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Northwest Area Foundation Awards Grant to Rapid City-based
Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today
Goal is Long-term Poverty Reduction Among Urban Indians
Fr: Susan Buckles Laurette Pourier
651-225-3865 605-348-3349
sbuckles@nwaf.org lpsanit@rushmore.com
St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 16, 2007 – Today, the Northwest Area Foundation announced the award of a one-year, $500,000 grant to the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today, Rapid City, South Dakota. It is one of four grants recently made to help build organizational capacity and/or community programs to reduce poverty among urban Indian populations. The other recipients are the Native American Development Corporation, Billings, Montana; the Native American Youth & Family Center, Portland, Oregon; and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, Seattle, Washington.
“We can, and must, break the cycle of poverty by healing first, and then building upon our strengths: the cultural lessons, values and aspirations that will enable us to succeed in and contribute to the two worlds we live in everyday – that of urban Native American peoples, and that of non-Natives communities,” said Laurette Pourier, executive director and co-founder (along with Dowell Caselli-Smith) of the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today. “This grant will support a critical first step – to establish the core lessons and principles that will serve as a foundation for future economic and community development,” she said.
“We believe, and experience is demonstrating, that poverty reduction initiatives have greater chance of success if communities assume leadership in addressing poverty and intentionally develop the capacity to do so,” said Kari Schlachtenhaufen, Interim President and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF). “We are excited to make this grant and hope other funders and partners will join in this effort to build local capacity to reduce poverty long term.”
SANI-T will apply the $500,000 grant to strengthening the organization’s structure, developing and implementing curriculum based on a medicine wheel concept and “returning to the center” (Cokata gli Najin) for healing first through traditional practices. One component is an innovative “Walking in Two Worlds” curriculum for the two demonstration projects: one serving youth and another a workforce project.
“Many foundations, our own included, search for initiatives that will bring deep and lasting benefit to families and communities,” said Gary Cunningham, NWAF Vice President for Programs and Chief Program Officer. “We also look for communities and organizations that bring experience, innovation, and systemic thinking to their efforts. We appreciate both the lessons we’ve learned in this grant-development process and the opportunity to support SANI-T in work that will benefit Rapid City urban Indian communities today and in the future,” he said.
The mission of SANI-T is to promote and support people united in healing wounds of Native oppression and creating opportunities for empowerment, self-sufficiency, equality and a sustainable future for First Americans, through advocacy, creative strategies and decisive action, with values of respect, honor and courage.
The Northwest Area Foundation realizes its mission – helping communities reduce poverty – by supporting strategic efforts within a small number of urban, rural and American Indian communities in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. These states were serviced by James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railway. Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill, established the foundation in 1934. Since 1999, the Foundation has invested approximately $193 million in community-based poverty reduction programs, and expects to invest an estimated additional $75 million within the next two years. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests. For more information: www.nwaf.org, or 651-224-9635.
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