Description
The Indigenous Knowledge Fellows program remains the focus of the Initiative’s grantmaking. While the Initiative seeks to strengthen the infrastructure that enables knowledge makers to produce, present, and disseminate their work and to amplify their voices—e.g., media outlets, galleries, educational programs, etc.—its priority is to support these knowledge makers directly. The Fellows program provides direct financial support to knowledge makers and fosters relationships among them so that they can provide support to one another.
The Fellows program is poised to enter its fourth year. The first cohort of fellows have completed their fellowship year and are continuing their work with Luce support; meanwhile, the second cohort have begun their fellowship experience. They are an outstanding group of 13 who include a Tlingit elder and artist, an Ojibwe language immersion teacher, a Wukchumni elder and culture bearer, a Native Hawaiian opelu fisherman, and a Penobscot basket maker. The fellows have met once virtually and will do so again later this fall. We hope that they will be able to meet in person in 2022—together with the first cohort, which met in person only once.
First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) has issued the call for applications for the third cohort. The second competition had been postponed because of the pandemic; the third competition, though, is on schedule; the cohort will be announced in January 2022. More than 300 applications were received. This is fewer than in the first two years; we regard that as a positive development since we received a number of applications in those years that did not fit the criteria well. Potential applicants seem to be figuring out what the fellowship is and what the selectors are looking for.
First Nations continues to manage the program effectively. Their team includes vice-president Raymond Foxworth (Navajo), senior program officer Kendall Tallmadge (Ho-Chunk), and senior program officer Emilie Ellis. They have responded admirably to the challenges presented by the pandemic, have created impressive programming with the fellows, and have adjusted plans based on experience to date. They continue to work collaboratively with Luce staff, keeping the Foundation well-informed and seeking input on important decisions.
First Nations will issue the call for applications for the fourth cohort in June 2022. The grant recommended here would fund that fourth cohort. The amount recommended is somewhat higher than for the first three cohorts. First Nations’ expenses have increased over three years, and we have authorized some enhancements to the program that increase costs modestly.
The Luce Foundation’s grant would, once again, enable First Nations to recruit a class of ten fellows, disburse the fellowship monies to the fellows and organize three convenings in order to build community among the fellows and provide them practical advice and assistance as they seek to advance their work. Grant monies would primarily be used to pay fellows’ stipends and to bring them together and also to cover staff and administrative costs.