MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hello everyone, I pray that this message finds you, your family and community in good health.
As mentioned in previous newsletters, we here at the Chamiza Foundation were very concerned with Pueblo artists and entrepreneurs due to the “Public Health Order” that was put in place by the New Mexico Governor and the Pueblo closures. It has become very apparent that artists and entrepreneurs are still struggling significantly. Although artists are being encouraged to make sales through an online platform, many of the older artists are incapable of using this avenue due to lack of internet access, shortage of computer, camera, or phone equipment, and/or the absence of the skills needed to create webpages to conduct online sales. Due to these circumstances, my friend and I decided to create a webpage to try and help Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs with the marketing and promotion of their art, products and services. The website is called “Indigenous Artists & Entrepreneurs Showcase”. This webpage is scheduled to showcase Indigenous artists & entrepreneurs from Nov. 23rd, 2020 until December 31st, 2020. If this website proves to be beneficial to artists and entrepreneurs, we will keep it going after the holidays. We still have plenty of space for additional artists & entrepreneurs who would like to advertise their art, products and services on this website. I hope you will take the time to explore the website and connect with our featured artists and entrepreneurs. The website address is: https://sites.google.com/view/indigenous-artist-entrepreneur/home
If you know of any artists or entrepreneurs who would like to be placed on our website, please have them contact me at executivedirector@chamiza.org or they can call me at 505-216-2140. We are asking for the following from all interested artists in order to create a profile for them on our website: 1) headshot/photograph of them, 2) a short bio/statement about them and their work, 3) a 1-minute video (optional) or photographs of their work. We want to help as many artists & entrepreneurs that we can during this time.
As a reminder, we will be accepting applications for Chamiza Foundation support in 2021. Our first deadline will be on Friday, February 12, 2021.
We will be accepting applications that focus on our traditional priority areas such as language preservation, traditional architecture, sustainable agriculture, traditional arts and crafts, tribal and ancestral history, oral histories and storytelling, youth education and leadership, and intercultural exchange and education. We will also be accepting applications for emergency relief support. We will fund as much as possible given our limited capacity as a small family foundation. Our foundation has set the following grant making priorities for relief efforts:
- Food, medical supplies and personal items
- Water
- Community and Individual Relief and Recovery Needs
- Internet access and connectivity
- Other needs and expenses directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic
There are three ways that you can apply 1) You can complete your application online through our website, 2) You can email your application to apply@chamiza.org, or 3) You can send your completed application directly to me at executivedirector@chamiza.org . Please remember that I am available if you want to talk about a project idea/concept. I can also review your application before the deadline to ensure that you have included all required information.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the Indigenous Artists & Entrepreneurs Showcases or if you have any questions about applying to the Chamiza Foundation for project support or emergency relief funding. Take care everyone, be happy and be safe!
Sincerely,
Dr. Amanda J. Montoya
Below you will find a project update from one of the Pueblo’s that received funding from the Chamiza Foundation during Round 1 of 2020. Additionally, you will find brief reports from two pueblos that received Emergency Relief Funding to support agriculture this past summer.
NAMBE PUEBLO
Community Farm & Language Preservation, “Fruits of Health Preservation” Program, Year Three
The Nambe Pueblo Community Farm received a grant from the Chamiza Foundation this past March 2020. Due to the pandemic many of the proposed activities had to be put on hold for a few months. Nonetheless, the program worked hard to complete their project deliverables. The staff at the Nambe Community Farm were able to do the following for the community while following safety precautions.
They planted a hoop house in April/May and produced a large amount of produce over the summer and early fall, that produce was distributed to the community; most produce was placed on the front porch of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office building and email notices were distributed alerting members of what was available. Individuals came and served themselves.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the farm staff was shorthanded, which impacted the work that could be realistically performed. The staff focused on the hoop house, the farm fields, and the vineyard. The staff planted corn, melons, chiles, and other produce. The fields did fairly well, although weeding was difficult with shorter staff time. However, they were able to contribute a large amount of these crops to the community, as well as dried corn chicos for Nambe Feast Day in early October. The community staff was also able to harvest grapes in mid-September. Additionally, four raised beds were raffled earlier in the year, before COVID-19, and were placed at the winner’s homes and were filled with topsoil. Also, they informed us that two new bison calves were born this past summer.
We were happy to hear that the Nambe Pueblo Community Farm is still working hard to ensure that their gardens grow to feed the people, that their vineyards are cared for and that the bison are doing well!
This past summer we provided Emergency Relief Funding to Pueblo Farmers. Here are brief reports on what was does with this support:
ZIA PUEBLO
Zia Pueblo Agriculture Program
This report was provided to us by Yvonne Benton, who is the Agriculture Manager for Zia Pueblo. She informed us that their program offers help to the farmers that need their field prepared for planting season. They offer “Tractor Services” which includes ripping, plowing, disking, tilling, line maker, borders, some cultivating during the planting season and field winterization for those who requested tractor services. They also offer Laser Leveling to interested farmers. This year, they had 20 farmer that requested help. This year they planted corn, chile, squash, melons, watermelons, cucumbers and cotton. They also planted chile in their hoop house and tomatoes and herbs in their greenhouse. They shared all produce with the community at no charge. Furthermore, they roasted a truck load of corn in their corn pit and shared it with the community. Their technician enjoyed driving around the pueblo offering corn to tribal members.
Zia Pueblo also has an orchard and honey farm. The original orchard is approximately 10 acres with approximately 80-year-old apple trees. This orchard is in dire need of revitalization. The plan for this section is to propagate old trees and replant. To this point, they have installed new turnouts on the ditch line for irrigation in early spring before Covid-19. When their crew returned in mid-July, they began clearing the area. Recently, they planted trees that will be used as wind barriers for future fruit trees. The funding that they received from the Chamiza Foundation was used to purchase supplies for the orchard, replacement parts for our chainsaws, (chains, files, bars, fuel and oil mixes), additional PPE, soil for trees and a 3-pt PTO post hole digger.
SANTA CLARA PUEBLO
Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute
The report was provided by Roxanne Swentzell who is the President for Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute. She reported that since COVID-19 happened, they have still kept busy.
Thanks to funding from organizations, like the Chamiza Foundation, they could continue to do research and educate. Due to stay-at-home restrictions, they could not have people coming over, so they had to work within the quarantined group they established in early spring. This consisted of 2 interns, 3 teens, 1 three-year-old, 4 of the board of directors, 1 paid helper, 1 consultant, and some community members (1-5) who would gather once a week to water and hoe a corn field using social distancing.
They were able to build three structures. The first project was the remodeling an old adobe building for cooking traditional bread in and grinding corn. Secondly, they built an outside roofed workspace and lastly, they made an outside composting toilet.
Their quarantined group also worked on creating three short films. They created two films on cold-frames and hot boxes, and they created one 20-minute film on touring the original Flowering Tree site. They used these films to teach an online Indigenous Design Course.
Furthermore, they were able to level and add irrigation pipe to one field, they planted 3 areas with crops and maintained them and created several raised bed and growing boxes. They also started the foundations for the greenhouse we hope to build this fall.
This group did a tremendous amount of work! The Chamiza Foundation was very happy to have provided support to the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute. We look forward to seeing what they do next! We hope to visit them when the pandemic is over.
ZUNI YOUTH ENRICHMENT PROJECT
Please check out our “Impact” page to view a video that was submitted to us by the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project!
The ZYEP was a grant recipient for the March 2020 Chamiza Foundation granting cycle.