Post on 22-Jan-2018
Native Communities, Policing, and Mass Criminalization
Monday, September 25, 2017
NATIVE VOICES RISINGCo-sponsors:
Tynesha McHarris
Fellow at NoVo Foundation
FFJ Co-Chair
Funders for Justice (FFJ) is a
national network of funders
increasing resources to
grassroots organizations
addressing the intersection of
racial justice, gender justice,
community safety, and policing.
Agenda
• Getting Grounded in Context
• Nuances around Native Organizing
• Highlights of Key Native Movements
• Landscape of Philanthropic Resources for
Native Communities
• Funder Initiatives Around Native
Criminalization Issues
Panelists
• Morning Star Gali | Native Justice Now
• George Galvis | Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
• Aleah Bacquie Vaughn | Criminal Justice Initiative
• Edgar Villanueva (moderator) | Schott Foundation & Native
Americans in Philanthropy
Context
These are actual child handcuffs used by the US government to restrain captured Native
American children and drag them away from their families. They were sent to boarding schools
where their identities, cultures and their rights to speak their Native languages were forcefully
stripped away from them.
Photo by Mary Annette Pember.
A History of Resistance
Caption states “North Carolina Clash: Indians with guns
raiding Klan gathering near Maxton”.
Landscape of Philanthropic Resources for Native Communities
CJI Learnings on Funding to Counter
Criminal Injustice in Native Communities
Recognizing Limitations
• We are not the experts
• We are not the model
• Through our ignorance, we are unintentionally
part of the problem
• We are committed to learning and trying to
improve our partnerships (in number and
quality) to help secure freedom for all
oppressed people
Challenges to “Traditional” Funding
• Respect for cultural and religious grounding of work in
Indian country. A secular mandate is inappropriate and
imperious.
• Acceptance that the adversarial model may not apply –
instead, cultural restorative approach may be the choice to
support
• Limited access to 501(c)(3) sponsors due to dependency
on federal support
• Complexities of multiple territorial authorities –
reservations; pueblos; recognition of colonial, occupying
dynamics at play
Possible Entry Points for Funding
• Disproportionate sentencing• Harsh sentences of AIM and other political prisoners from the civil
rights movement
• Excessive use of solitary confinement
• Limited placement options for Indian youth
• Racist, anti-Indian laws still on the books in many
states and municipalities
• Missing and murdered indigenous women
• Re-entry Programs
• Racist, unconstitutional denials of religious rights to
imprisoned Native Americans
Helpful Steps to Enable More Funding In Indian Country
• Access to 501(c)(3) sponsors
• Assistance translating work into
“Foundation Speak“
• Identifying plans of action to support – with
targeted policies, institutions, or system
changing goals
Funder Initiatives Around Native Criminalization Issues
• Native Americans in Philanthropy
www.nativephilanthropy.org
• #GenIndigenous Fund
• Native Voices Rising
• Schott Foundation for Public Education
www.schottfoundation.org
• Equity in Native Education
• Criminal Justice Initiative – www.criminaljusticeinitiative.org
Join NAP and The California Endowment this October 5-7
for the #GenIndigenous Northern California Funder Tour.
nativephilanthropy.org for registration details.
#GenIndigenous Northern California
Funder Tour
Native Voices Rising
• NAP & Common Counsel Foundation
• Now open for applications by Native-
led groups that have a leadership
development program and seek to take
collective action to win progressive
social change.
• Nearly $410,000 has been awarded to
43 grassroots Native community
organizations that are involved in a
organizing and advocacy.
• www.nativevoicesrising.org