Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Announces Grants Dedicated to the Well-being of Native Communities
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced seven grants, totaling more than $4.5 million, to the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums; Covenant House Alaska; First Peoples Fund; IllumiNative; National Indian Child Welfare Association; Parents and Children Together; and Standing Rock Community Development Corporation. This investment is part of DDCF’s ongoing commitment to supporting the health, vibrancy and overall well-being of Native communities throughout the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii.

The grants span from Native-centered and Native-led efforts focused on community development, health, social services and multi-generational family supports to projects that aim to raise the visibility of Native communities in the broader U.S. population and to preserve and make more widely accessible Native American oral histories housed at universities across the country. These critical, Native-led endeavors come at a time when a failed U.S. public health response to COVID-19 outbreaks in Native communities has resurfaced historic trauma, produced outsized negative effects on their economies and health, and amplified existing disparities.

“We are thrilled to support these Native leaders’ efforts to respond to the unique needs of Native peoples in culturally appropriate ways that preserve, build on and amplify the visibility of the rich assets of their communities,” said Lola Adedokun, program director for child well-being at DDCF. “These grantees are passionate about and well-poised to take on the lasting inequities and wounds inflicted by colonization, to revitalize cultural connections, to bolster health and well-being, and to broaden the exposure of the larger U.S. population to accurate depictions of Native American history and cultures. We look forward to observing and learning from these partners in this crucial work.”

The grant recipients will embark on the following projects:

Parents And Children Together in Honolulu, HI, with a grant of $1.2 million over four years, will enhance and expand multigenerational, family-centered services and programming at the Kalihi Family and Economic Opportunity Center and strengthen connections with neighborhood organizations and community members;
Covenant House Alaska in Anchorage, AK, with a grant of $1 million over three years, will increase access and utilization of comprehensive supportive health, social, and permanent housing services to youth that are homeless in Anchorage, particularly Alaska Native youth, youth transitioning out of foster care, and pregnant and parenting youth;
Standing Rock Community Development Corporation in Fort Yates, ND, with a grant of $750,000 over three years, will strengthen organizational capacity to implement community development, youth development, language and culture, and food sovereignty strategies for increased health and well-being of Sioux children, youth and families living on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation;
National Indian Child Welfare Association in Portland, OR with a grant of $700,000 over three years, will support a pilot evaluation study of the Positive Indian Parenting program...