Shells collide releasing a bright clap with each footfall, feathers fly skyward, and drums beat in the crisp Tesuque Pueblo air. Two long lines of dancers wearing pine bough headdresses circle toward the drummers in prayer as we investors, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs watch on. Leaning into the warmth of a midday winter sun, I am grateful to be still and honored to be in the presence of a Native community practicing their cherished rituals, those my government worked so hard to extinguish.

It is day two of Confluence Philanthropy’s “Investing in Native Communities Learning Journey” and my head is overflowing with the voices of my colleagues. As we leave the plaza, a participant taps my shoulder, “What a gift it is to be without cell phones. I felt community.” Nothing like a prohibition on cameras and recording devices at Pueblo Feast Days to show us how to overcome western thinking for a few hours and connect with the spirit.

The prior day, forty-five individuals gathered at round tables: native and immigrant; investor and entrepreneur; teacher and student clutching cups of steaming coffee as the stories unfolded, speaker after speaker spilling forth their journeys, truths, and insights. A remarkable line-up of speakers provoked us to think about the accomplishments, possibilities, and hopes of 573 federally recognized nations, 462 state recognized tribes and more than 245 unrecognized peoples seeking a deeper relationship and investment from those of us in philanthropy.

Alvin Warren, Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, opened the meeting with a prayer in his native Tewa welcoming us onto the land and acknowledging its Native inhabitants, a protocol of acknowledgement that respects Indigenous Peoples and helps make Native Americans visible.

Philanthropy has ignored Native Americans: only 0.4% of philanthropic funding goes to Native Communities in the United States according to a recent report by Native Americans in Philanthropy and Candid, while Native Americans make up 2% of the U.S. population. Together, they have launched an interactive website Investing in Native Communities to offer resources to engage with Indigenous communities in the U.S. But as Grace Sato, Candid’s representative acknowledged, there still isn’t any comprehensive information about the state of philanthropic investing to U.S. Native communities.

As a group, we considered the question that Jim Enote of the Colorado Plateau Foundation posed: “How can philanthropy move investment into Native communities given the history of extermination, cultural erasure, and colonization in U.S. history?” Education is key. As Alvin Warren said, “We actively invisibilize Native Peoples.” He referenced Illuminative’s research that shows that 87% of state level history standards fail to cover Native American history     post-1900. The flip side is that 78% of Americans want to learn more about Native peoples, their histories, cultures and stories, as Michael Johnson of NDN noted.

“There is a market failure, so every time we do an investment, we make a grant,” recounted Warren. The success of Kellogg Foundation’s work depends on that integration. He also highlighted their support to organizations Native Women Lead and ChangeLabs.

Michael Johnson reminded us that Free, Prior and Informed Consent, known as FPIC Principles, are bedrock for working with Native Communities. These principles are in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Both Warren and Johnson find that opportunities to invest in Native communities outstrip the funding available, a perspective reinforced by Martin Jennings of Northwest Area Foundation and Jennifer Astone of Integrated Capital Investing (formerly of Swift Foundation).

Northwest Area Foundation has devoted 40% of their grant budget for Native communities in “a commitment to return wealth generated from the railroad industry built on expropriated Native American land.” Jennings funds a broad portfolio of native housing, native-led CDFIs, and enterprise loan funds, among other efforts.

A six-nation utility-scale solar project required a feasibility and governance study which NW Area Foundation funded as a grant before making an initial investment which later attracted millions in outside investments. “One dollar in foundation funding attracted five dollars in outside funding,” Jennings noted.

Swift Foundation has made a practice of learning from their partners, collaborating with funders, and providing integrated capital. Astone talked about Swift’s long-term commitment to supporting Native Community Capital through changes in fund criteria and needs. She also noted that Swift is funding two investment opportunities in Native Renewables (off-grid solar) and NāTIFS (indigenous restaurants and training center) with initial grant capital to help prove out their financial model before they seek investment capital.

At the end of the day, Vanessa Roanhorse highlighted Native entrepreneurs such as Nicolle Gonzales of Changing Women Initiative developing a native birthing center and Dave Castillo of Native Community Capital, a community development finance institution lending debt capital to tribal nations and entrepreneurs.

Dave has experienced different kinds of investors in Indian Country and advocated for transparency. “Just be clear on what kind of capital and work you are ready to bring to the table. Are you transaction-oriented or transformation-oriented? This is a key lesson for us. We need to know how to manage the more transactional funds to support the transformational work.” This kind of hybrid work, matching the funding source with the need, is exactly where native-led intermediaries can better manage priorities. They understand the needs on the ground and know where capital is most appropriately placed.

After two days, the speakers had made it clear: opportunities to invest in Native Communities abound. We also learned that we need to challenge our western ways of thinking and try different strategies to support Indigenous Communities in order to successfully invest in Indian Country. See my 9 lessons for investing below:

Lessons

1. Practice Indigenous protocol and open events and meetings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land.

2. Decolonize thinking by learning about Native American history and communities.

3. Engage native-led intermediaries and entrepreneurs in partnerships.

4. Use Free, Prior and Informed Consent principles and protocols in investing.

5. Listen and learn from partners and change course as needed.

6. Collaborate with like-minded funders to identify opportunities for investment.

7. Invest grants alongside loans and other capital to equip Native communities with the necessary runway.

8. Use long-term, low-interest, relational, community-return focused capital for transformation.

9. Turn off the cell phone in order to be fully present.

-Jen Astone, Integrated Capital Investing

Jen Astone of Integrated Capital Investing, formerly with Swift Foundation, wrote her reflections on the two-day Confluence meeting “Investing in Native Communities hosted with the Rainmakers Collaborative on November 11-12, 2019.