FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2020

First Peoples Fund announces Resilience Fund in support of Native artists & culture bearers

(RAPID CITY, SD) – In response to the COVID-19 crisis and its devastating impact onNative communities, First Peoples Fund (FPF) has established a Resilience Fund to provide support to Native artists who have experienced a loss of income.

With initial funding from key foundation partners, First Peoples Fund has awarded more than 100 artists and culture bearers from throughout the lower-48 states, Alaska and Hawai’i with up to $1,000 in emergency relief funding to help with their housing, food, medical and caretaking expenses. 

The Resilience Fund is currently focused on the 350 artists and culture bearers who are already affiliated with the national organization — Community Spirit Awards honorees, Artist in Business Leadership, Cultural Capital and Emerging Poets fellows, Rolling Rez Arts instructors, Native Artist Professional Development artist trainers, and community partners through its Indigenous Arts Ecology and Our Nations’ Spaces initiatives.

Since the pandemic hit the U.S. earlier this spring, cancellations of performances, art markets, cultural gatherings, workshops, speaking engagements, etc. have resulted in 97 percent of First Peoples Fund artists surveyed reporting income losses ranging from $300 to $20,000-plus. Performance artists have been hardest hit and impacts have been swift, completely wiping out most income sources. Visual artists are experiencing a drop in demand from direct sales, as well as wholesale purchases from gift shops and the like. As spring and summer markets cancel or postpone, they will experience even more significant losses. For example, nearly 100 of FPF artists rely on Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest in the country, for a significant amount of their annual income. Just last month, the market, usually held in August, was cancelled.

Beyond providing monetary support, First Peoples Fund continues to fulfill its work of providing workshops and training, convenings and network building — working closely with its artists and instructors to pivot and adapt its delivery of services and programs to the challenging times. The Native Artist Professional Development group is launching a series of Resilience webinars this week to help artists adjust their way of conducting business during the pandemic. Rolling Rez Arts will be hosting Facebook Live arts demonstrations, and Fellowships are facilitating virtual gatherings, as well as providing outreach and technical support where needed. Through social media, First Peoples Fund is also helping to promote the creative offerings FPF artists are delivering online — live storytelling and performances, instructional videos, etc.

First Peoples Fund is guided by the conviction that culture bearers and artists are the heart and center in reclaiming and revitalizing art and culture to strengthen Indigenous communities through teaching, healing and creating holistic, shared wealth. The organization, founded in 1995, honors and supports Native artists and culture bearers who are vital in nurturing culturally informed, locally-led community development that enhances tribal economies, guides cultural healing, creates positive narratives and contributes to the rich cultural fabric of vibrant Native communities and the entire Indigenous Arts Ecology.

“We are working hard to raise more funding for the Resilience Fund so that we can provide additional emergency relief in the coming weeks and months,” says First Peoples Fund President Lori Lea Pourier (Lakota). “The impact of COVID-19 is going to have a lasting effect on the world and our communities. First Peoples Fund wants to make sure we are a steadfast source of support to our Native artist and culture bearer community. They are critical to linking our past, present and future. We are resilient peoples, because we have a long history of working together and always lending a hand of generosity.”

To make a contribution to the First Peoples Fund Resilience Fund, please visit the giving page.

First Peoples Fund is a national non-profit organization that honors and supports the Collective Spirit® of First Peoples artists and culture bearers. We accomplish this by providing tools, resources and a voice to Indigenous artists who share their inspiration, wisdom, knowledge and gifts with their communities. First Peoples Fund sustains culture and cultivates entrepreneurial initiatives and community development programs for—and alongside—Native artists so that together we all celebrate a full, self-sustaining, artistic life.