2018 Year in Review

As we ring in the New Year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on an incredible year for Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA). In 2018, we continued to support Native Americans in some of the most remote, impoverished reservations through a variety of programs and initiatives prioritized by our program partners and emerging leaders.

Last year, we launched our inaugural Strong Native Women 4 Directions program. This cohort is an extension of our 4 Directions Development Program, designed to support personal and professional development of emerging leaders in tribal communities. The women’s cohort was made possible through a grant from PepsiCo Foundation and we look forward to celebrating our inaugural graduates this March.

PWNA also had the opportunity to participate in the NFL’s 2018 #MyCauseMyCleats campaign, thanks to the generosity of Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Eli Ankou. More than 800 NFL players took the field wearing custom cleats that reflected a worthy cause and Eli selected PWNA, honoring his indigenous ancestry and support for underrepresented Native American communities.

Lastly, PWNA was fortunate enough to once again conclude our year focusing on our annual holiday services, providing warm meals for Elders, families and children, and distributing holiday stockings and gift bags to celebrate children and Elders and help our partners spread holiday cheer in their communities.

We look forward to another year of championing a brighter future for Native American communities. For now, we wanted to share our readers’ favorite blog posts of 2018:

• July 10, 2018: 5 contemporary Native American artists you should know
• Feb. 6, 2018: The Apache Wars
• Feb. 13, 2018: 2018 Winter Olympics & Native American athletes
• Jan. 16, 2018: National Soup Month & Native American recipe
• Aug. 21, 2018: A Native view on spirit animals and animal medicine
• Oct. 16, 2018: Storytelling in Native American cultures
• June 5, 2018: Native American Day in Arizona
• March 6, 2018: Federal Recognition for Virginia Tribes
• Jan. 23, 2018: Poverty Awareness Month
• July 12, 2018: Let’s not repeat history – lessons learned from federal separation of children and families