News & Stories

The Native American Advised Fund (NAAF) at the Santa Fe Community Foundation is pleased to announce its largest round of grantmaking to date, totaling $205,000 to 40 nonprofits serving Native communities across New Mexico. The 2025 grants, which range from $2,500 - $20,000, advance NAAF’s mission of enhancing Native ways of life and promoting the Indigenous core values of community, language, culture, and environments.

The Santa Fe Indigenous Center is a Native-led nonprofit serving Indigenous families across Santa Fe County. Through biweekly food drives, cultural events, community programs, emergency financial assistance, and a robust network of referral resources, SFIC supports the diverse needs of the local Indigenous community. Each year, the organization hosts its signature event — the Honoring Native Nations Powwow on Indigenous Peoples’ Day — bringing dancers, drummers, Tribal Dignitaries, artists, and community members together to celebrate Indigenous culture, joy, and resilience. This year’s powwow was a vibrant success, and SFIC looks forward to continuing this tradition in 2026.

On this episode of Community Matters, we’re joined by Dr. Randal Brown, Founder and CEO of Sunrise Clinics, the 2025 recipient of the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s "Resiliency" Piñon Award. Sunrise Clinics strengthens the health and well-being of rural and frontier communities across New Mexico, including Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, Tucumcari, and Raton. By offering comprehensive primary and behavioral health care on a sliding fee scale, Sunrise ensures that no one is turned away due to cost — building resilience and access in places where care is needed most.

Last year, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian opened Carved Stories by Hopi artist Mavasta Honyouti. Featuring all sixteen low-relief carvings from the Coming Home series — created in tandem with Honyouti’s children’s book Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story — the exhibit recounts his grandfather Clyde Honyouti’s experience at an off-reservation federal boarding school. This Indigenous-led project offers a powerful and visually compelling reflection on Hopi life, culture, and history. As Brian Vallo notes, “Carved Stories… is both powerful and beautiful.”

With support from the Native American Advised Fund, sixth-grade students at Kha’p’o Community School embarked on Our Voice, Our Stories — a year-long documentary project blending traditional Tewa arts and modern digital storytelling. Through pottery, weaving, sewing, and film, students explored their cultural identity and celebrated their voices as young Tewa people.

460,000 New Mexicans are facing an urgent challenge. With the recent suspension of SNAP benefits and federal government shutdown, 21% of state households are suddenly without one of the most basic forms of support: food assistance. Nonprofits, community partners, and food pantries are working swiftly to provide resources to fill in the gap as best they can.