"Our Mission

The American Indian College Fund invests in Native students and tribal college education to transform lives and communities.

Our Vision

Since its founding in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native student access to higher education. We provide scholarships and programming for American Indian and Alaska Native students to access higher education. And once students are in college, we provide them with the tools and support to succeed."

"Apache Stronghold, San Carlos, Arizona, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit community organization of individuals who come together in unity to battle continued colonization, defend Holy sites and freedom of religion, and are dedicated to building a better community through neighborhood programs and civic engagement. We work from San Carlos, Arizona connecting Apaches and other Native and non-Native allies from all over the world.

Chi'chil Bildagoteel (also known as Oak Flat) is a sacred site for our Apache people and many other Native Americans. This is a place that has special significance— a place where we pray, collect water and medicinal plants for ceremonies, gather acorns and other foods, and honor those that are buried here. We have never lost our relationship to Chi'chil Bildagoteel, though the U.S. Government, at times in our history, has imprisoned us on our Reservations and not allowed us to come here. We have established an encampment to protect the Holy Ground at Chi'chil Bildagoteel with its four crosses, representing the entire surrounding sacred area, including its water, animals, oak trees, and other plants central to our tribal identity. The four crosses are now part of the body of Chi'chil Bildagoteel."

"The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS) is a provincial organization with a twenty-year history of providing services to Indian Residential School Survivors.

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society began in 1994 as a working committee of the First Nations Summit. We were known as the Residential School Project, housed out of and as a part of the BC First Nations Summit. Our work was primarily to assist Survivors with the litigation process pertaining to Residential School abuses. In more recent years our work has expanded to include assisting the descendants of Survivors and implementing Community education measures (Indigenous & Non-Indigenous).

As of March 2002, we formally became the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS). The IRSSS is governed by an elected Board of Directors from six regions of BC; the Board of Directors are also Survivors or Intergenerational Survivors of Residential Schools. The Board of Directors is responsible for the funding of the organization and delegates its day-to-day duties to our Executive Director. The Executive Director is hired by the Board of Directors and hold full responsibility for the implementation of Board initiatives and policies and hiring staff. The board is supported by a staff of 20 professionals and 16 Elders who provide Cultural Support, most of whom are either Indian Residential School Survivors or Intergenerational Survivors.

IRSSS provides essential services to Residential School Survivors, their families, and those dealing with Intergenerational traumas. These impacts affect every family and every community across B.C. and Canada. This fact is most evident in the Corrections Canada Services-the numbers of First Nations people incarcerated, Child and Family Services child apprehensions, the high number of people on social assistance, unemployment and underemployed, lower levels of education, the lowest number within an ethnic minority of “determinants of health”, the list of impacts is extremely high while the services available to effectively assist impacts of Residential Schools remain quite low.

One of our Society’s goals is to continually expand our support to partner organizations and maximize access to culturally sensitive, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual care."

"We are still providing mutual aid, but have slowed down due to the size of our cozy Infoshop. Our focus is on providing critical items to elders, disabled relatives, non-binary relatives, unsheltered relatives, and single parent/guardian households in the Window Rock, AZ and Gallup, NM areas. If you know someone who is part of the groups we focus on and needs help, email keinfoshop-at-protonmail.com or leave a voicemail at 505.552.2533. We schedule deliveries every Tuesday afternoon from 1 PM to 6 PM. Every Saturday at the Infoshop we provide a warm meal and community giveaways of items donated to us.

Now is probably the best shot we have at raising enough funds for our first tier goal, which is $75,000 to purchase materials and tools needed to build our mobile off-grid infoshop. Second tier is a lofty $250,000 to buy back stolen land near a bordertown and restore kinship with it. The first-tier is our immediate priority to ramp up our mutual aid efforts again.

There are grants available for this, we don't want to apply for them because we must maintain our autonomy and ability to serve our relatives directly without any branding or parachuting, which are against our organizing principals. Help us continue to evolve our infoshop from a small radical community center to a model of how it may be done throughout Indigenous territories.

We are are not a non-profit but have a fiscal sponsor who can accept tax-deductible donations on our behalf." 

"Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society (KAFS) is a non-profit society, dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in Kamloops and the surrounding area.  KAFS offers programs and services for urban Natives, including:·  access to healthcare and wellness initiatives, outreach programs for children, youths, adults, elders, and families, childcare, counselling, community-focused programs and spaces, food hamper/nutrition programs, and much more. In other words, KAFS is community mainstay offering all-encompassing services to both Indigenous Urban Peoples, as well as anyone in need.

KAFS is in dire need of a new building.  Currently, the existing building infrastructure has aged poorly and is being used beyond the end of it’s lifecycle.  In addition, the centre is unable to adapt and expand programs in response to the needs of the local urban Aboriginal community. As a result, KAFS is raising funds to finance the construction of a new Friendship Centre, which in addition to the abovementioned programs, will also include on-site affordable social housing units prioritized for elders, single mothers, and Indigenous families. 

While our goal is to raise $500,000 through this GoFundMe initiative, we are in need of a total of $2 million more to move ahead with construction on our new Centre, scheduled to begin in Spring 2021. Please donate today - any amount will make a difference!" 

"Protecting Sacred Tribal Lands

The Kw’tsán National Monument will provide permanent protection for our homelands, cultural objects, and sacred places that are increasingly threatened by mining exploration, natural resource extraction, harmful development, unregulated recreational use, management inadequacies, and climate change.  We ask President Biden to stand with us and designate the Kw'tsán National Monument.

Sign the petition to protect Kw’tsán National Monument today!"

"On July 3, 2020, Land Defenders took to Mt.Rushmore to reignite the fight for the Black Hills and the closure of Mt. Rushmore, a symbol of white supremacy and racism. Now, 21 of those Land Defenders who stood in defense of the sacred Ȟesápa, the ancestral homelands of Lakota and many other Indigenous Nations, are facing criminal charges. Inspired by the action taken that day, NDN Collective has developed the LANDBACK campaign, a mutli-faceted campaign to get Indigenous lands back into Indigenous hands, and empower Indigenous people across Turtle Island with the tools and strategies to do LANDBACK work in their own communities." 

"The #MinersOutCovidOut campaign is an initiative launched by the Yanomami and Ye’kwana Leadership Forum, Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), Wanasseduume Ye'kwana Association (SEDUUME), Kumirayoma Yanomami Women’s Association (AMYK) Texoli Ninam Association of Roraima State (TANER) and the Yanomami Association of the River Cauaburis and Affluents (AYRCA).

The communities in the Yanomami Territory are seriously threatened! In the past, we lost many of our relatives to diseases brought in by non-indigenous people and today we still suffer from those losses. We do not want outsiders to bring in more diseases which threaten our relatives’ lives.

Today, we’re once more at risk from the Xawara (epidemic) brought in by non-indigenous people which you call Coronavirus. Our communities are far from the cities and are already suffering from an increase in cases of malaria, and there is not enough health care to look after our family members who are sick. We do not want this situation to become even worse with the arrival of Coronavirus.

We urgently need to prevent the spread of more diseases. Illegal miners come and go from our lands in search of gold with impunity. They circulate in our communities without any preventative health measures, and it is only a matter of time before the coronavirus Xawara [epidemic] spreads among us.

We are also concerned about the Moxihatëtëa - groups of isolated (uncontacted) indigenous people - who know nothing about the Xawara that the non-indigenous people bring in. It is critical to stop the invasion of miners from causing yet another tragedy. We need to protect the lives of the Yanomami and Ye’kwana!

The Yanomami Leadership Forum has decided that we want to live healthily and without goldmining. Act before it's too late. Join us to prevent our families from being infected with the coronavirus by requiring the authorities of the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health to take urgent measures in coordination with other government agencies, and with the appropriate health precautions, to remove all of the miners still on our land."

"The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen tribal sovereignty. Our staff and board of directors consist of Native women from throughout the United States with extensive experience and commitment to ending violence against Native women and their children. NIWRC's staff bring decades of expertise in building the grassroots movement to increase tribal responses to domestic violence and increase safety for Native women."

"Our Mission: The Native American Rights Fund holds governments accountable. We fight to protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways through litigation, legal advocacy, and legal expertise.

Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided legal assistance to Native American tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation. NARF has successfully asserted and defended the most important rights of Indians and tribes in hundreds of major cases, and has achieved significant results in such critical areas as tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, voting rights, and Indian education.

Since NARF’s inception, Indian law has changed dramatically. It has become a recognized specialty with a well-documented body of statutes and case law. However, that has not made it a simpler field. In the 1970’s and the early 1980’s, courts were generally receptive to Indian rights cases. However, since the mid to late 1980’s, an increasingly conservative federal bench has made Indian rights cases more difficult to win. Combined with the huge cost of litigation—in time and in money—this means NARF and its Indian clients are always attuned to opportunities for negotiation, consensus, and settlement.

With credibility built over more than 50 years of service, NARF has become a respected consultant to policy makers and others engaged in drafting legislation. As a consensus builder, NARF works with religious, civil rights, and other Native American organizations to shape the laws that will help assure the civil and religious rights of all Native Americans. NARF attorneys, many of whom are tribal citizens, use their understanding of Indian legal issues to assist tribes in negotiating with individuals, companies, and governmental agencies.

NARF is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that focuses on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that national and state governments live up to their legal obligations.

NARF is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with branch offices in Washington, DC, and Anchorage, Alaska.

NARF is governed by a volunteer board of directors composed of thirteen Native Americans from different tribes throughout the country with a variety of expertise in Indian matters.

A staff of more than 20 attorneys handles more than 60 major cases at any given time, with most of the cases taking several years to resolve.

Cases are accepted on the basis of their breadth and potential importance in setting precedents and establishing important principles of Indian law."

"The Navajo Water Project is a community-managed utility alternative that brings hot and cold running water to homes without access to water or sewer lines.

It's the first system of its kind in the United States.

The Navajo Water Project is Indigenous-led, and registered as an official enterprise on the Navajo Nation. Our work creates meaningful, high-paying jobs, many with benefits like 100% employer-paid health coverage."

"NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms." 

"Our Foundation is dedicated to raising funds to help Northwest Indian College offer our native students more educational opportunities to thrive in a changing world. With the assistance of people like you, we have grown our beautiful college campus, and brought in excellent instructors for our students. But our mission is ongoing, and we need your help more than ever. Please take a look at the website to learn how your donations are helping our students, and what we still need to do to help them succeed." 

"OUR MISSION:

SERVING IMMEDIATE NEEDS. SUPPORTING LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS.

OUR VISION:

STRONG, SELF-SUFFICIENT NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.

Partnership With Native Americans is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to championing hope for a brighter future for Native Americans living on remote, isolated and impoverished reservations. Collaborating for nearly 30 years with our reservation partners, we provide consistent aid and services for Native Americans with the highest need in the U.S.

Much of our work centers around material aid, educational support and community-based services. PWNA also connects outside resources directly to reservations through its distribution network and reservation partnerships. We care about quality of life for Native Americans and respect their self-determined goals for their tribes.

One of the largest Native American charities to work in Indian Country year-round, our service area is concentrated in 9 priority states and encompasses Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Navajo and other high-need reservations. Scholarships are offered nationwide to eligible Native students.

PWNA provides services in a non-discriminatory, culturally relevant, responsible and transparent manner, based on the self-determined needs and goals of each tribal program partner and community.

We are committed to helping Native Americans address persistent challenges and strengthen their resources for greater impact.

Since 1990, PWNA has worked to help improve the quality of life for Native American Elders, families and children. Through our reservation partnerships and distribution network, we benefit 250,000 Native Americans each year. We serve Native Americans through eight programs. (Scroll down to see more.)

• The American Indian Education Fund (AIEF) program supports the educational dreams of Native American youth.

• The Northern Plains Reservation Aid (NPRA) program works with reservations in the Northern Plains with an emphasis on volunteerism and self-sufficiency.

• The Southwest Reservation Aid (SWRA) program works with reservation partners in some of the most impoverished reservations of the Southwest.

• The Native American Aid (NAA) program works with reservations in the Northern Plains with an emphasis on emergency assistance and Elder care.

• The Navajo Relief Fund (NRF) program focuses resources on the Navajo Reservation - the largest U.S. Indian reservation.

• The Reservation Animal Rescue (RAR) program provides assistance to animals in need and the people who care for them.

• The Sioux Nation Relief Fund (SNRF) program addresses a wide variety of needs, from natural disasters to Elder nutrition, for Sioux Indians on the Northern Plains.

• The Southwest Indian Relief Council (SWIRC) provides support to reservations in the Southwest, offering programs that reinforce independence, pride, and community."

"Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization that helps at-risk LGTBQI+ people get to safety worldwide. Based in the United States and Canada, we’re an organization that helps LGBTQI+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. In a time when there are more displaced people than ever, LGBTQI+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. These factors either displace them in their own country or prevent them from escaping harm. 

As a result of Rainbow Railroad, more LGBTQI+ individuals can access lives free from persecution, and ultimately, we envision a world where LGBTQI+ people can live lives of their choosing, free from persecution."

"Real Rent calls on people who live and work in Seattle to make rent payments to the Duwamish Tribe. Though the city named for the Duwamish leader Chief Seattle thrives, the Tribe has yet to be justly compensated for their land, resources, and livelihood. 

You can do something today to stand in solidarity with First Peoples of this land by paying Real Rent. 

All funds go directly to Duwamish Tribal Services (DTS) to support the revival of Duwamish culture and the vitality of the Duwamish Tribe."

"Fridays for Future Brazil confronting the Covid-19 crisis among traditional communities in the Amazon.

Last year, we were marching in the streets, bringing awareness to the climate emergency. We listened to promises of a better world and a more sustainable society. We are now back with a plea for help. Public authorities in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest have begged for assistance, and this cannot be ignored.

The indigenous and riverside communities in the Amazon are the biggest defenders of the forest, and they are fundamental players in the fight against climate change.

Fridays for Future does not constitute a formal organization. Therefore, we do not have the liberty, nor the structure, to donate resources directly. We have therefore chosen an institution to receive the money and forward it to places and communities to be determined by the activists involved in the project.

The communities which will receive money will be chosen by Fridays for Future.

In the Upper Negro River, we're going to direct the resources to the Santa Isabel territory, attending to the Yanomami communities. In the Lábrea and Purus region, we will be directing resources to the Caititu, Tapaua and Deni lands, and the Paumari, Apurinã, Deni, Jamamdi and Jarauwara will be attended. In Manaus and its surroundings, we expect to be able to help 19 different communities and a total of 1489 families."

"Indigenous people's ancestral land is threatened by Europe's largest logging company. Sveaskog intends to log 1000 football fields of forests, devastating to the climate and a death sentence for our community, says Lars Anders Baer, chairman of the Sámi reindeer herding district Luokta-Mávas.

Europe's largest logging company, Government-owned Sveaskog, plans to harvest the last remaining natural forests in Luokta-Mávas Sámi reindeer herding district, in the northern part of Sweden. The indigenous Sámi people have been living on these lands for thousands of years, proven by archaeological traces in the now threatened forests. The elders have always said that as long as the reindeer can live here, so can we. Now we are faced with a scenario that will be crucial for the reindeer's survival, and our existence as a people. Without the forests, no life, says Sofia Jannok.

One cannot clear-cut natural forests and at the same time halt the climate collapse nor honor the Paris agreement. It's impossible. But if Luokta-Mávas' indigenous people's rights are respected, Sweden still has a fair chance to live up to the Paris Agreement. It's in their hands now.

We are not here to protest, we are here to protect. This is part of a larger #StandWithSápmi movement.

Stay tuned and we will engage with you more so that we together can make our collaborative voices heard and make sure that this never happens in Sápmi again. The last remaining natural forests in Sápmi should not, under any circumstances, be clear-cut." 

"WHAT IS LINE 3

Line 3 is a proposed pipeline expansion to bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It was proposed in 2014 by Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Enbridge seeks to build a new pipeline corridor through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe peoples, through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior. 

WHY THE OPPOSITION

All pipelines spill. Line 3 isn’t about safe transportation of a necessary product, it’s about expansion of a dying tar sands industry. Line 3 would contribute more to climate change than Minnesota’s entire economy. Minnesota’s own Department of Commerce found our local market does not need Line 3 oil. We need to decommission the old Line 3 and justly transition to a renewable, sustainable economy.  Line 3 would violate the treaty rights of Anishinaabe peoples and nations in its path — wild rice is a centerpiece of Anishinaabe culture, it grows in numerous watersheds Line 3 seeks to cross. It’s well-past time to end the legacy of theft from and destruction of indigenous peoples and territories.

WHAT WE CAN DO

We can keep organizing, educating, and advocating to stop Line 3 and build the future we want. Legal and grassroots efforts have kept Enbridge’s Line 3 destruction at bay — it was supposed to be complete in 2017. We are holding events in our homes, community centers, churches, schools, and online. We are talking to our politicians, speaking up at hearings, marching in protests, taking nonviolent direct action together, and reporting Enbridge’s activity along the proposed route. We are teaching and learning from each other. We are growing food and investing in renewable energy. Wherever you are and whatever your skill set, there is a place for you in the movement to stop Line 3."

"In the historical words from Chief Seattle—“every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people…and the very dust upon which you now stand … is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of its sympathetic touch.”

In May 2018, the Suquamish Tribe reclaimed significant shoreline and land that was previously a large part of the original Port Madison Reservation.

Reclaim is a word that when defined has several different meanings:  “take back”, “make new”, “set right”. We believe that the reclamation of the Suquamish Shores property is all three.

Now the real work begins and we need everyone to join with us in transforming the Shores into what is best for all.

This amazing opportunity allows us to make dreams come true in a revitalized Suquamish community.  In the first phase, we envision a children’s playground inspired by Native stories and legends. Native artists will have spaces for carving and weaving.  A covered area will provide the perfect picnic gathering space for family celebrations and community events, while surrounded by indigenous plants and trees.

But we need your help. What happens next will be the direct result of your generosity.

Won’t you help transform Suquamish for now and for generations to come?"

"The Transgender Education Foundation aims to provide a diversified direct service to the transgender community at-large for long-term planning, sustainability, and to serve as an educational hub for transgender studies and research. We believe in fostering a just, equitable, and progressive society through fundamental sociopolitical, economic, cultural and educational reform for the advancement of transgender civil rights, ensuring systemic prosperity, a higher quality of life, and protection for the transgender community.

Established in 2020 as The Frances Thompson Education Foundation, the Transgender Education Foundation has grown to become the largest trans-led education access organization for students pursuing higher education. Furthermore, our investment in students' long-term education creates pathways to dignified work outside of survival sex work which prevents the transmission of HIV. Students who benefit from our programs foster a sense of pride in a shared history through an increased cultural competency. Student academic retention outcomes have proven to increase as a sense of purpose and belonging develops.

The Transgender Education Foundation works to increase education access to high-potential transgender students experiencing financial difficulty balancing gender transition and academic costs. TEF organizes students at an international level with scholars based across the United States, Jamaica, and Brazil.

The Frances Thompson Education Foundation provided scholarship opportunities to Black trans and non-binary individuals to address the profound systemic educational disadvantage of the most marginalized racial group within the transgender community.

With two years of proven success providing resources to the most underserved population, we are expanding our audience to include transgender people of all backgrounds as the Transgender Education Foundation. We uphold Frances Thompson’s legacy with our Academic Journal and Research Scholars Program in her name and a commitment to equity in our programs.

The Transgender Education Foundation is based in San Francisco and spearheaded by transgender activist and Executive Director Kenya Boudreaux."

"Gidimt'en is one of five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The creation of the Gidimt'en Camp was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present.

The Gidimt’en Checkpoint is controlling access to Cas Yikh House territory within the larger Gidimt’en clan territory at 44.5 km on the Morice River FSR. The collective House Chiefs made the decision to support Gidimt’en Checkpoint December 14th, 2018. The five clans ratified the decision in a bahlats (feast) in Witset on December 16th, 2018.

On Friday, December 21st, a judge granted Coastal Gas Link an extension to their injunction against individuals at the Unist’ot’en Camp, applying it to all resistance camps South of Houston.

In response to CGL’s injunction, the Gidimt'en Checkpoint was established on the road leading to the Unist’ot’en Camp. CGL’s lawyers have been arguing that the Unist’ot’en are essentially a rogue group without a rightful claim to aboriginal title. The Gidimt'en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs are prepared to uphold Wet’suwet’en law by refusing to grant CGL consent to access the Yintah."

"We stand as witnesses to this historic moment when the federal and provincial governments, RCMP, and Coastal GasLink/TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) are openly violating Wet’suwet’en, Canadian, and international law.

Coastal GasLink/TC Energy is pushing through a 670-kilometer fracked gas pipeline that would carry fracked gas from Dawson Creek, B.C. to the coastal town of Kitimat, where LNG Canada’s processing plant would be located. LNG Canada is the single largest private investment in Canadian history.

Each clan within the Wet’suwet’en Nation has full jurisdiction under their law to control access to their territory. Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals and have not provided free, prior, and informed consent to Coastal Gaslink/ TransCanada to do work on Wet’suwet’en lands.

How can you, as a supporter, show your solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and Unist’ot’en battle against industry giants? What can you do to stem the tide of colonization and corporate greed usurping Indigenous rights?"