “American imperialism,” and to others in less harsher terms as “nation building.”

American imperialism resulted in a different kind of economy, wherein Indigenous resources became increasingly scarce, particularly among Plains Indians who were dependent upon the bison.

The wholesale slaughter of this relative, thrust them toward starvation, a situation exacerbated by the paucity or unavailability of rations promised in treaties. They became destitute in a country that measures wealth differently.

In traditional Native societies a person’s wealth was measured in terms of how much one gave away. Giveaways were a time honored community way of distributing resources. Such generosity, however, became cause of great consternation for Indian agents who were oriented toward a different ethic based upon acquisitiveness and mercantilism. Work horses, wagons, and farm implements sometimes ended up as giveaway items, which frustrated farm agents intent upon transforming natives into the image of white yeoman farmers.

Based upon their Anglo Saxon agrarian orientation, Indian agents and missionaries strenuously objected to the amount of time native peoples spent at their ceremonies, rather than attending church services or doing farm work. Farm work gave way to ceremonial gatherings, especially those directed toward world renewal, which required faithful stewardship responsibilities. Culture barriers inhibited understanding, resulting in some native ceremonies being deemed by government as religious offenses.

“We must focus upon our life’s purpose which is nothing short of being a good ancestor.“

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Spiritual and cultural development must be given equal emphasis with economic development when it comes to native asset building. This is particularly true in view of the Indigenous history of America. Following contact, our ancestors, saw their worlds fragment around them as they were confined to ever smaller land areas, driven from their homelands, and decimated by military conflict and the new diseases which immigrants brought them.

Indigenous languages bore the frontal assault of extermination and tragically, some of them have become extinct, or maybe a handful of elders, yet, speak the language. Some are definitely endangered, and children no longer learn the language as a first language in the home [Northern Cheyenne]. Yet others are severely endangered where the language is spoken by the older grandparent generations, and although the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves [Southern Cheyenne]. Serious nation building efforts must focus upon language revitalization and maintenance efforts. Because we are a people of oral traditions, and in order to be accountable to our ancestors, we must seriously pursue linguistic and cultural preservation. Language and culture are two sides of the same coin. Being a good ancestor, means to ensure the continuity of our peoples’ uniquenesses. Our languages and cultural ways have enormous value and they fall naturally into any plan of asset building.

We remember and know much about things of this world. Our phenomenal knowledge keepers preserved collective memories beginning with creation. Creation stories tell how some people were created here on this earth island; others explain how some fell from the sky land or stars above to live on this beautiful “Turtle Island�; and yet others describe in considerable detail how some peoples emerged from successive worlds below to come live on the surface of earth.

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Whatever the beginning, these stories have informed and delighted numerous generations of children and more children. Indigenous Peoples have lived on the land for a long time, and have strong cultural rootedness. Native traditional knowledge ranks among the most profound thinking of the world, especially how one must live respectfully and harmoniously within the circle of life.

The circle represents all time, from the moment of creation, and it reaches far into an unknown future.

Our genesis marks the beginning of cultural development, which is in a constant state of becoming. As much as we would like to replicate exactly what once was, Indigenous People are reality-based. Would any of us want to have lived during the Wounded Knee Massacre, the twin massacres of Sand Creek and the Washita, or in California following heartless Gold Rush days?

Would any of us want to endure the Long Walk, the Trail of Tears, the walk back to the beloved northland, or the Fort Robinson breakout?

Without a doubt our ancestors would make the sacrifice again, because they wanted life for us. They also possessed the knowledge from their creation stories which taught that they were to live out their days in a compassionate, peaceful, happy and plentiful world. One has to recognize the tremendous wealth of the ways of living we possessed then and still possess today.

Furthermore, one has to acknowledge the spirituality with which we have been blessed—sacred ways that are earth-born and earth-based. We are an extension of earth—this land that has given us life and which we in turn renew and revitalize through our respective ceremonies. We have deep and strong spiritual roots in this our motherland. We maintain our connection to our special prayer places and return time and again to make our offerings and sacrifices, sing our songs, renew our spirits, and to pray for the earth and all life.

Our spirituality is our greatest strength and resource. As such, we must honor and celebrate it with thanksgiving. Our prayer ways are durable in that they survived the relentless three-prong attack by the church, federal government, and education. Religious freedom, however, is a continuing quest, particularly in relation to sacred sites protection. Resource exploitation has no heart and is compromising the sanctity of earth, inasmuch as we currently are experiencing earth changes and its warming.

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The Cheyenne initially could not comprehend Sweet Medicine’s prediction that the “earth would burn.” However, it is understandable today with warming of the earth, glacier melt, rising sea levels, and temperature extremes. All of the planet’s inhabitants face a challenging future in terms of earth’s destabilization and predictable weather patterns.

Indigenous world views recognized the necessity of a strong environmental ethic, which is characteristic of living in an interdependent, relational world. However, our ancestors’ environmental ethic has been negated, which has tremendous implications for all life. It requires sustained, courage in speaking for the earth and those who have been forgotten by the selfish and thoughtless ones, who are bringing us to the brink of ecological suicide.

What kind of future lies ahead for our children the most cherished of all that we are as Xamaa-voestaneo’o, “the natural people of our beloved homelands?” Without the younger generations there would be no one to whom we could stand as an ancestor.

Children and youth, who represent our primary human resource, are clearly a valued asset. Asset building or nation building must develop programs that promote strong, respectful, and independent younger people, who are adaptable, positive, hopeful, and who can live in any environment as a good relative.

In this mutually interrelated world of ours, every person was given an identity, a purpose, a responsibility, and certain prescribed kinship obligations. We are taught to remember that people are more important than the accumulation of material wealth. We each have a responsibility, not just to others, but to the humble place that we each occupy in the circle of life.

In closing, it is our responsibility to pass down to our children and grandchildren the incredible ancestral treasure of traditional knowledge, specifically its philosophies, languages, spirituality, and environmental ethic. It is imperative to continue to build upon and honor our respective cultural knowledge. “Being a good ancestor” honors the gifts from the past and the hope of the future.

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Na nea-eše.

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Survival Protocols for the Seventh Generation Be a Good Ancestor

We are Good Ancestors. As the Earth continues to change and warm at an alarming rate and unabated “supply-side economics” of multi-national corporations continues to surge toward ecological destruction, Indigenous Peoples and humanity in general recognize that we need and must implement basic guidelines for surviving this looming crisis. The “survival” protocols outlined are designed to be “minimum standards” to be implemented as a strategy to protect the eco-systems of the Earth and to ensure species survival and self-determination for the Seventh Generation – The Earth herself has right to self-determination.

Be Mindful; think not of ourselves, or even our own generation. Think of those yet to come:

1. RE-INDIGENIZE: And exercise sovereignty and self-determination. Restore and re-engage in ceremonies, cultures, and customs. Practice and reinvigorate traditional life-ways, languages, and governance; 2. REGENERATE: And nurture. Cultivate our own food and develop family / community-based organic gardening. Build cooperatives, collectives, and strengthen traditional food systems; 3. RECIPROCATE: And live respectfully. Honor and give back to Mother Earth. Practice fasting and discipline by consuming only what you need. Lower intake;

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4. RECIPROCITY: And give thanks for what we have; give back to mother Earth. If your health permits, practice fasting; consume only what you need, reduce your intake. Reduce as possible personal consumption (food, technologies, household items, clothing). When possible, consume only wild, or locally and organically produced meats and poultry; 5. ENTERPRISE: And innovation. Focus purchases whenever possible on staple and supplies from Native created goods, and Native owned enterprises and/or local businesses; 6. REVITALIZE: And improve. Make necessary structural changes, repairs and improvements to home and/or place of residence that promote long-term stability, energy efficacy, and sustainability; 7. SUSTAIN: And maintain. Plan for future needs by storing food, water and other supplies. Develop water and food storage systems (keep at least one month supply of water).

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Celebrating & Recognizing Fire Keeper Honorees Longstanding and Innovative Community Based Nonprofit Organizations Northern Cheyenne Boys & Girls Club, Geri Small (Northern Cheyenne) Hopi Foundation, Monica Nuvamsa (Hopi) Cheyenne River Youth Project, Julie Garreau (Cheyenne River) Coyote’s Paw, George “Porty” Blake (Hupa/Yurok)

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Foundation Partner Honoree Recognized for building and maintaining respectful and supportive relationships with Indigenous Community Initiatives that honor Native Peoples’ innovatiovn and wisdom Common Stream Foundation Peter Snoad

Good Ancestor Awardees Indigenous Role Models Sharing a Lifetime of Vision, Leadership, Commitment and Service to Indigenous Peoples, Communities and Nations Henrietta Mann (Southern Cheyenne) Rex Tilousi (Supai) Oren Lyons (Onondaga/Seneca)

Honor Song - Phillip Whiteman, Jr. (Northern Cheyenne)

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Eagle Feather Fellow Program 2015 Fellows Eli Bargas (Ohlone/Yoeme/Apache/ Southern Cheyenne) Edgar Lazaro (Zapotec) Dani Morrison (Oglala Lakota) Chisa Oros (Zuni/Yoeme/Pohlik-lah) Marissa Spang (Tsétsehéstaestse/Apsáalooke) Lane Spotted Elk (Northern Cheyenne)

The Eagle Feather Fellows Program connects young Native People with potential networks, supporters, and mentors who can help them build their personal, academic and community learning. We believe that such support will help them grow into respectful and accountable leaders that honors and serves Indigenous Peoples, communities and nations.

The Program engages young Native People who have expressed a commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ empowerment and are active in leadership learning and strategies to grow as thought leaders, movement builders, community organizers and nonprofit innovators. They are encouraged to advance this objective through volunteerism, creative thinking and action and contributing to the work of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples.

Eagle Feather Fellows have specific duties, such as research or writing for Seventh Generation Fund’s think tank as part of implementing our organizational strategic plan, or in special projects, presentations and related activities, including the Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering and other involvement. .

Seventh Generation Fund Intern Program The Seventh Generation Fund Internship Program provides an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples and non-Native People of all ages to volunteer and have an accessible point of entry to learn about nonprofits and engage in advocacy for critical issues pertinent to the Indigenous World. Seventh Generation Fund Interns perform work in community organizing and outreach, event planning, grantmaking basics, human rights, diplomacy, information systems and media production.

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“My time spent at Keeping the Homefires Burning 2015 was, as always, refreshing and reinvigorating through ceremony, positive energy and strong minds sharing strong activism and work. Having the opportunity to represent the Eagle Feather Fellows with such bright beautiful minds as my peers was a true blessing.”

-Chisa Oros (Zuni/Yoeme/Pohlik-lah) “I hadn’t felt that good in a long time. It’s among the highest honors to have been acknowledged by my elders and have them put their trust in me.

I know we have so much work to do - lifetimes worth, in fact - but there is no greater cause worth fighting for than the self determination of our Peoples. Thank you all for the opportunities bestowed upon me and I will do my part in being a good ancestor and fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.”

-Eli Bargas (Ohlone/Yoeme/Apache/Southern Cheyenne) “It is with much gratitude and humility that I give to the Seventh Generation Fund for selecting me for an opportunity of a lifetime. I must share to you that my participation as an Eagle Feather Fellow at this years’ Keeping the Homefires Burning Gathering was such an honor and privilege and so much more. I feel that in the small amount of time with all those incredible individuals inspired me to be a better human, ancestor, mother and relative.”

-Dani Morrison (Oglala Lakota) “As an Indigenous person this event has helped me realize my responsibilities to help and nurture my community and my identity as an Indigenous person through the way I live my life, the things I study and the things I practice moving forward from this event.”

-Edgar Lazaro (Zapotec)

2015 Philanthropist of the Year Award Recognizing exceptional philanthropic achievements and commitment to Native Peoples, the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples received the 2015 Philanthropist of the Year Award on November 7th from the Potlatch Fund (a Seattle, Washington based nonprofit and leadership development organization). The Award recognizes outstanding philanthropists and foundations serving Native American communities and Nations.

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The Thriving Women’s Initiative Established as a special program of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples (a 501c3), the Thriving Women’s Initiative supports Native women-led work that nurtures life, breaks down gender oppression and recognizes that reproductive health is connected with the vitality of Mother Earth.

Through the consciousness raising of this work, we hope to raise the funds and increase visibility for women–led Native groups who are reconstituting traditional spiritual practices and cultural wisdom to address environmental, gender and women’s health. Collectively, the Thriving Women’s Initiative sees our role as that of a bridge to you and other donors as well as the larger philanthropic community. We hope you will be moved into action to join us in support. Native women are quietly and profoundly shaping a life-giving future for their communities and Nations - for humanity and for all our relations of the world.

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A World Without Violence Against Women The devastating effects of globalization and ongoing colonization of Native homelands and hearts have critically eroded the power and status of Indigenous women. The restoration of health is about cultural continuity and repairing the intergenerational transmission of knowledge that was deliberately broken over the centuries of colonization and forced acculturation.

“When we look at women being mistreated, we look at the mistreatment of our Earth.

This is a very deep connection.”

- Vanessa Gray - Aamjiwnaang

Gender Diversity & Thriving Life Reclaiming and restoring the sanctity of the female is essential to restoring balance and resetting humanity on a path toward creating thriving life once more. Indigenous Peoples‘ knowledge and ways of being in positive relation to each other and the Natural World can inform, shape and facilitate this process.

Reclaiming Ceremony to Restore Balance Native Ceremony is a way of life. It is a practice rooted in a spiritual versus material perspective of the world. Recreating ceremony is an act of decolonization and, more significantly, an affirmation of Indigeneity. Ceremony is a means to revitalize the very basis of an Indigenous worldview and ways of living.

Birth and Motherhood Native Women’s knowledge of birth is only one aspect of women’s knowledge that was suppressed by colonialism. Indigenous societies had highly sophisticated knowledge of plants and herbs used for contraception; and, therefore, had a very high degree of sexual and reproductive freedom. Reclaiming the power of birth has a profound meaning in Native communities.

“Many women are awakened from the power of their births and become active agents of change … The power of birth is the power to transform the world.”

- Katsi Cook - Mohawk

Rich in Taste, Rich in Culture The Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, in cooperation with Tonatierra’s Yiankizco Quetzal Co-op, brings you fair trade, organic coffee sourced from Chiapas, Mexico by Indigenous Peoples of the region and packaged by Indigenous Peoples.

The enticing aroma of the strong, dark blend, roasted to perfection, displays a sensational texture, encapsulating you in its fullness and consistency found only Seventh Generations Fund’s Rich in Taste, Rich in Culture coffee.

By supporting our Indigenous microenterprise you nurture community based economic endeavors and promote Indigenous Peoples creating opportunities for each other. Such opportunities produce and market Indigenous arts and labor, and support Native self determination.

Do:sho:we Fund

Do:sho:we Fund is Seventh Generation Fund’s organizational sustainability initiative. Do:sho:we means seeds in Shiwi’ma bena:we (Zuni) language and the term signifies all the seeds that it takes to nurture and sustain Life.

For the A:shiwi (Zuni People), who are renowned seed nurturers and expert traditional agriculturalists, the common seeds are the crop varieties such as squash, beans, corn and other seeds acculturated through time. Corn is the most significant seed in A:shiwi life as a food source and also for A:shiwi spirituality. The use of the corn image and symbol helps define the core of the A:shiwi cosmology as the corn colors are associated to the six cardinal directions of yellow, blue, red, white, multi-color and black. The seventh direction, the center, is a neutral/translucent color of the sweet corn.

The various colored ears of corn are personified and referred to as the Corn Maidens - black corn being the youngest of the sisters and the prettiest. Because of her beauty, a young priest attempted kidnap of the young corn maiden; but the plan was quickly thwarted when all of the Corn Maidens ran away, disappearing into the night. There is a ceremony designated in the A:shiwi lunar calendar honoring the return of the Corn Maidens back into the “heart” of the village and of the People.

The conceptual term Do:sho:we encompasses the K’u’kwi:we (conifer seeds), the Kyawa:wuli:we (grass seeds) and the K’yashima (water seeds). K’yashima do:sho:we, like corn seeds, have a well-defined vocabulary, which includes metaphorical and visual expression. The water seed is regenerated in the “water world.” This is a place in the spiritual abstract realm and also refers to a physical place called an aquifer, where the ancestor spirits and the spirit of the water serpent live, according to our A:shiwi cosmology.

The meaning of the Do:sho:we design, as created and described by award-winning Shiwi artist, Edward Wemytewa, is not so much about crop seeds but about reframing the essential element, the water seed - the seed of life. The Do:sho:we design captures an essence of the Water Cycle, which is the process in which the water seed is rebirthed to Father Sun and Mother Earth. It is a symbol of hope and prosperity.

Support of the Do:sho:we Fund nurtures the long-term sustenance of our organization.

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Board of Directors Tupac Enrique Acosta (Nahuatl-Xicano), Board Vice-Chair Deborah Sanchez (Chumash/O’odham), Board Secretary Arthur Manuel (Secwepemc), Board Treasurer Jake Edwards (Onondaga), Board Member Oren Lyons (Onondaga/Seneca), Board Member Dr. Luis Macas (Saraguro), Board Member Dr. Henrietta Mann (Southern Cheyenne), Board Member Brian Monongye (Hopi), Board Member Christopher Peters (Pohlik-lah/Karuk), President & CEO

Staff Eli Bargas (Ohlone/Yoeme/Apache/Cheyenne), Eagle Feather Fellow Heather Freitas (Lusitanian), Advancement Manager Louis Gordon (Xicano-Purepecha), Program Officer Isaac Kinney (Yurok), Operations Manager Edgar Lazaro (Zapotec), Eagle Feather Fellow Kateri Masten (Yurok), Executive Assistant Tia Oros Peters (Zuni), Executive Director Johnny Salazar (Salvadorian/Ecuadorean), Fiscal Assistant Alice Woodworth, Controller

Interns Shenae Bishop (Carolina Cherokee/Apache) Alana Wiltshire (Chumash)

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Special Thanks to the Following Partners & Supporters Amanda Coslor American Indian Law Alliance Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria Bioneers Cedar Tree Foundation Coeur d’Alene Tribal Casino Resort Hotel Common Stream Foundation Everywoman’s Leadership Regranting Fund Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Giving Fund Hopa Mountain Indigenous People’s Fund of the Tides Foundation John Mithun Foundation Kalliopeia Foundation M. House Family Fund at the San Diego Foundation Melissa Stuart Donor Advised Fund Northwest Area Foundation NoVo Foundation Onondaga Nation Panta Rhea Foundation Potlatch Fund Red Deer Sam Eli SGF Affiliates Tonatierra Community Development Institute Traditional Circle of Elders & Youth and our Anonymous Donors

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www.7genfund.org