NUIFC Update // Celebrating 20 Years and Beyond
In this month's eNewsletter, Executive Director Janeen Comenote looks back at 2023 and forward to 2024
In May of 2003, 12 urban Native non-profits gathered at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Seattle, and the National Urban Indian Family Coalition was born. As we take a moment at the end of 2023 to reflect and appreciate all the important work we’ve accomplished over the last two decades, our focus remains directly on our Native people living in cities across the nation.
Since our inception, we’ve made it our mission to celebrate and contribute to thriving urban American Indian and Alaska Native communities by working toward a shared vision that elevates our people’s perspective and wisdom. I want to take this time to say how truly grateful and humbled I am to be a part of an organization that contributes towards making the last year so truly impactful.
In May of 2003, 12 urban Native non-profits gathered at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Seattle, and the National Urban Indian Family Coalition was born. As we take a moment at the end of 2023 to reflect and appreciate all the important work we’ve accomplished over the last two decades, our focus remains directly on our Native people living in cities across the nation.
For DII, our cohort continued to showcase the importance of civic engagement, hosting different elected and city officials for our Thriving City series for conversations about the issues facing urban Native people and how to solve them. With the WoW Digital Equity Coalition, we’ve been working with a group of non-profits to close the digital divide for urban Native families by helping spread awareness around the Affordability Connectivity Program and providing families with digital infrastructure like laptops and cell phones. We continue to dedicate time and resources to our Resurgence Urban Indian Education Initiative through our Resurgence Practitioner Network, which is bringing together educators at urban Native community-based schools to establish shared pedagogies and educational strategies.
Hands down the highlight of the year came in October, when the NUIFC brought together our network, friends, and community leaders in Las Vegas to celebrate our 20th anniversary with an amazing gala. This special night featured custom-made celebratory Pendleton blankets for each member organization, a slate of awards for different employees at urban Indian non-profits, community reciprocity awards for Rick Williams (Denver) and Sharon Day (Minneapolis), a lifetime achievement award for the inspiring Ladonna Harris, and a powerful speech from Nichole Maher about how our work can define the next generation. My deepest thanks to the NUIFC staff who made the entire night possible, the amount of work that went into making this night a reality was awe-inspiring!
Finally, some thoughts on what we all know is going to be a generation-defining election in 2024. Our movement has been building to make a difference in moments like this and we are excited to see how our urban Native communities will develop innovative and creative ways to ensure that our people are engaged in this moment and are looking forward to contributing everything we can to make their work a reality. Working within our communities to ensure that they not only vote but are engaged with our policymakers ensures our visibility to generations to come and remains a focal point for our work in general and very specifically in 2024.
On behalf of the staff and board of the National Urban Family Coalition, we wish you and yours a healthy and fulfilling 2024!
ICYMI: Democracy is Indigenous Art Contest Winner Announced!
After receiving countless submissions from across Indian country, we have chosen the talented Scott Tom of ST Graphix as our winner! We hope you enjoy their art as much as we did!