About Native Arts

The Native Arts program at NEFA seeks to support Native American artists in New England and nationally through grantmaking and network development. The program builds regional and national support structures to help Native artists reach broader audiences, connect with new markets for their work, and gain access to financial resources. Native Arts was developed in partnership with the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, with lead funding and vision from the Ford Foundation’s Indigenous Knowledge and Expressive Culture program.

Native Arts programs at NEFA support artistic traditions within Native communities, as well as encourage exchange among Native elders, professional artists, emerging artists, and community resources to promote both the preservation of traditional art forms and contemporary expressions in and across artistic disciplines.

Native Arts offers two types of funding: National Native Artist Exchange grants and Native Arts New England grants.

Join the Native Arts Forum on the NEFA Network!

The NEFA Network hosts a place for online discussions, information sharing and postings. Connect with Native artists and others involved in our programs in our new Native Arts forum, and explore other NEFA program areas.

Opening a free account gives users access to several forums within the NEFA Networks - Creative Economy, National Dance Project, New England Presenting & Touring, and Public Art in addition to Native Arts - with multiple topic areas, including calls to artists, professional development, and job postings, within each. In addition to being a service to the region's creative sector, the Network allows for NEFA staff to be a part of the discussions that arise, and better advocate for the field in real-time.

Visit the Native Arts forum on the NEFA Network here.

Background

With Ford Foundation planning grant funding, NEFA and Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA) hosted three convenings between November 2005 and August 2006. At the convenings, Native artists and leaders from New England discussed how NEFA and MIBA could craft a grant making program that would most effectively serve the needs of the Native community.

Native ethnographer Darren Ranco (Penobscot) provided documentation. His summary presented five key areas of need identified by the Native artists:

1. Market Expansion and Market Development
2. Development of Capacity and Infrastructure Needs
3. Honoring and Ensuring Cultural Programs
4. Educational Programs
5. Materials and Materials Security

Ranco’s findings were evaluated by select convening participants and the program objectives below were put forth as priorities:

• Identify and build a communications network among Native artists in New England, coordinating with other organizations nationally to develop a national database of Native artists
• Convene Native artists and community leaders for gatherings, workshops, and other opportunities to share knowledge and artistry
• Develop a pilot grant program to address needs identified by Native artists and provide assistance for Native artists and organizations applying for grant support.

IllumiNation Cohort Members

The IllumiNation cohort is comprised of seven organizations across the U.S. brought together by the Ford Foundation’s Indigenous Knowledge and Culture program to strengthen and expand the national philanthropic network supporting Native arts and culture. Each of the distinguished cohort members has developed national programming that complements the programs of the other cohort members.

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
First Peoples Fund
Seventh Generation Fund
First Nations Composer Initiative
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Evergreen State College Foundation Longhouse Education Cultural Center
 

The Ford Foundation is a leading funder of NEFA’s Native Arts program. The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.