First Nations LEAD Program

November 5, 2009

First Nations Launches 4th Year of LEAD Program

First Nations Development Institute, located in Longmont, CO, is launching the fourth year of its Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development (LEAD) program. The LEAD program's overall goal is to develop a pool of qualified nonprofit leaders to meet the needs of the growing Native American nonprofit sector. This innovative program is an intensive one-year program that matches current Native nonprofit leaders and their organizations with young Native professionals who have the potential of becoming the next generation of Native nonprofit leaders. The program is designed to create future Native leaders for Native community and reservation-based nonprofits, build the resources of existing leaders in the Native nonprofit sector, and support Native nonprofits that are working to build leadership capacity in rural and reservation-based communities. 

This year, 24 promising young native professionals were selected to participate from Washington, Oregon and Colorado. Individuals selected as LEAD Fellows had to be either employed by a nonprofit organization or planning a career in the nonprofit sector; committed to a career working in Native communities; and affiliated with a tribe. This month, the program is graduating 28 LEAD Fellows, the year prior, 12 graduated. Each cohort hosts the graduation ceremony within in its own community. The new Fellows also attend and receive a program orientation as well. They are asked to commit to attending all trainings and to attend the annual LEAD institute. The next LEAD Institute will be held in January, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM. The two-day Institute will offer all 24 Fellows three tracks of training to select from, including Non-Profit Leadership and Capacity Building, Native American Philanthropy, and Asset Building.

Through LEAD, First Nations and its partner Native nonprofit "host" organizations, provide targeted training, workshops and mentoring to a committed group of Fellows in areas of expertise that are critical to being a successful nonprofit leader, including financial management, factors affecting Native or reservation-based nonprofit organizations, fundraising, program evaluation and service leadership. This year's host organizations are located in Washington, Oregon and Colorado. The Colorado cohort of fellows will be hosted by First Nations Development Institute. The 2009-2010 LEAD Fellows for Colorado are:  Alaina Archuleta, Hannabah Blue, Mat Barkhausen, Catherine Bryan, Tanksi Clairmont, Ruben Hernandez, Jennifer Williams-Bordeaux, and Dina M. Yazzie. The Potlatch Fund (http://www.potlatchfund.org) in Seattle, WA and the Native American Youth and Family Center (http://www.nayapdx.org) in Portland, OR are the other two sites hosting LEAD Fellows.

This leadership training program developed and organized by First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) is funded by a generous consortium of private foundations and individual supporters. The program's major funders include the Ford Foundation, $400,000 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $300,000. 

To learn more about the LEAD program and this year's fellows, please visit the First Nations website at:http://www.firstnations.org/LEAD

CONTACT: Tina Farrenkopf
303-774-7836; tfarrenkopf@firstnations.org

UPDATE: Ignorant Racists

Here is a great editorial about the ongoing AIPB discussion unknown racism.  What I mean specifically, is naive or unknowing individuals which spread divisive words or derogatory comments without thought, intent, or concern.

I merely think we need to consider the emotive use of language.

American Indian Heritage Month

Celebrate it everyday, by sharing a story with a stranger.

AWARENESS of NDNs is key in creating a better place.

You will be amazed at home much you know that others do not.

I will be here: (Click to Enlarge)

Where's Jason?

I recall when one of my not so intelligent detractors decided to try and attack me while I was holding elected office.  They compared me to Waldo, in the Where's Waldo story book.

Well what they missed about that book, was Waldo was everywhere but was difficult to find.

I have been busy working and not blogging so regularly therefore, I thought I better share my work.

HERE is a flyer for the Indian Affairs Speaker Series I have put together for American Indian Heritage Month here at Indiana University.

I have been busy with this and the successful completion of my academic requirements.

University, Indian Country, and Administration Jobs

HERE is a link to a large number of faculty, staff, and administration positions for people in NDN policy, studies, and research.  A few jobs are with non-profit organizations, as well.

Check them out, and share them around the community.

Easily Forgotten: The Complexity of Indian Country

I decided to mention this as a policy note.  HERE is an article where State-Recognized tribes are left out of discussion with President Obama.  In many ways, I understand some need to reduce the number of participants, although, I don't necessarily understand the criteria in this case.

Types of Indian Communities:

• State-Recognized Tribes
• Federal-Recognized Tribes
• Non-Recognized Tribes
• On-Reservation NDNs
• Near-Reservation NDNs
• Urban NDNs
• Full-Blood NDNs
• Mixed-Breed NDNs

Where does a researcher begin?  It is important to clarify the level of analysis in reports so that an Ecological fallacy does not occur.  Is external validity possible, in research of NDNs and NDN country?

Well, it is obvious these types of things are important to research.  Do they have equal or greater importance to policy implementation?  I argue they do.  

I challenge policy makers, researchers, and students, to take additional care considering all of these factors while doing analysis of the current situation in NDN country.  I personally struggle with making things relevant to a large audience when doing research.

A Crab Bucket, An Elephant, and A Lot of Ignorance

As we race into November I realize it has been many fall days I have spent on University campuses.  Native American Heritage month, American Indian Day, Columbus Day, and maybe an annual pow-wow is about the only times of the year American Indian students find people having any interest in the plight to improve oneself as an American Indian.

HERE is an article in Indian Country Today which does a great job explaining some of the real problems on capuses, in towns, and all over American in regards to people's preceptions about NDNs.

HERE I recently took the time to highlight some of the myths!

In general I use this blog as a policy platform for analysis and consideration.  So of my detractors may say, this post is more about race then policy.  Well, to them historical federal policy has in a lot of ways created these stereotypes.  Unintended consequences are at the roots of each of these problems.  A society which believes government policy does not effect public perception has forgotten how the U.S. representative form of democracy has been designed, how it checks and balances, and why the creators of this form of government made it as it is originally and as it has become today.

The underlying check and balancing mchanism is public perception.  Courts are designed with a consensus mechanism called a jury.  Congress is designed with a consensus mechanism called floor debate.  It seems only reasonable for those of us living in the society to know and understand these mechanisms and work to improve the balancing act.

The article "Elephant of Indian Racism" (linked above) highlights how ignorant people can make experiences which truly hurt others live and become the fabric of American Society through perception.

The "Crab Bucket" of the in Indian Country exists!  Too often have I and others I know, in situations similar to mine, discussed this attitude towards us who have entered the mainstream to try and help ourselves, our families, and our Tribes.  Many of these same friends now hold good positions as advocates in NDN country but not with their own Tribe but with other Tribes.  Primarily because of the effects of this "Crab Bucket."  Still others find themselves at Universities, Government Agencies, or somewhere else entirely.

So, if I have to make a policy recommendation to keep focused here with my platform.  I suppose my recommendation is this: community is improtant to NDNs and non-natives alike.  Look deep into what goals your community has and how you can accomplish them with the resorces inside the community and how resources from outside the community can increase your outcome efficiencies.

Let us begin to consider the improtance of differences, and look at accepting our brothers, sisters, cousins, aunties, uncles, friends, and former community members who have left home (on or near the Rez) and returned as Trade.  We traded some time with them for diverse new skills for our community.  Remembering this;

 In the same manner if any nation wasted part of its wealth, or lost part of its trade, it could not retain the same quantity of circulating medium which it before possessed.
---David Ricardo

Now knowing that eliminating the diversity is merely an attempt to limit the production of the commmunity.  This is not a good long-term perspective for us, our community, or the U.S.