The mission of First Nations is to strengthen American Indian economies to support healthy Native communities. First Nations invest in and creates innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control and support economic development for American Indian people and their communities.
Guiding principle
We believe that when armed with the appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural well-being of their communities. The organization's slogan is "Strengthening Native American Communities & Economies."
History
First Nations Financial Project was founded in 1980 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, by Rebecca Adamson. In 1991 it was renamed First Nations Development Institute. First Nations Development Institute's methods seek answers from within Native American communities as opposed to imposing solutions from the outside. First Nations Development Institute's projects "build on a tribe's unique culture and resources at hand to work toward a more stable economic future." Interviewed for the Fredericksburg, Virginia, Free-Lance Star in 1995, Adamson declared: "I want to show the brilliance, the creativity, the efficacy of Indian people." In 1985, First Nations Development Institute and the Oglala Lakota College helped to support the creation of the Lakota Funds, the first Native American Community Development Financial Institution on a reservation. The Oweesta Program was created in 1986 as a model of a Community Development Financial Institution in Native American communities. First Nations Development Institute is its parent organization. The Tribal Commerce and Enterprise Management Program], which provided support for Native American students to pursue graduate degrees in business, was launched in 1985 at the Yale School of Organization and Management. In 1991 it moved to the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. In 1994 to 1995 First Nations Development Institute continued to expand is work in reservation economies through the Eagle Staff Fund. First Peoples Worldwide is founded in 1997 as a project of First Nations Development Institute. In 2001, First Nations Development Institute and the Fannie Mae Foundation, release the Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families, a culturally relevant curriculum on building financial skills. The Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative was launched in 2002, with funding support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to look at the food systems in tribal communities. In 2002, Rebecca Adamson writes an opinion piece on how the use of Native American mascots are an insult to Native Americans. Michael E. Roberts rejoins First Nations in 2003 and is named president of First Nations Development Institute in 2005. First Nations Development Institute moves its headquarters to Longmont, Colorado, from Virginia in 2006. The Native American Asset Watch: Rethinking Asset-Building in Indian Country report is published in 2009 to look at the issues of who controls the assets of tribal communities. The first Native Food Sovereignty Summit was co-hosted in 2013 by First Nations Development Institute, Intertribal Agriculture Council, the Oneida Nation, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. First Nations Development Institute's 35th Anniversary and the 20th Annual L.E.A.D. Conference were held in 2015. In 2016, Raymond Foxworth writes an opinion piece in response to The Washington Post poll on the Native American mascot controversy. First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting receive funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for Reclaiming Native Truth: A Project to Dispel America's Myths and Misconceptions In 2017 GuideStar gave First Nations Development Institute a Platinum Participant rating. In 2017 BBB Wise Giving Alliance featured Michael Roberts, First Nations Development Institute, President and CEO, on their YouTube channel. In 2017 Charity Navigator gave First Nations Development Institute a 4-star rating, for the sixth year in a row.
