A close up of a Native artists hands holding weaving a basket.
A closeup of a Native artists their art that features a collage of an ancestor.
Three Native American women singing on stage at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Our Mission

We honor and support the Collective Spirit of First Peoples artists and culture bearers. By supporting artists and culture bearers, First Peoples Fund helps Native communities heal and thrive. Collectively, we approach our work with rootedness, intuition, listening, humility and deep relationships.

about > our work

OUR WORK INCLUDES

Grants and Awards

We invest in the success and development of our FPF family of artists and culture bearers. Through financial grants and awards directly to artists and organizations, FPF supports the sustainability of their work and deepens their impact.

Mentorship and Training Programs

FPF offers coaching, training and technical assistance opportunities to artists to help strengthen their knowledge and capacity to thrive in their practice.  It is critical that artists and culture bearers have access to tools, mentors and professional development opportunities that help them achieve their goals.

Community and Youth Development Programs

Our community and youth development programs support Indigenous Arts Ecology by supporting young people beginning to explore and learn art and cultural expressions and supporting community members in learning and carrying on their art forms.  Through our programs, we work with community partners and local community members to teach cultural and entrepreneurial practices, deepen artistic and cultural identity and increase their access to financial resources in their communities.

National Research and Initiatives

First Peoples Fund initiates and conducts critical research projects to help advance knowledge and understanding of Native artists and culture bearers within the broader field.  Indigenous methods and approaches to artistic expression and practice are extremely valuable. However, the mainstream art sector has not historically embraced much of this knowledge and practice. We aim to further advance our Indigenous artists and culture bearers as national change makers, catalyzers of positive social change and essential knowledge holders for the world.

Since 2004, FPF has directly supported over 6,000 Native artists to advance their development as entrepreneurs and agents of change because we understand that artists are a uniquely powerful means of healing and strengthening tribal communities. We have distributed $9.3 million in grant funds, fees and honoraria to nearly 500 artists from 35 states and 133 tribal nations through our fellowships, awards, and other programs.

Key definitions

Culture Bearers

Culture Bearers are artist elders in their community who restore, reclaim and hold ancestral tribal knowledge and continue to practice and carry forward cultural art forms, beliefs and traditions. Their forms of expression quietly and selflessly sustain our ancestors' wisdom, beauty, and resilience in our contemporary lives. They help us heal our people, our communities, and Grandmother Earth. Their knowledge and ways of knowing are essential to understanding how to remain in balance and in relationship with all that is around us and in us.

Collective Spirit

Collective Spirit moves each of us to stand up and make a difference, to pass on ancestral knowledge and to extend a hand of generosity. Collective Spirit is a commitment to nuture our shared humanity and honor our connection to one another, the lands around us, those who came before us and the spirit of all things.

Rooted in the traditional values of generosity, wisdom, respect, integrity, strength, fortitude and humility, First Peoples Fund sustains culture and cultivates entrepreneurial initiatives and community development programs for and alongside Native artists.

OUR GUIDING BELIEFS IN PRACTICE

We believe art and culture are essential to life.

Art and cultural expression connect Indigenous Peoples to our history, our relationship to Grandmother Earth and each other. At First Peoples Fund (FPF), we know art and culture are essential to life. Art embodies Native peoples’ understanding of who we are, where we come from and where we are going. Art also provides essential income and jobs to support economic resilience, particularly where little economic generation exists.

Each year, First Peoples Fund directly supports more than 1,000 Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists, culture bearers and young people. We support their ability to thrive boldly in their art and cultural expressions and to build economic resilience in their communities.

An essential part of our work involves honoring and supporting our Indigenous culture bearers. Culture bearers help equip our communities with the knowledge and inspiration to thrive collectively while staying true to our roots.

We center the inherent rights and cultural sovereignty of Indigenous peoples.

Supporting artists and culture bearers helps revitalize our communities' spiritual and cultural well-being and economic resilience. Since 1995, FPF has proudly supported Native communities in achieving healing, building strength, and feeling joy in ways that center our identities and cultures.

We are driven by the Collective Spirit, the commitment to nurture our shared humanity and honor our connection to one another, the lands around us and the spirit of all things. The Collective Spirit moves us to acknowledge our present, honor our past and the elders who came before us and consider our future generations in all that we do collectively. It is central to our work at FPF.

Our Research

A close up image of a hand woven basket

Brightening The Spotlight Study

Our newest report, Brightening the Spotlight, shares key findings and lessons from extensive interviews with diverse Native creators. This in-depth report explores the scope of performing arts practices that Native creators and communities engage in across the United States. The study was prompted by the fact that the importance of visual and craft-based forms of creative expression in and for Native communities has been well documented in research. However, comparatively little research has focused on the practices and impacts of Native creators who engage in performance-based forms of expression.
EXPLORE THE RESEARCH >>
A close up image of a hand woven basket

Investing in the Indigenous Arts Ecology

Investing in the Indigenous Arts Ecology examines the impact and evolution of First Peoples Fund’s work over 25 years to develop greater access to the resources Native artists need to succeed. It provides insight into how to best contribute to growing and thriving arts ecosystems in Native communities.
EXPLORE THE RESEARCH >>
A close up image of a hand woven basket

Establishing a Creative Economy: Art as an Economic Engine in Native Communities

Establishing a Creative Economy: Art as an Economic Engine in Native Communities reveals facts, insights and possibilities about Native arts and culture that had been overlooked for far too long. Based on market research conducted in Washington, Oregon, Montana and South Dakota, this report makes the case of Native arts as a strong and available economic force in Indian Country.
EXPLORE THE RESEARCH >>

Who We Are

Lori Pourier (Oglala Lakota) speaking to a room full of people at the Oglala Lakota Artspace grand opening.

Our Team

Meet our passionate team driving positive change at First Peoples Fund.

explore >>
First Peoples Fund Board Members posing together for a photo.

Our Board

Discover our esteemed Board of Directors guiding our mission at First Peoples Fund.

explore >>
A First Peoples Fund staff meeting with 7 peoples sitting around a table

Careers

Explore exciting career opportunities and join our team at First Peoples fund.

explore >>