Pebbles in the Pond: Honoring Collective Spirit
Upcoming Celebrations of the Community Spirit Award
First Peoples Fund is thrilled to honor our Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Awardees–past, present, and, of course, future- with exciting upcoming events! Join us for the first Collective Spirit Legacy Short Films screening, followed by a next-day panel on contemporary Indigenous film. We also invite you to gather with us to celebrate our 2025 Community Spirit Award honorees for an evening of arts, community, and inspiration.
Telling Stories Through Film: The Collective Spirit Legacy Series
Trying to do justice to Jennifer Easton in words, it’s easy to come up short. Try, instead, watching TahNibaa Naataanii seated in front of her loom, as the rhythm of her movements, deliberate but quick, staccato yet flowing, yields a vibrant pattern of color and shape. More is revealed as the camera pulls back. TahNibaa is telling her story even as she weaves, in Weaving Embraces You, a short film in Collective Spirit Legacy, a film series presented by First Peoples Fund, and directed by Lori Pourier.
The series documents the work of the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award recipients, some years after receiving the award. An ongoing project, the films are kitchen table conversations that follow how these tradition-keepers became part of the family at First Peoples Fund, “how they came,” as Lori says,” to be one of our relatives.” Artists are invited to speak in their Indigenous languages to tell the stories they want future generations to hear. Sharing the stories of the Community Spirit award honorees through film, “we continue to weave the stories across tribal regions and their relationships to each other.”
Each film tricks time with a wealth of artistry, insights, stories, landscapes, and histories set straight, inviting the viewer into a timeless and moving experience in what the clock calls ten minutes. The film series offers an impactful and eloquent tribute to community spirit that would make Jennifer proud.
Jennifer Easton’s Enduring Commitment to Indigenous Artists
The founder of First Peoples Fund, Jennifer Easton, was also a longtime supporter of the Sundance Film Festival’s Indigenous program and the founder of the Sumasil Fund. “I will always uplift Jennifer Easton,” says Lori Pourier (Oglala Lakota), a founding CEO of 26 years and current senior fellow of First Peoples Fund. “She did her homework before I joined FPF to get to know Indian Country by traveling and spending time in remote tribal communities.”
Jennifer Easton’s love for the First Peoples of this land led her to an investment in and commitment to Native communities and Native peoples so visionary and so deeply grounded in action that we can look in any direction from wherever we are standing on the continent, and see evidence of its flowering.
Whether she encountered a basket or a beaded vest, quillwork or a canoe, in a gallery in Santa Fe, or a trading post in Vancouver, Jennifer wanted to know, Who made this? Where’s the artist? Jennifer often journeyed to meet these artists at work in their tribal communities.
How do we support these artists to make a living from their beautiful work? To build leadership? To give back and share their knowledge in their communities? What is the best approach?
Personal relationships with the artists brought greater engagement to Jennifer’s questions. How do we support these artists to make a living from their beautiful work? To build leadership? To give back and share their knowledge in their communities? What is the best approach?
A Meeting of Minds: Jennifer Easton and Lori Pourier
Jennifer Easton sought out active leaders involved in the work who could respond to her questions. Case in point: when Jennifer heard of Lori Pourier’s work with microenterprise development at the First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) and her work with the Indigenous Women’s Network, she went looking for Lori. She invited her to work with the First Peoples Fund.
Jennifer’s “homework” brought her into relationships with Native leaders across Indian country, and a profound recognition of the interconnectedness of Native communities. Supporting Native arts, culture, and film meant focusing on significant underlying themes, beginning with economic sovereignty for women, and including the buffalo restoration, language revitalization, and legal support in the fight to protect old-growth forests in the Northwest.
“In Navajo weaving terms, her philanthropy represents the wefting threads and our work at FPF represents the warp threads or strands woven together to make this beautiful tapestry."
Is a weaving metaphor apt for Jennifer’s contributions? Lori agrees, “In Navajo weaving terms, her philanthropy represents the wefting threads and our work at FPF represents the warp threads or strands woven together to make this beautiful tapestry."
Recognizing Cultural Generosity: The Community Spirit Award
The Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Awards were created to honor “culture bearers of tribal communities, nominated by someone from their community who knew and understood how selflessly they give of themselves, their generosity, and love for their communities.”
The stories the films tell are wholly distinct from one another, each as vibrant, articulate and specific as each artist, each culture, and each way of working. Yet, all the stories are centered on the love for one's people and community, expressed through enormous generosity and the desire to learn. “Yes, they are artists, but first and foremost, the story is about their love for their community as expressed through their art.”
The artwork is at the heart of community healing and repair, given countless ways that tradition and community have been ruptured and interrupted in living memory for many of the awardees. Lori cites termination, boarding schools, and the extraction and sale of cultural spiritual items.
In the films, we see subsequent generations growing up with dance houses, cultural centers, and language classes. Intergenerational knowledge is being transmitted. “So much,” Lori says, “is coming home.”
Continuity and longevity are inherent in Jennifer Easton’s vision. From the beginning, First Peoples Fund’s strategic plan has factored in growth, a far-seeing long-term plan for artists to be able to support their families long-term, from their tribal communities, initiating ever more diversified programs to uplift the work of our artists.
“Jennifer used to say, ‘I threw this pebble in the pond…’ and when something major would come to fruition, like the Rolling Rez Arts Bus, ‘Lori threw these other pebbles in the pond’ and now we see the ripple effect, these tiny currents happening all over.”
“Jennifer used to say, ‘I threw this pebble in the pond…’ and when something major would come to fruition, like the Rolling Rez Arts Bus, ‘Lori threw these other pebbles in the pond’ and now we see the ripple effect, these tiny currents happening all over.”
Well over 100 artists have received the Community Spirit award since the award was first offered in 2000.
Join Us - Indian Market & 2025 CSA Honoring Event
Join us during SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market and the Get Indigenous Film Festival (GIFF) for a screening of four short films featuring past Community Spirit Awardees, including works by Vicky Holt Takamine, Lani Hotch, Bud Lane, and TahNibaa Naataanii.
Get Indigenous Film Festival Screening
Friday, August 15, 2025
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC)
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
710 Camino Lejo
Santa Fe, NM
First Peoples Fund presents Collective Spirit Legacy short films in partnership with SWAIA, GIFF, and MIAC—four films followed by a Q&A with artists and FPF. Free and open to the public; space is limited, so reserve your tickets now! Tickets also include access to Saturday’s GIFF panel on Native documentary and TV storytelling, plus breakfast and community conversation.
GIFF Panel “Native Narratives and Nibbles”
IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MOCNA) Courtyard
Saturday, August 16, 2025
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
108 Cathedral Place
Honoring Dinner for 2025 Community Spirit Awardees
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
710 Camino Lejo
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Reception begins at 5:30 pm.
Jennifer Easton, known for her quiet humility, always attended the Community Spirit Award dinner, which continues to reflect her love for community with each honoree. This year’s national gathering at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in Santa Fe will feature exhibitions, short film screenings, speakers Alfred “Bud” Lane and Lori Pourier, dinner, and musical performances by Wicahpi Olawan.
Join us in celebrating this remarkable group of artists and honoring the Collective Spirit in person. Be the first to receive updates on ticketing and event details for the 2025 Community Spirit Award Celebration in Santa Fe by filling out the form at this LINK.
Questions about October’s event? Contact Fox Spears, Program Manager of Fellowships, at foxspears@firstpeoplesfund.org
