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Supporting and Authentically Engaging Indigenous Communities: Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgements Toward Action

The Chippewa County Community Foundation is sharing how it has continued to work to support and deepen authentic relationships with Indigenous communities.  

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Spectacle Lake in Brimley Michigan, Chippewa County

Throughout Michigan, there are 12 federally recognized Native American tribes, and two of those tribes are in Chippewa County, the community that CMF member Chippewa County Community Foundation serves.

The community foundation has been working to move beyond only land acknowledgments and move towards action, building relationships with its Indigenous community members.

Steve Habusta, incoming director of the Chippewa County Community Foundation, shared that in order to move toward authentically engaging and supporting Indigenous communities, the community foundation is working to understand the history of its land, area and tribes within the community.

“Each tribe is different, and if we’re not taking the time to deeply understand the tribal communities near us or around us, then we’re not doing our part,” Habusta said.

Habusta shared that the community foundation is also working to understand the knowledge and practices of Indigenous communities.

“Indigenous peoples by nature have always been philanthropic. They are a people who give beyond themselves and only take what they need; that’s philanthropy in a nutshell,” Habusta said.

The community foundation has worked to ensure the perspectives and voices from the tribe are at the table when decisions for the community are being made. Habusta shared that a tribal member from the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians serve on the community foundation’s Board of Trustees.

“We want to involve the community and not just financially support them. We really see it as a collaborative effort moving forward and want to continue to deepen our allyship,” Habusta said.

According to Habusta, more than a quarter of the community foundation’s funding supports Native American communities, individuals or programming directly. The community foundation’s Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Youth Fund provides support for programs and projects for the future benefit of the youth members of the Tribe.

Habusta shared that foundations should challenge themselves to look at institutional practices and determine shifts that can be made to support Indigenous communities whether through designating a percentage of giving or through foundation practices.

“Even looking at your application process. If you’re not taking your Native American community’s culture into context when you’re developing the application, you may be unintentionally making it more difficult for them to apply,” Habusta said.

Habusta shared that building relationships and understanding a new culture is a learning process that takes time.  

“The biggest thing is to recognize that you need to go into this process with an open mind to understand and learn the culture without thinking that you already know. We have to remove our own cultural biases and be willing to be open and listen," Habusta said. 

Want more?

Learn more about how the Chippewa County Community Foundation is supporting and partnering with its Native American communities.

Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) developed a self-assessment tool for philanthropic organizations to determine where you are in your work with tribal communities, Native organizations, and Indigenous peoples and to identify areas that can be strengthened as you move towards equity and effectiveness. Explore the tool in CMF’s Knowledge Center.

In a recent blog, NAP outlines four strategies for philanthropy to racial healing within Indigenous communities and beyond. Read more. 

Explore CMF’s Curated Equity Resources, an evolving hub of materials to support you in advancing your own equity journeys. We also invite you to share suggestions with our team to help grow this collection of resources.

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