MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Hello everyone, I hope that this message finds you, your family and community in the best of health and spirits, given the current situation in which we all unfortunately find ourselves. These circumstances mean at this time that many tribal communities are struggling with access to such items as water, food, firewood and essential items for babies.

While the Chamiza Foundation’s mission is to ensure the continuity and living preservation of Pueblo Indian culture and traditions and our grants for thirty years have always aligned closely to that mission, this is an unprecedented situation in our communities. Caring for our Pueblo communities, of upmost importance to us, dictated exceptional action on the Chamiza Foundation’s part at this time. Therefore, on April 14th, 2020, the Chamiza Foundation Board voted unanimously to send $50,000 in Emergency Relief Funding unrelated to our usual grant process to all twenty Pueblos to assist with any issues they are encountering due to COVID-19. While we cannot directly address service and supply needs in the Pueblo’s, we wanted to provide immediate monetary assistance that we hope they can use towards their critical needs at this time. If you would like to donate to help Pueblo communities, please consider donating to the Pueblo Relief Fund. Please look below for more detailed information.

We would also like to announce that our board has decided to postpone our second grant cycle for 2020. Our board has not decided on a possible deadline date for the second cycle. When a date is determined, I will post that information on our website. Please check our website periodically for the new date. Check under the “Apply” tab for updated information.

Additionally, the Free Grant Writing Workshop that was scheduled for May 8, 2020 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center has also been postponed. We are hoping to schedule this in the fall. For those of you who have RSVP’d for this workshop, I will email you directly with the new date. For those of you who are interested in participating in this workshop, please let me know and I will save you a seat!

I pray that the Coronavirus goes away soon, so we can come together again in our Pueblo communities to dance, sing and practice our traditions.  I urge you to continue to shelter in place to keep yourselves and loved ones safe, especially our children and elders. Please continue to embrace your strength and resiliency every day, I know our communities will come through this challenge. We at the Chamiza Foundation would like to thank all of the essential workers who are on the frontlines, thank you for all that you do.

Wishing good health, happiness and safety to everyone,

 

Amanda J. Montoya, Executive Director 

 

 

 

If you would like to donate to help New Mexico Tribal Communities, please consider donating to these funds:

 

PUEBLO RELIEF FUND

In an effort to meet the most critical needs of the 20 Pueblo Nations during the COVID-19 crisis, the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG) and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC), have created and are administering a Pueblo Relief Fund.

The donations to the Pueblo Relief Fund will be used to immediately begin addressing supply and service needs of the Pueblos in order to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and lower the infection rate among tribal members. These needs include essential disinfecting supplies, personal protective equipment, and food distribution. APCG and IPCC will use the funds to immediately begin purchasing these essential items and delivering them to the Pueblos for distribution to tribal members.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is a U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization (tax ID 85-0232968). Your donation will be 100% tax deductible. Please be sure to consult your tax advisor regarding the federal tax treatment of this transaction.

 

 

NATIVE AMERICAN RELIEF FUND

This fund provides emergency grants to tribal communities and organizations to bring food, water, and other emergency supplies to some of the hardest-hit families and communities impacted by COVID-19 across the Navajo, Apache, and Pueblos of New Mexico and beyond.The New Mexico Foundation, in collaboration with the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Thornburg Foundation, Navajo-Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund, have launched The Native American Relief Fund to help get resources to the communities most in need.

This fund will help our Pueblo and Tribal communities respond to the incredible challenges posed by responding to COVID-19, including helping to get critical supplies of food, water, and other supplies to families. The New Mexico Foundation is proud to host this fund and work with our Tribal, state, and philanthropic partners to help ensure we can get critical resources to communities and support their long-term recovery and resilience.

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting tribal communities in uniquely challenging ways and many of our communities are facing urgent needs in accessing food, water, medical supplies, and household items. A number of communities are experiencing the rapid spread of COVID-19, including parts of the Navajo Nation and several Pueblos including Zia, Zuni, and San Felipe, leading to emergency situations on the ground. Many communities are far from urban centers and lack easy access to basic supplies, making emergency response extraordinarily difficult and further putting families at risk.