Resiliency in Crisis: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Urban American Indian Nonprofit Sector.

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NUIFC released a groundbreaking report that highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on urban American Indian & Alaska Native organizations. NUIFC released an unprecedented report on the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on some of the largest American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the country. The report examines how the pandemic is impacting a majority of AI/AN people (more than 70% live in cities and urban areas). Urban AI/AN communities have experienced decades of underinvestment, generations of forced assimilation, and systems designed to perpetuate generational poverty and disparate outcomes for all quality of life indicators. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic exponentially exacerbates these issues. Without adequate resources and relief, the country’s largest AI/AN communities will see unprecedented levels of socioeconomic decline.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) & Urban Indians

The unprecedented spread of COVID-19, has caused sweeping economic damage and the closure of businesses, school districts, sports leagues, events, and more has left large swaths of people financially insecure and the country unmoored and headed towards a possible recession. Those with the least amount of flexibility and security are the ones poised to bear the brunt of the damage. We anticipate that our urban Native communities will be disproportionally and adversely impacted.

As we work with our partner centers around the country to help provide resources directly to our community, we are also working to turn this into a space that can be of service to everyone. We are hoping to create a comprehensive space of resources and information available to help people during this scary moment in time.

We are heading into difficult times and we don’t know how long we will be there for. Still, it’s important to remember that there are a lot of people working to try and help during this time. Below you will find a list of different government, non-profit, private business, and everything that our team has compiled to help. If you’d like to provide anything we’ve missed, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Communications and Projects Director, Rio Fernandes, at riof@nuifc.org. We hope to update it as we get more information.

Support the Native American Community Response Fund

If you’re in a position that you can financially support those in need, consider donating to the newly created Native American Community Response Fund (COVID-19) to help those in our communities that need it most. This initiative comes from a partnership with Decolonizing Wealth and Native Americans in Philanthropy and aims to provide a rapid response to American families and communities impacted by COVID-19.

This is about solidarity, not charity. Please join us in giving today!

COVID-19 Support Art from Lee Francis at Red Planet Books & Comics

In moments like this, we want to make sure we are amplifying the importance of arts and culture in our community and the work being done to spread awareness and support around the virus. Take a look at the Lee Francis' C-19 free digital poster series, a set of beautiful pieces that double as informative public service announcement.

Lee Francis - COVID-19 Art