IndigenousWays
IndigenousWays
IndigenousWays is a Native-led Indigenous Arts nonprofit founded in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2007. IndigenousWays highlights Indigenous artists of all media as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ and differently abled performers. The IndigenousWays Festivals originated through events on the Navajo Nation and has grown to live events in Santa Fe. In recent years, eleven IndigenousWays Festivals have taken place at the Santa Fe Railway Park – reaching out to broader communities and ensuring access through American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and disability access for all events. In 2025, festivals will continue to take place at the Railyard Park.
In addition to our festivals, our initiatives include monthly virtual Wisdom Circles – using online media to provide platforms highlighting resources offered by culture bearers across the globe. Our speakers include visual and language artists, dancers, singers, and honored elders with precious Indigenous knowledge. We maintain an archive of all these events to continue sharing these stories. Once again, our reach is broadened by involving ASL interpreters prominently in all events - including empowering Deaf and Hard of Hearing presenters to educate our audiences.
We continue to build our program by adding interns, providing hands-on training in arts management, event production, digital media, and nonprofit administration for a next generation of leaders. One of our guiding values has been collaboration with others. In 2025, we look forward to bringing our Wisdom Circle to the Vital Spaces Theater in Santa Fe, permitting a live venue and audience for continuing our important virtual events.
We are grateful for the support of the Santa Fe Community Foundation that has enabled our programs to flourish and remain free for all attendees.
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited its nonprofit grantees to submit stories related to our September topic of Education.
The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
By making high-quality music education accessible to more than 2,000 young people each year, the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus is helping students build confidence, creativity, and community. Through lessons, ensembles, and school partnerships, the organization is inspiring the next generation of musicians across northern New Mexico.
El Rancho de Las Golondrinas
Through hands-on learning at New Mexico Heritage Days, El Rancho de Las Golondrinas helps thousands of students experience the state's history firsthand, creating meaningful connections across generations.
Chimayo Cultural Preservation Association
Each year, the Chimayo Cultural Preservation Association's San Isidro Day celebration brings neighbors of all ages together to honor Chimayó's acequia traditions through blessing the water, planting the community garden, and passing cultural knowledge from one generation to the next.
