This week I attended a reception honoring the work of Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP). The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a Leadership in Action Award to NAP for “its work to promote, facilitate, and celebrate philanthropic giving to Native communities, while providing professional development opportunities and support for Native Americans working in the field of philanthropy.”
While I was interested in the award presentation, I was especially moved and impressed by the messages threaded throughout the words, songs and prayers of the celebration: the importance of remembering one’s roots, of honoring our connectedness, and of cultivating a culture of giving.
Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, shared her words of wisdom. She spoke of life as a series of reciprocal relationships. As we accumulate more materials things, she said, we have that much more to share with others. And giving is an authentic, enduring value that is rooted in native culture.
As we departed the event we were presented with a small gift — a lapel pin with the message “everyONEgives.” Enough said.
- Wendy Wehr, MCF V.P. of Communications and Information Services
Wendy, Thank you for attending the event and sharing your reflections. Native Americans in Philanthropy has valued its relationship with the Minnesota Council on Foundations, as we seek to increase understanding between funders and Native communities. Relationships are critical in all of our lives. In Native traditions, relationships bring with them responsibility to respect and care for one another. This value of reciprocity can play out in family and social systems, organizational processes and even in grant-funded programming. It results in greater buy-in, sharing, learning and leveraging, as well as more sustainable impact.
Wilma Mankiller called on us to appreciate our differences in order to understand the value they bring to a partnership. Real partnership is a two-way street based on mutual benefit, mutual respect and mutual accountability. This takes much relationship building, which means investing valuable time. But is it ever worth it! Every day we see increasingly complex societal challenges that require analysis of entwined systems and interconnectedness. Through analysis and dialogue we find there are no quick fixes; we need new creative thinking that capitalizes on all of our perspectives. We need to spend more time building relationships, listening and co-creating desperately needed solutions.
Thanks, David Cournoyer, Board chair, Native Amerians in Philanthropy