Food Sovereignty Grant (Na'ah Illahee Fund) is sponsored by Na'ah Illahee Fund. This grant supports Native organizations and individuals in the Greater Northwest region who preserve and practice hunter, gatherer, and grower lifeways.

Food Sovereignty Fund | Na'ah Illahee Fund Status: Closed Overview Details How to Apply This grant supports projects such as community gardens, sacred seed saving, traditional food and medicine workshops, Native food cooperatives, food sovereignty assessments, and climate resilience planning.

Our Food Sovereignty Grant seeks to support our hunter, gatherer, and grower way of life by funding Native organizations and individuals who preserve and practice these traditions. Food Sovereignty is something that we must protect and support because of the history of an oppressive culture forcibly removing our inherent rights.

NIF provides grants to Native people who are leading community-based food sovereignty and sustainability efforts and ensuring the revitalization of culture and recognition of treaty rights for future generations. We seek to fund projects led by Indigenous people that aim to increase or create access to traditional foods and medicines through community programming, workshops, and skill sharing.

Our goal is to fund those uplifting food-sovereign nations that revitalize Indigenous lifeways that prioritize people and the environment over profit.

Examples of funding requests and projects that qualify: Networks that provide opportunities to tend the land, interact with our traditional gathering sites, and share gathering techniques, stories and protocols of foods and medicines Teaching hunting skills, lifeways of animals, hunting safety, and shared wisdom of respect for game brought to tables, protocols and preparation Installation of community kitchens to can and process food from gardening, hunting or fishing to feed community Community gardens, family gardens and food forests will provide fresh food and increase community education on gardening practices and harvesting skills Community skill-sharing, hands-on workshops and program development are designed around Native food system sand medicine gathering, processing, preparation and preservation of food Projects that are revitalizing traditional farming and traditional food system practices and lifeways Seed harvesting, seed saving, seed sharing and plant harvesting of traditional Native foods Creating local sustainable food systems that are based on Traditional Ecological Knowledge Resurgence in traditional trade and commerce culture and food cooperatives between communities Food sovereignty assessments and community project planning & design Creating educational materials geared towards traditional food sovereignty and traditional food gathering rights, tribal sovereignty and field trips to gather Traditional breastfeeding trainings to support our first food and nutritional care for birthing families Applicants must be located in the Greater Northwest region (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and British Columbia) and be eligible for funding under this program.

Indigenous or First Nation-led nonprofit organizations: 501(c)3 or Canadian Registered Charities; or community groups with Fiscal fiscal sponsor (a sponsorship agreement must be included in the application) Indigenous Individuals, Alaska Natives or First Nation Individuals with Tribal Affiliation Native American Tribes, Alaska Native Corps, First Nation Bands or Departments of Tribal Governments/First Nation Bands * For Na’ah Illahee Fund, Indigenous includes anyone who holds tribal affiliation with or identifies with Indigenous nations in North, Central, or South America or identifies as Native Hawaiian.

Grantees are only eligible to receive one Na’ah Illahee grant per calendar year, as funding is limited and we wish to touch as many Native communities as possible. What Types of Groups Are We Unable to Support? We are passionate about our beliefs, and we want to be sure that the organizations that we support match our ethics.

As a result, our Food Sovereignty Grant does not provide grants to: Groups that practice or promote racism, sexism, homophobia, or any form of oppression or exploitation of other humans or the natural world Promote or support violence, aggression, oppression or any infringement on other people Force, coerce or exclude others based on religious or spiritual beliefs Are not making an effort to be environmentally responsible Are connected to political parties, political rallies or are otherwise partisan in their work (she/her), Swinomish/Visayan, Community Engagement and Culture Director Currently she works as a Community Engagement & Culture Director for the Na’ah Illahee Fund, and serves on the board of the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Skagit YMCA.

She continues to work in partnership with the Swinomish Department of Environmental Protection, co-chairs the Protect Mother Earth Subcommittee, and is a member of the Swinomish Health, Education and Social Services Committee.

Shelly developed a place-based curriculum about the history and culture of the Swinomish peoples and taught a series of cultural sovereignty courses for over 10 years at the Northwest Indian College – Coast Salish Institute within their Native Studies Leadership Program. Previously her team provided leadership and consultation for the Lummi Cedar Project – Organized Generations Healthy Lifestyles Program.

Ms. Vendiola served as President for the national Indigenous Women’s Network and a Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental Network. Shelly received several years of formal dispute resolution training from the Indian Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., and the San Francisco Community Boards Program.

She is the recipient of the Native Action Network – Enduring Spirit Award, and a recognized educator and peacemaker in the Northwest region. Shelly has an M. Ed.

in Higher Education and practices indigenous pedagogy and indigenous research methodology within all aspects of her work. Following in her father’s footsteps, Shelly is passionate about gardening. She practices the ancient form of meditation known as Qi Gong for balance, energy, and resiliency, and is a certified Yoga instructor.

Her motto is, “There is nothing permanent in the world but change, the key is how we flow with it! ”