15 Indigenous Organizations You Can Give Back to for Thanksgiving
November is rightfully Native American Heritage Month, a
Photo: Unsplash/@dulceylima
November is rightfully Native American Heritage Month, a.k.a. Native American Indian Heritage Month. Instead of buying into the lie that is the “Thanksgiving story,” we invite you to take this month to learn more about Native Americans, their history and culture, and of course, to give back.
A perfect opportunity to do this is on Giving Tuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (which falls on December 3 this year), but any day is wonderful to support our Indigenous brothers and sisters. To assist you in finding a great and worthy cause to donate to, we put together a list of 15 organizations that are making a difference in the lives of American Indian people, their communities, and the world at large.
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MMIW USA
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4OHNlDnkSs/
MMIW USA, also known as Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women USA, is an organization whose “number one mission is to bring our missing home and help the families of the murdered cope and support them through the process of grief.” This is through “hands-on support and guidance,” education, and self-defense classes to help prevent further violence towards women.
You can donate here
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Native American Rights Fund
The Native American Rights Fund, which has its headquarters in Boulder Colorado, and offices in Anchorage, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., provides legal assistance to “Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals.” Thanks to their work, “significant results” have been achieved in “tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, and Indian education.”
You can donate here
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Partnership with Native Americans (PWNA)
In this radio clip by @KUAF, hear @WesleyStudi talk about raising awareness and the need for giving for #NativeAmerican causes. https://t.co/2oNHacGGVz pic.twitter.com/RydcvJQTEq
— Partnership With Native Americans (@PWNA4hope) November 14, 2019
For over 25 years, Partnership with Native Americans (PWNA) has been assisting Indigenous communities —hundreds of tribal communities, and 250,000 native people each year — to be exact. Their two-part approach tackles both immediate relief and long-term gain, so that communities can fully thrive. This includes education, food and water, holiday services, animal welfare, community building, and more.
You can donate here
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American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL)
If you would like to help support the business dreams of the American Indian community, then donating to the American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL) would be a good idea. They are “the only American Indigenous non-profit organization solely dedicated to empowering business students in the United States.”
You can donate here
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American Indian College Fund
Education is so important and it’s imperative that it is easily available to everyone. For three decades, the American Indian College Fund “has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native student access to higher education,” through programs, scholarships, support, and tools.
You can donate here
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Vision Maker Media
It is so important that Indigenous narratives be told. Vision Maker Media “empowers and engages Native People to share stories.” This is done by teaming up with producers to “develop, produce and distribute educational telecommunications programs for all media including public television and public radio.”
You can donate here
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Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations (WEWIN)
Photo: WEWIN/Facebook
Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations (WEWIN) is an organization that provides support for American Indian ladies by educating them about Native history, rights, current issues, and promoting “honest dignified tribal leadership who reflect pride for those we represent.”
You can sponsor the 2020 WEWIN Conference here
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Native Youth Leadership Alliance (NYLA)
NYLA, the Native Youth Leadership Alliance, aims to “spark culturally based community change” through investing in Native American leaders. Their leadership society program lasts one year, and holistically offers life and leadership support, access to mentors, scholarship support, and more.
You can donate here
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Indigenous Environmental Network
Native cultures see the Earth as sacred and treat it as such. The Indigenous Environmental Network is an alliance that aims to protect it through addressing “environmental and economic justice issues.” If you want to help them help save the planet, a donation would assist in the effort.
You can donate here
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Native Hope
Hope is one of the most important things we can have. Native Hope brings it through healing storytelling — in fact, their mission is to share 10,000 Indigenous stories that will inspire others. In addition, the organization provides a fellowship program, and a has a Leaders’ Society.
You can donate here
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National Indigenous Women’s Rights Resource Center (NIWRC)
Another organization that directly supports women (as well as children) is the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC). Its mission is “to support and uphold grassroots advocacy by creating and enhancing the capacity of Native communities to end gender-based violence through technical assistance, education, public awareness and policy development.”
You can donate here
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National Indian Council on Aging
During #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth, find out what activities and celebrations are happening in local tribal communities. Celebrate with community gatherings, festivals, government and educational activities. https://t.co/HAWi9ikg4c #NativeAmerican #NativeTwitter #NativeAmericans pic.twitter.com/7ZpyJhUwhI
— NICOA (@NICOA_Aging) November 19, 2019
The National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) honors Native seniors with their mission: “to advocate for improved comprehensive health, social services, and economic wellbeing for American Indian and Alaska Native Elders.” You can assist in this important effort with a thoughtful donation.
You can donate here
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Native Wellness Institute
Join us in AK for our training, we will discuss topics like:
* Historical and Intergenerational Trauma
* Healing
* Native Wellness
* Being Trauma Informed
* Healthy Relationships
* Building Team and Trust
* Movement Building
* Changing Community Normshttps://t.co/7vWcrB6nLk pic.twitter.com/JopbzBk6WD— Indigenous 20SP (@i20sp) October 8, 2019
Prayer, song, ceremony, language, and courage. Native Wellness uses these ancestral gifts to provide well-being to the community. The organization’s main objectives focus on the following five areas:
“- Healthy Relationships and Parenting
– Youth Leadership and Development
– Workplace Wellness / Staff Development
– Strategic Planning, Program Development and Curriculum Development
– Educational Wellness Conferences, Retreats and Training”
You can donate here
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Seeding Sovereignty
Seeding Sovereignty is “an Indigenous womxn-led collective” that smashes colonialism and in turn offers Indigenous alternatives. This is done through a political engagement program entitled SHIFT (Seeing the Hill with Indigenous Free-Thinkers), an Indigenous column at Bustle, the sharing of important petitions, events, and more.
You can donate here
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Native Arts & Cultures Foundation
The final organization in this roundup that we recommend donating to is the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. Art is such an identifier and unifier of culture and healing to both the community at large and each individual with it. This foundation helps foster art through fellowship programs, the Community Inspiration Program, Advocacy and Education Initiatives, and more.
You can donate here
