The protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline are getting ever more attention, but most of us in philanthropy haven’t had a chance to get a firsthand understanding of what is at stake.
For a handful of grant makers, that changed a couple of weeks ago when we traveled to North Dakota as part of trip organized by Native Americans in Philanthropy. My colleagues and I witnessed a powerful call to action for philanthropy to do more for Native-led causes that remain on the edge of society.
The pipeline has faced fierce opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe due to the desecration of tribal land and threatening its access to clean drinking water. In a historic move, thousands of Native Americans representing over 300 Indian nations and their allies have converged on the pipeline and taken residence in camps along the proposed route.
The peaceful demonstration is one of the largest Native-led protests in well over a century. Yet too few of us in philanthropy are either aware of this direct action or supporting the work these leaders are doing. Only about 3 cents out of every $100 given by foundations is directed to aid Native people, according to research conducted by Native Americans in Philanthropy.
In more recent years, the U.S. government has made an effort to bolster its focus and support of Indian country. But why are there so few of us in philanthropy directing resources to help Native Americans?
I would argue it is because Native Americans are out of sight and out of mind to most of us in philanthropy. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the subsequent reservation policies displaced the bulk of Native Americans and forced them to live in remote areas far away from cities, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where philanthropy is largely concentrated.
Consequently, when giving priorities are set, Native Americans, not only are there rarely Native Americans in the room, there is nobody to offer their perspective either.
This gross invisibility means that the needs of Indian country — where poverty, school-dropout rates, and health disparities, among other gaps, are vastly higher than in the nation at large — rarely make it on to our lists of funding priorities.
To put this into perspective, consider that the life expectancy of a Native male who lives on the Standing Rock Reservation is 54, which is two decades shorter than the average American man. Or that a Subway restaurant on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation — the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined — is the only available and affordable option to eat fresh vegetables.
With a few notable exceptions like the Bush, W.K. Kellogg, Marguerite Casey, and Northwest Area foundations, virtually no other foundations maintain giving programs geared toward Native peoples and their needs. It’s simply not on our radar.
Finding Links
Some foundations might believe they simply don’t have the bandwidth to establish a Native-specific program. But progress always has a beginning, and we must start this work by finding the inherent connections between our existing programs and Native causes.
I lead the Arcus Foundation, where roughly two-thirds of our philanthropy is focused on supporting the global movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality and justice. We do not earmark money to support Native causes per se, but when we looked at our strategy for our grants in the United States — which primarily focus on improving the lives of LGBT youths of color — we found there was a wealth of work in Native communities that could advance our strategic goal of reducing the barriers that these youths face to full participation in society.
Take the Center for Native American Youth and its current efforts to understand the needs of Two Spirit youth (a Native-specific designation for those we today know as LGBT) or the recent documentary Kumu Hina, which sheds light on Native Hawaiians’ attitudes toward transgender and gender nonconforming people, particularly among Hawaiian youths.
It wasn’t hard for us to find projects like these that advance Arcus’s priorities; we just had to look at issues through the eyes of Native Americans and make the connection.
Philanthropy must deepen its perspective and support of Native issues. It’s true that any increase of support would not lead overnight to solutions to the longstanding challenges facing Native Americans. But it would be a strong first step in providing desperately needed funding to one of America’s most neglected populations.
Those who are putting their bodies on the line in North Dakota are bringing to light issues that are not new. In a country that I would contend was founded on genocide, the very real challenges that Indian country still faces are enduring and severe. The question now facing us in philanthropy is, Will we answer the call? If we are truly committed to justice, we must.
Kevin Jennings is executive director of the Arcus Foundation.
