GIA's Indigenous Resource Network

The Indigenous Resource Network (IRN) formed within Grantmakers in the Arts in 2004 with the goal to increase cultural competency and awareness within philanthropy regarding Indigenous models of giving, values, arts, and expressive culture. It aims to strengthen the role of Native voices in GIA's programs including the annual conference and the Reader.

The IRN is made up of the following GIA members:

Vickie Benson, Lakota, co-chair
The McKnight Foundation

Lori Pourier, Oglala Lakota, co-chair
First Peoples Fund

Lulani Arquette, Native Hawaiian
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation

Jeffrey Campbell
Christensen Fund

David Cournoyer, Rosebud Sioux
Native Americans in Philanthropy

Roger Fernandes, Lower Elwha Klallam
Potlatch Fund

Jonathon Freeman, Choctaw/Mexica
Seventh Generation Fund

Ken Gordon
Potlatch Fund

Joy Harjo, Muskoke/Creek
Native Arts and Culture Foundation

Susan Jenkins, Choktaw
Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Diane Kaplan
Rasmuson Foundation

Rosalie Little Thunder, Sicangu Lakota
Seventh Generation Fund

Chag Lowry, Yurok/Maidu/Pit River
Humboldt Area Foundation

Argelia Muñoz, Xicana
Seventh Generation Fund

Joy Persall, Ontario Aniishinabe - French Canadian
Native Americans in Philanthropy

Tia Oros Peters, Zuni Pueblo
Seventh Generation Fund

Tommer Peterson, Métis
Grantmakers in the Arts

Judilee Reed
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)

Phillip Sanchez
Time Warner

Dawn Spears, Narragansett
New England Foundation for the Arts

Aurolyn Stwyer-Watlamet, Warm Springs/Wasco
Potlatch Fund

Evelyn Arce White, Chibcha
International Funders for Indigenous Peoples

Ken Wilson
Christensen Fund

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Haida
Christensen Fund



Nonmember participants

Robyn Hollingshead
Margaret A. Cargill Foundation

Tina Kukkhan, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at The Evergreen State College

Barbara Poley, Hopi/Laguna
The Hopi Foundation

Theresa Secord, Penobscot
Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance

Loris Taylor, Hopi
Native Public Media