Founded in 1995, First Peoples Fund is guided by our belief in Collective Spirit. Collective Spirit is a commitment to nurture our shared humanity and honor our connection to one another, the lands around us, those who came before us and the spirit of all things. The Collective Spirit moves each of us to stand up and make a difference, to pass on ancestral knowledge and to extend a hand of generosity. The Collective Spirit is essential to sustaining the cultural fabric of Native communities, and our ability to thrive.

Our mission is to honor and support the Collective Spirit of First Peoples artists and culture bearers. Our work recognizes the power of art and culture to bring about positive change in Native communities, beginning with individual artists and their families. Rooted in the traditional values of generosity, wisdom, respect, integrity, strength, fortitude and humility, First Peoples Fund sustains culture and cultivates entrepreneurial initiatives and community development programs for and alongside Native artists.

Wisdom – We acknowledge that wisdom comes from lived experiences and found in the combination of knowledge and personal or collective stories. We commit to using this wisdom to inform our decisions.

Respect – We honor those on whose shoulders we stand and recognize the past work of others. We believe we need to listen, be patient, and value similarities and differences to build authentic relationships.

First Peoples Fund (FPF) supports the Collective Spirit of Native artists and culture bearers. Rooted in the traditional values of generosity and respect, humility and fortitude, FPF uplifts the Indigenous Arts Ecology – this is, relationship-based ecosystems that strengthen Native arts and culture that are grounded in ancestral knowledge. We accomplish this by 1) supporting culture bearers and artist entrepreneurs as transformative community leaders, 2) deepening tribally based organizations’ capacity to serve artists and their families and 3) investing holistically into the next generation of resilient artists.

Jennifer Easton (1947-2017) founded First Peoples Fund in 1995 as a donor advised fund of the Tides Foundation to support Native artist-entrepreneurs and culture bearers. In 2003, the organization was established as a separate nonprofit headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Since then, First Peoples Fund has leveraged Jennifer’s initial investment to grow and thrive. We continue to build from her vision.