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American Indian Family Empowerment Fund Awards Nine Grants

On October 27th, Tiwahe Foundation will host a Grantee Honoring celebrating nine grantees selected to pursue their goals. These grants are made in partnership with the Two Feathers Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation.

The American Indian Family Empowerment Program Fund strives to reverse the social, educational and economic challenges facing American Indians by investing in human capital, skills and cultural strengths through three priority areas: cultural connections, educational achievement and economic self-sufficiency.

During the September 2016 grant round, the following individuals received awards:

Goal 2: Educational Achievement

Evelyn Castaway, to support her education at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Evelyn is in her second year of study in the Law Enforcement program, pursuing an Associate’s Degree.

Kyle Hill, Ph.D., to support his education at Johns Hopkins University. Kyle will be attending the Fall Institute in Barcelona, Spain as part of the Master of Public Health program.

Nicole Koenig-Roy, to support her education at The Art Institutes International Minnesota. Nicole is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Business Management.

Shawn Ross, to support his education at Augsburg College. Shawn will graduate next spring with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Pre-Law and a minor in American Indian Studies.

Alicia Smith, to support her education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Alicia is in her second and final year of the Master of Tribal Administration and Governance Program.

Joyce Yellowhammer, to support her education at Anoka Ramsey Community College. Joyce is in her first year, pursuing an Associate in Arts degree and hopes to work in the field of criminal justice.

Goal 3: Economic Self-Sufficiency

Janice Bad Moccasin, to finish final planning stages of a new equine therapy program, Horse Nation Coming-Dakota Horse Camps. The program’s goal is to revive Indigenous nature-based healing and personal development through Equine Therapy.

Anita Lovelace, to purchase a long-arm quilting machine. Anita has taught quilting classes and donated many star quilts to the community. She aims to increase her productivity of star quilts with the machine.

Rosy Simas, to support her dance and choreography business. Rosy has been in the dance field as a performer, choreographer, teacher, curator, lecturer, advocate and mentor to other Native artists and artists of color for over 20 years.

Over the past 20 years, the AIFEP fund has awarded nearly 800 individuals close to $1.5 million. Are you interested in applying? The next deadline is January 6th, 2017. We encourage you to learn more![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” bg_color=”#ffffff” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

AIFEP Grantee In The News

Two-time AIFEP grant recipient Rosy Simas recently was interviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune about her new piece, “Skin(s).” For information about Rosy, her show and the exhibition at Intermedia Arts, click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]