Tiwahe had a very successful end to 2021 with our Fall American Indian Empowerment Program (AIEFP) Grant Round. We were able to invest nearly $70,000 to 29 of our community members pursuing culture enrichment/language preservation and revitalization, economic independence, education, health, and wellness.

All our applicants have such beautiful and unique inpidual stories and goals. We encourage more of our grantees to come forward in the weeks and months ahead to share their stories with us. To provide an example of how our grantees are using a Tiwahe investment to make a difference, we captured a story from each of our impact areas.

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

Lydia Four Horns- Lydia will be using her grant to revitalize and save a piece of our culture that is slowly being forgotten. Lydia will be using the bulk of her funds for travel expenses she will occur in her attempt to learn the traditional teachings related to the art of bulrush weaving. She has an Odawa Elder that lives in Petoskey, Michigan that is passing these teachings to her and requesting our support for this project. She is excited to learn and bring the teachings of bulrush weaving, Native botany, and the supporting Native language back to her community.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Allen Mickey- Allen will be using his grant to build mentorship and business development skills specific to running a successful Mixed Martial Arts program in the Twin Cities to promote Indigenous Wellness and Culture.

ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE

Jennifer Bush- Jennifer is seeking a career change so she can become self-employed and work independently. Her dream is to own her own real estate office and employ other Native American real estate agents–in a field that has less than 1% Native American representation. She is seeking funds for the fees related to the Minnesota State real estate licensing process.

EDUCATION

Taylor Krone- Taylor’s story falls across a number of impact areas, including health and wellness. She is seeking support in her post-secondary plan to graduate with a Kinesiology Major and Nutrition Minor from the University of Minnesota and her journey to earn a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

We are honored that these community members thought of Tiwahe Foundation as one part of their journey to better themselves, their families, and our extended community. Each of grants will create ripple effects as they give back to their tiwahe/clan, impacting their community, which multiplies to the many Nations they represent and beyond.

ALL OF OUR FALL 2021 GRANTEES

Michael Kurtz – RJ Needham – Lydia Four Horns – Jennifer Bush – Hazen Fairbanks – Shana Hunsucker – ŠišókaDúta – Wayne Joseph Bendickson – Sage Davis – Hannah Finn – June Sayers – Jenny Mauricio – Serene Contreras – Taylor Krone – Lacey Leith – Billie Berry – Richard St Germaine – Allen Mickey – Jessica Cook – Tara Perron – Michele Poitra – Leonard Crowdog Geshick Jr. – Robert Jackson – Weston Jones – Randall Cornelius – Allyssa Downwind – Caroline Buckanaga – Michelle Valtierra – Bobbi Rodriguez – Angelina Zerna

We would also love to invest in you and others in our larger tiwahe! We are currently in the middle of a grant round that ends on February 15. For more information on how we can be a partner in your impact story, please visit our website at tiwahefoundation.org and/or reach out to Tony Drews, our Program Manager, at [email protected].