Nanitin Adeeshtłʼóół Weaving Strands of Knowledge: Native Arts and Culture Grant
2023 – 2026
About The Program
The American Indian College Fund’s Nanitin Adeeshtłʼóół Weaving Strands of Knowledge: Native Arts and Culture Grant Program supports TCUs in carrying out their cultural and community missions by providing place-based, culturally grounded learning opportunities in traditional and contemporary Native arts knowledge and skills for students, staff, faculty, and community members that will make an impact for future generations. TCUs provide Native arts programming based in place, traditional knowledge, language, culture, and community teachings to ensure that Native arts reach the communities they serve. TCUs have a responsibility as tribal and community learning institutions to provide resources and develop a new generation of Native artists, culture bearers, and knowledge teachers.
Goals of the program include:
- TCUs contribute to the advancement and innovation of Native arts by utilizing TCU Native Arts Curriculum and Credential Development Grants to increase academic learning opportunities.
- TCUs support visibility and health and thriving Native communities through community-based capacity-building programming.
- Supporting visibility and awareness for two-spirit and LQBTQ+ students, high school equivalency students and their families, elders, students and community members with disabilities, and student veterans and their families.
- Providing a supportive and respectful environment for wellness and mental health through Native arts as a form of healing, self-care, and expression.
- Guidance and feedback from cultural knowledge teachers and consultants to support the development and implementation of Native arts community workshops
Program Gallery
Grantees
Native Arts Curriculum Development Grants:
Aaniiih Nakoda College (Ft. Belknap)
Bay Mills Community College
Blackfeet Community College
College of Menominee Nation
College of the Muscogee Nation
Diné College
Fort Peck Community College
Haskell Indian Nations University
Iḷisaġvik College
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Little Big Horn College
Little Priest Tribal College
Navajo Technical University
Northwest Indian College
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Red Lake Nation College
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Salish Kootenai College
Sinte Gleska University
Sisseton Wahpeton College
Sitting Bull College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Stone Child College
Tohono O'odham Community College
United Tribes Technical College
White Earth Tribal and Community College
Related Blogs
Bringing Baleen Basketry Into the Future with Ira Ilupak Frankson
Ira Ilupak Frankson, an Iñupiaq artist from Tikiġaq, Alaska, is preserving the traditional art of baleen basketry, an Iñupiat craft made from bowhead whale baleen and walrus ivory. Through his work and teaching, Frankson is helping to revitalize this unique cultural art form for future generations.
American Indian College Fund Partners with Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to Enhance Native Arts Programs
The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) announced new efforts to enhance Native arts curriculum development programs at six tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Each of the participating TCUs will receive $100,000 to enrich their curricula by integrating Indigenous education values and incorporate Native knowledge, language, and cultural practices. The project will also help to expand institutional capacity, developing or revising academic courses, minors, and certificate and degree programs.
SGU Connects Arts and Culture to GED Classroom
Sinte Gleska University’s high school equivalency students become grounded in their cultural identities as they lead community engagement efforts through Native Arts workshops.
A Dialogue with Diné Director Blackhorse Lowe
Diné film and TV director Blackhorse Lowe met with the College Fund to speak about what it means to be an Indigenous director. Lowe grew up on the Navajo Nation hearing traditional and family stories and watching movies–lots of movies, which influenced his path on becoming a film and TV director.
