First Nations Development Institute

📖 What We’ll Be Reading: Hawaiian Soul 📖 A new book, “Hawaiian Soul: Resilience, Restoration and Justice,” is available now for pre-order. Mutual Publishing describes how the book examines the critical issues that define Hawaiian life today and provides a call to action.  First Nations was honored to support the writing of this book through a Research and Advocacy for Native Economic Justice program grant, made possible with support from the Schmidt Foundation and 11th Hour.  First Nations congratulates the editors, who include “Invisible No More: Voices from Native America” contributor and Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship Advisory Committee Member Trisha Kehaulani Watson, as well as Jane Lokomaikaikeakua Au, program director of Aina Momona, a longtime community partner through our Native Agriculture and Food Systems Investments and Stewarding Native Lands programs. ➡️ Learn more and pre-order your copy: https://bit.ly/4o5pcTO

📚 Celebrate Native American Heritage Through Literature 📚 Throughout Native American Heritage Month, and as Thanksgiving approaches, we recognize how the events of the month are a chance to reflect, learn, and honor the Native cultures that have built us, and to share that knowledge with the next generation.  One way to do this is by exploring First Nations’ Children’s Native Books Reading List. These beautifully written and illustrated books center Native voices, food traditions, and family values, offering a meaningful way to gather and grow together.  May these books spark conversations for you and your family: https://bit.ly/4ilr7Cr

First Nations Program and Operations Officer Ariana Gloria-Martinez successfully defended her thesis last week, toward the completion of her Masters of Science degree in Rangeland Ecosystem Science from Colorado State University. Entitled “Learning from the Lived Experiences of Lakota, Navajo, Chicana, Latina, and Hispanic Women Ranchers Across Turtle Island through Pláticas,” Ariana’s thesis explores ranching as a cultural, ecological, and spiritual practice grounded in responsibility and care, and it affirms pláticas (relational dialogue and story sharing) as a feminist, relational, and transformative method that supports depth, trust, and shared interpretation. Ariana’s research advances the reimagination of rangeland science toward justice and Indigenous sovereignty. Congratulations, Ariana! 🎉

The Save the Redwoods League is offering starter grants of $6,500 for undergraduate and graduate students who are Black, Indigenous, Latine/Latina/Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, or people of color, and doing research related to coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia forests.  The goal of the starter grant program is to provide introductory opportunities for students to explore ideas in the redwood research space.  ➡️ Learn more and apply by January 15, 2026: https://bit.ly/4i505zi

As part of our Reimagining Conservation Finance project, First Nations is investing in the development of new pathways to grow and sustain Native stewardship of land through greater financial investment.  We’re excited to announce the seven community partners that will receive $75,000 grants toward the creation of a new culturally relevant model for carbon and biodiversity crediting that better aligns with tribal values, priorities, and Tribal Sovereignty. This model will ensure direct investment in Native-led stewardship and create a strong foundation to scale this work. ➡️ Learn more: https://bit.ly/4qUmzqF

November is Native American Heritage Month, and more and more communities across the nation are issuing official proclamations acknowledging the event, including our neighbors in Colorado. The Boulder County Commissioners further highlighted its proclamation with the appointment of Karen Wilde to Boulder County’s Office of the County Administrator as the county’s first Native American-American Indian Relations Manager: https://bit.ly/43Qom6j First Nations welcomed Karen to her position at a reception at our headquarters last week. Local residents, government officials, and First Nations staff joined in the celebration. Greeting attendees, Karen spoke of the importance of Native representation and progress throughout Boulder County and Colorado – the original homelands of many different tribes, including the Northern Arapaho of Wyoming, Northern Cheyenne of Montana, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Kiowa Tribe, Comanche, Apache, and Eastern Shoshone.

The Climate Resilience Fund has announced the Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) grant opportunity to help small to midsize communities, at any step in the planning process, accelerate their climate resilience projects.  The funding ranges from $75,000 to $115,000 per award and can be used over a 12-month period to advance activities ranging from risk assessments and community engagement to project prioritization and initial implementation. The deadline to apply is March 12, 2026, and there will be an informational webinar for interested applicants on November 13, 2025, at 2 pm ET.  ➡️ Learn more: https://bit.ly/47NeZVR

Meet 2025 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow Chato Gonzalez! When Chato Gonzalez was in his 20s, he met Lee “Obizaan” Staples, an Ojibwe first-language speaker and spiritual leader, who taught him how to speak Ojibwe within the framework of traditional ceremonies. Over several decades, the pair co-published three bilingual books and mentored many language learners to help preserve the endangered language.  Obizaan walked on earlier this year, but Gonzalez, now 45, continues their Ojibwe language work as a 2025 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow. “We are losing all our elders, and we need teachers. We need speakers, we need parents speaking our language to their children. And we need ceremonial leaders, too,“ Gonzalez explains the urgency. ➡️ Read how he is also working with his wife, Brooke “Niiyo” Gonzalez, a 2021 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow, to produce more Ojibwe speakers: https://bit.ly/49xy94z

📣 Announcing First Nations ‘Restoring Our Relatives’ Community Partners 📣 Through our Stewarding Native Lands’ Restoring Our Relatives project, First Nations is investing in reciprocal relationships, traditional knowledge, and stewardship that cultivate biodiversity and healthy ecosystems and communities. This work includes the protection and stewardship of Native species, spanning from bee, buffalo, wolf, and beaver restoration, to the enhancement of berry production and the removal of invasive species. This month, First Nations awarded grants to seven Tribes and 10 Native-led organizations to bolster an expansive array of restoration and stewardship priorities across aquatic, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems.  ➡️ Learn more about the 17 community partners and their efforts: https://bit.ly/3JGj2v7

Government shutdown update: We have seen this before—when SNAP benefits are cut, withdrawn, or hampered, more tribal citizens rely on the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which plays a pivotal role in tribal food security. When feeding people is tied closely to the political roller coaster, at what point do FDPIR programs receive the consistent, treaty-obligated funding needed to feed tribal communities?  ➡️ Read more: https://bit.ly/47BlFpZ #FishOn #HuntOn #GatherOn   Photo credit Spirit Lake Food Distribution Program