First Nations Development Institute

10/14/2026

TODAY, October 14, 2026: Honoring and Protecting Bears Ears

First Nations’ Co-Stewardship and Co-Management Webinar Series concludes this month with the final installment, "Collaborative Management at Bears Ears: Tribal Leadership and the Resource Management Plan." Tribal leader Betsy Chapoose (Ute Indian Tribe) from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition will discuss collaborative management and the development of the Bears Ears Resource Management Plan, including the role of tribal leadership and traditional knowledge in the planning process and why this work continues to matter for the protection of this living cultural landscape.

➡️ The webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 1 pm MT. Register: https://bit.ly/3TFOZZL

➡️ Miss the first two webinars of the 2026 Co-Stewardship and Co-Management Webinar Series? Access recordings of "Reflecting on the Indigenous Stewardship of National Forests Case Study Report" and "Tribal Co-Management Legislation Updates:" https://bit.ly/4ecTiCH

10/13/2026

First Nations’ Conservation Easements Webinar Series concludes next month with the final webinar, "Advancing Tribal Conservation Easements Cohort Learnings." This webinar will highlight the six Advancing Tribal Conservation Easements community partners that are working to identify methods and best practices for realigning conservation easements to respect Tribal Sovereignty and values and ultimately protect their homelands, cultural resources, and lifeways.

Join the webinar to hear project updates and learnings firsthand from representatives of Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians, Igiugig Village, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, Molokai Heritage Trust, Rappahannock Tribe, and the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative.

➡️ The webinar will be held on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 1 pm MT. Register: https://bit.ly/4yDmDhf

➡️ To learn more about tribal conservation easements, access recordings of the first two webinars of First Nations' Advancing Tribal Conservation Easements webinar series: https://bit.ly/4exJwLx

10/12/2026

Today on Indigenous Peoples Day, join us in celebrating Native success.

This annual holiday is a celebration of Native heritage, history, and ingenuity. Each year, the holiday's festivities, conversations, and traditions bring communities together, and storytelling is one of my favorite ways to participate. Stories share values, they teach us lessons, and act as bridges for both generations and cultures.

At First Nations, we affirm Native stories and uplift the knowledge they carry. As you explore these impact stories, you will find the strength of what can be accomplished when Native communities have the resources they need: https://bit.ly/4zyny3o

10/07/2026

Through the Advancing Tribal Nature-Based Solutions project, First Nations is investing in climate action that addresses adaptation, promotes biodiversity, and restores ecosystem and community health. In May of this year, we expanded the project to support tribes and Native-led organizations in building adaptive capacity through beaver restoration.

First Nations is now bringing these community partners and others together in a Tribal Beaver Community of Practice, created to grow the field of tribal beaver restoration, bridge information gaps, define best practices, and create opportunities for mentorship and youth engagement.

This past week, Tribal Beaver Community of Practice members joined other practitioners and researchers at the Beaver Institute’s BeaverCON 2026 to discuss the role beavers play in ecosystem and community health. Several members of the Community of Practice presented on their beaver management efforts, including Sarah Beesley of the Yurok Tribe, Jesse Burgher and Danniel Kolenberg of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Daniel Denepah (Santa Clara) of the Pueblo of Santa Clara, and Brandon Kittson (Blackfeet) of the Blackfeet Tribe.

➡️ Learn more about the Beaver Restoration grantees: https://bit.ly/475e836

09/28/2026

📣 TOMORROW: Native Food Producers Webinar 📣

Native food leaders and interested supporters are invited to join First Nations' Native Food Economies Webinar, where three community partners will share how they have strengthened their operations and expanded the ways they serve their communities. Speakers will describe how the funding has helped them grow new products, establish value-added processing lines, and bring food systems partners together.

These stories highlight the ways Native producers are strengthening their own businesses while creating greater access to food, building Native food economies, and supporting stronger Native communities.

➡️ The webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 12 pm MT. Register: https://bit.ly/4jjmcEx

09/27/2026

The nonprofit Wozu Inc. on the Standing Rock Reservation is “planting the seeds of change every day” through cultural, land, and social regeneration. In this interview on Prairie Public, Dave Archambault, II, the leader of Wozu’s buffalo revitalization work and former tribal chairman of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, describes how the organization is reintroducing buffalo as a traditional, sacred food source and as an essential part of sustainable agricultural practices and Native food systems. They’re creating a system that starts with the land that feeds the buffalo that feeds the people.

Wozu is a community partner through First Nations’ Native Food Economies focus area of our Native Agriculture and Food Systems Investments program.

➡️ Listen to the interview: https://bit.ly/4y3uiWq

📷: Erik Deatherage / Prairie Public

09/25/2026

In this second installation of the Strengthening Tribal Renewable Energy blog series, Co-Director and Founder Jasmine Lamb and Co-Director Genevieve Doughty of the Sipayik Resilience Committee, a community partner through our Stewarding Native Lands’ Climate focus area, share how they are advancing energy sovereignty and climate resilience for members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point.

➡️ Read the blog post: https://bit.ly/46XWkqF

09/23/2026

📣 First Nations Weighs in on Lack of Federal and Philanthropic Support for Indian Country 📣

Underscore Native News explores reactions to a recent Brookings report, which details how federal and philanthropic funding to Native American falls short. The article describes how the federal government has a legally binding trust and treaty obligation to invest in tribal nations, yet data informing how much the government actually invests is regularly lacking. At the same time, Native philanthropic support for Native communities and organizations is also extremely inadequate.

➡️ Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4AH4zVE

09/22/2026

Last week, fellows from our 7th Cohort of the Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship gathered in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

At this second convening of their cohort, fellows explored one another's knowledge areas and presented on their fellowship experience thus far. Fellows also met with members of previous cohorts and had the opportunity to tour Poeh Cultural Center, a community partner through First Nations’ Native Arts Initiative, where they connected their knowledge and experience to the Center's ongoing work to sustain Tewa traditions through being, doing, and sharing.

This convening is part of First Nations' commitment to supporting Native knowledge holders and knowledge makers, whose exceptional creativity, progressive and critical thinking, love for their communities, and vision move forward their fields in ways that lead to broad, transformative impact for Native communities.

09/22/2026

TOMORROW: Register for the Tribal Co-Management Legislation Webinar on Tuesday, September 22!

The webinar will offer an overview of the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act of 2025, discuss ongoing efforts to reconcile tribal and congressional interests, and touch on additional related legislative efforts.

➡️ Register: https://bit.ly/3SKu8Us

Register for First Nations' second webinar of the 2026 Co-Stewardship and Co-Management webinar series: Tribal Co-Management Legislation Updates.

Sara Clark, partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP, will provide an update on the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act of 2025. This proposed legislation would authorize the U.S. Forest Service to enter into long-term, binding forestry agreements with tribes to co-manage National Forest System lands. The webinar will offer an overview of the Act, discuss ongoing efforts to reconcile tribal and congressional interests, and touch on additional related legislative efforts.

The webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 1 pm MT. Register: https://bit.ly/3SKu8Us