Paddles in the Water Now: Welcoming First Peoples Fund’s New President/CEO, Tina Kuckkahn

Out on the water with First Peoples Fund’s new President/CEO Tina Kuckkahn

‍How a steadfast commitment to supporting Indigenous arts and a Voyageur canoe set Tina on course for First Peoples Fund. Tina skippers us through the channels that brought her to FPF, touching on navigation, migration, collaboration, and prophecy. She shares how stepping into this role feels like coming home.

It is a huge pleasure to introduce and welcome First Peoples Fund’s new President/CEO, Tina Kuckkahn, citizen of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and a descendant of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. Speaking with Tina reveals her deep affinity with the values and priorities of First Peoples Fund.

A Great Confluence

Tina and FPF's founding CEO and Senior Fellow, Lori Pourier, have counted each other as colleagues and friends for nearly thirty years. As they grew their programs together, their successes have been more like interwoven streams than parallel endeavors.

Lori says, “I have had the privilege of working with Tina since the founding years of First Peoples Fund, during her tenure at The Evergreen State College Longhouse. Over the years, through collaborations between our organizations and various national foundation initiatives, I have witnessed her remarkable leadership. Tina leads with humility, authenticity, and a deep spirit of collaboration...fostering trust and strengthening the cultural ecosystems she serves.”

"...Tina leads with humility, authenticity, and a deep spirit of collaboration...fostering trust and strengthening the cultural ecosystems she serves.”

Tina credits her first professional job, at a non-profit for children with disabilities, with training her to develop programs and staff, fundraise, work with boards, and implement projects. “The birth of my daughter, who has cerebral palsy, gave my life a direction and focus that inspired my early career, and continues to give me strength,” shared Tina.

When Tina learned that The Evergreen State College was seeking a director for its new Longhouse—an educational and cultural center honoring Indigenous peoples—she saw a great opportunity, in alignment with her Anishinaabe identity, to use her skills to promote Indigenous arts and cultures by building a Native arts program.

More than twenty years of tenure at the Longhouse began with partnering with Tribes and urban Indian Centers of the  Salish Sea region of the Pacific Northwest. Led by an Indigenous staff team and board, the Longhouse’s work expanded to include national grantmaking and the establishment of the Longhouse as an international gathering place for Indigenous artists. Through the Pacific Rim Network, the Longhouse hosted Indigenous artist gatherings, kindling relationships across cultures and providing impetus for the establishment of international residencies and exchange programs.

Tina’s vision of an Indigenous Arts Campus within Evergreen led to the expansion of the Longhouse and the creation of dedicated carving and weaving studios. Tina later became Evergreen’s first Vice President of Indigenous Arts, Education, and Tribal Relations. 

Grounded in Indigenous self-determination, NDN Collective invited Tina to join their Foundation in 2021. Eventually becoming the Foundation’s Managing Director, she found gratifying work supporting grantmaking across the continent in three languages, removing language barriers to expand access to resources. “I learned so much from my Relatives at NDN Collective - their influence and impact on me personally, and within Indigenous communities across Turtle Island, is profound”, reflected Tina.

Tina and Lori have always kept in touch.  During the early years of First Peoples Fund, Tina served as a Community Spirit Award panel reviewer, familiar with the generous work of Jennifer Easton and the impact of Lori’s dedication in building FPF into what it is today. “Lori’s such a great ambassador. She really embodies the heart, values, and Collective Spirit of First Peoples Fund. She and the staff team and board worked tirelessly to strengthen the Indigenous Arts Ecology throughout the nation, while always remaining centered in grassroots, community-based work.” Many artists supported through the Longhouse later became CSA recipients and FPF Fellows, in what Tina calls “a great confluence!”

Coming Full Circle

Stepping into her new role at FPF feels like coming full circle for Tina. “It makes my heart sing to focus my energies full-time on supporting artists and culture bearers. Their work brings medicine to the world, which is so needed at this time.”

“It makes my heart sing to focus my energies full-time on supporting artists and culture bearers. Their work brings medicine to the world, which is so needed at this time.”

The Power of Places

“In my roles,” Tina says, “I have seen the power of places.” Working remotely allows her to “flow back and forth” between northern Wisconsin—her homeland and her daughter’s home—and Washington state, where her son resides, where she lived for more than 30 years. 

During Tina’s first week at FPF, she traveled to Rapid City to meet the team in person. “I’m coming in to listen, to learn, to observe.” Sensitive to FPF’s recent transitions, Tina began by meeting with each team member—not to discuss responsibilities, but to get to know each other, to learn, “What are your hopes and dreams, as a member of the First Peoples Fund family?”

Visiting the Oglala Lakota Artspace, Tina “felt that magic all over again.” The team’s warmth and enthusiasm, the presence of the artwork, brought home the excitement of honoring people and place. “We move at the speed of trust,” she says, emphasizing that OLA (Oglala Lakota Artspace) is located within the community of the Pine Ridge reservation.

Tina also delights in bringing artists together. Through collaboration, artists create work that becomes larger than themselves through shared talents and creative energies. Native artists, acting from their values of generosity and reciprocity, often uplift and support each other. They share techniques, inspiration, “tools of the trade”, and invitations to amplify each other’s work. This strengthens the Indigenous Arts Ecology for everyone.” 

Acknowledging today’s political climate, she adds, "How do we make sure that the people we bring together feel safe? There are fewer safe places now for members of our LGBTQIA+ community, and that is not consistent with our values.” It’s vital to communicate “that the opportunity is there for all of our people.”

A Shared Vision

Lori echoes that sentiment: Tina’s commitment to “reciprocity, relationship-building, and love for community will help lead FPF into its next chapter. With her steady leadership and deep respect for artists and culture bearers, Tina will help recenter the organization’s work in ways that strengthen Native creative economies and ensure that our cultural values continue to lead the way.”

You’d think those two had been talking to each other—for a good thirty years.