Meet Bradley Harrington (Nazhike-awaasang; Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), a visionary leader at the intersection of Anishinaabe culture and technology. Brad used an AIFEP grant to help develop the Gidinwewininaan app and website, which launched in late 2023. This platform is designed to preserve Anishinaabe languages and elder wisdom. By merging traditional knowledge with digital resources Gidinwewininaan makes traditional knowledge engaging and more accessible to Native youth.
Brad’s mission is to empower tribal nations by providing tools and spaces for creating and sharing culturally specific digital resources. Brad has been working on the website for four years and he is still building new functionality into the app. As the project grows, financial sustainability remains a challenge, with tribes being more supportive than other sources. Tiwahe is proud to support this initiative to bring culture and language to the forefront.
Looking ahead, Brad aims to enhance services for classrooms and conferences, offering in-person experiences, tutor bookings, and assistance for college students learning to teach the language. Despite the potential for profitability, Brad emphasizes that staying grassroots is central to his motivation, addressing the historical injustices faced by Native communities and the need to protect their land.
Click here to discover Gidinwewininaan and join Brad in this vital cultural preservation effort.
Meet Derek Nicholas (Red Cliff Band Ojibwe), AIFEP Grantee and proud owner of Wiisinig LLC. Derek is a driving force in enriching our local food ecosystem. His work spans a wide variety of initiatives aimed at enhancing food security and sovereignty. Through his work in language revitalization, seed preservation, food cultivation, culinary arts, sustainable food & water projects, and youth engagement, Derek is making a tangible difference in how we understand and relate to our food. He currently serves as the Nutrition Program Coordinator at the Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis, and he also holds the position of Education and Sustainability Chair for Feeding Mouths Filling Minds.
On January 12th, he conducted a food demonstration with the Hopkins High School Indian Ed Program, aiming to reconnect youth to their traditional foods, share winter stories, and educate them about foraging and various nuts and berries. The cultural exchange included insights into the significance of red hairy skunk currant, huckleberries, a global journey to reclaim ancestral knowledge impacted by colonialism, and the importance of generosity in sharing cultural wisdom. Derek utilized a tiwahe grant to acquire technological equipment, specifically a video camera, enabling him to record and produce free educational videos, including a recent one showcasing the processing of an eagle, available on his website and YouTube channel.
Meet John Alexander Hunter, a descendant of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and White Earth Nation, holding Muscogee Creek Nation citizenship through his paternal grandmother’s family. He is an AIFEP Grantee and the proud owner of Twin Cities Native Lacrosse.
Hunter’s passion for sports, particularly lacrosse, began in his St. Paul community. In high school, he initiated the first organized lacrosse team in 1994, leading it to two state championships. After playing lacrosse at Stanford University, where he earned team captain honors, Hunter took a break but returned in 2014 to co-found Twin Cities Native Lacrosse, a non-profit organization promoting traditional lacrosse games in the western Great Lakes communities. The group’s success earned them a Super Bowl Legacy Grant in 2018. In 2020, Hunter became the Head Coach for the Minneapolis Boys High School Lacrosse team, one of the first Indigenous lacrosse head coaches in the state’s history. Additionally, he became a founding board member of Anishinaabe Baagaadowewin, an international non-profit focused on sharing Anishinaabe history and culture, particularly traditional ball games. In 2022, Hunter served as the primary consultant for BBC Radio’s podcast on ‘Great Lakes’ traditional lacrosse, reaching millions of listeners worldwide.
In 2023, Hunter organized a tournament (visit Twin Cities Native Lacrosse FB page for photos and language). Nikki’s nephews, who recently moved to the Twin Cities from the reservation, found a community in TCNL, highlighting the value of lacrosse and cultural reclamation established by John.
Together, these grantees exemplify a commitment to preserving and advancing Indigenous knowledge and practices.
AIFEP Microgrant applications are open now through March 15. Learn more about AIFEP here. #AIFEPGrantees #IndigenousInnovation #CulturalPreservation ✨
Step 1: Visit our website for application resources.
Step 2: Watch our application walkthrough video here.
Step 3: Submit your application by March 15th.
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Spring: A Time of Renewal for Tiwahe Foundation