This year, with the support of donors like you, the Buffalo Youth Nation Project made powerful strides toward restoring food sovereignty, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous-led stewardship across Native communities.
Catch the current at Trade Winds & Marketplace, a Native networking and marketplace where friends, professionals, and artists gather to share stories, ideas, and opportunities. Co-hosted by Na’ah Illahee Fund, NAWDIM, and Chief Seattle Club, this event aligns with the Pioneer Square First Thursday Art Walk to uplift Native artisans and makers.
As we enter the season of giving, we’re reminded that generosity is more than a gesture — it’s a practice of reciprocity. Giving that connects us back to the land, to one another, and to the kinship that sustains us.
At Na’ah Illahee Fund, we call this the Kinship Economy — an ecosystem of care where wealth is measured by what we share. Your gifts strengthen Native-led efforts to protect land and water, revitalize food systems, and grow the next generation of Indigenous leaders.
The Healthy Environments for All (HEAL) Act was a historic step for Washington—making environmental justice a guiding principle by directing carbon tax revenues back to communities facing the greatest disparities. Yet this year, state budget cuts will reduce HEAL funding by nearly 90%. To keep this work alive, we must fill the gap and ensure Indigenous leaders and frontline communities have the resources they need to continue driving change
At Na’ah Illahee Fund, partnerships are at the heart of everything we do. The gatherings ahead are more than events—they are spaces to strengthen relationships, share knowledge, and celebrate the work we’re building together. We invite you to join us in showing up, learning, and being with one another.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to take a moment to reflect with gratitude on this past season of transformative transition at Na’ah Illahee Fund. Our organization has navigated significant changes, and it is the strength and dedication of our board, staff, and community that continue to guide us forward.
Earlier this year, Na’ah Illahee Fund was honored to attend the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) Global Conference in Naivasha, Kenya. Our session, Nurturing Pathways to Positive Indigenous Futures, uplifted the power of intergenerational leadership
Join us for the 13th annual event of the “Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ” Indigenous Foods Symposium! Our annual event draws over 300 people from the UW campus community, regional tribal and urban Indigenous communities, and throughout the U.S, Canada, Mexico, and Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Na’ah Illahee Fund (NIF) is pleased to announce the HEAL (Healthy Environment for All) Grant. This grant supports Indigenous-led initiatives in Washington State that advance environmental justice, community health, cultural resilience, and civic engagement. It aims to empower Indigenous communities to address ecological disparities and strengthen the well-being of our lands and people.
The Healthy Environment or All (HEAL) Act was passed in 2021 to reduce environmental disparities and improve the health of all people in Washington state. It is the first statewide law to create a coordinated and collaborative approach to environmental justice, making it a priority and part of the mission of key state agencies
The Na’ah Illahee Fund (NIF) is entering a new chapter of its journey. After careful consideration, the NIF Board of Directors has made the decision to part ways with Susan Balbas, who has served as Executive Director. We acknowledge her years of dedicated service and the impact of her leadership in shaping community-led philanthropy.
Na’ah Illahee Fund announces the departure of our Executive Director, Susan Balbas, whose visionary leadership has shaped community-led philanthropy for over two decades. As we enter this next chapter, we are honored to welcome Lisa Fruichantie as Interim Executive Director.
Support Na’ah Illahee Fund as we publicly launch E’lip Tilikum, our Land Back program named after the Chinook wawa phrase, “First Peoples.” Learn more about our Land Back work here. Your gifts will uplift this new initiative, and will be MATCHED dollar for dollar this Giving Tuesday.
We are honored to announce the launch of the Indigenous Lifeways Fund, dedicated to supporting Indigenous-led projects that foster healing, promote environmental justice, and uplift traditional knowledge in our communities.
In celebration of our 20-year anniversary, we honored the Power of Vision of Indigenous leaders, whose holistic solutions restore balance with the land, uphold cultural traditions, and ensure future generations thrive in harmony with Mother Earth.
Back by popular demand, we are honored to present Blue Jay Wisdom: A Week of Webinars. Please join us for one or all of these FREE virtual events in celebration of the Power of Vision we as Native people hold.
Please join us in the cherished event, Blue Jay Brings Back the Moon, as we celebrate the brilliance and resilience of Indigenous communities across the Northwest. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Na’ah Illahee Fund’s commitment to this movement and to the Power of Vision that lives within us as Native people.
The Power of Ceremony grant is open! This is our most sacred offering, in partnership with the Potlatch Fund and all of our ancestors.
Support Na’ah Illahee Fund’s 20th Anniversary with a special spring fundraiser from the PNW BIPOC Farmland Trust! 🌸🌿 Buy gorgeous peonies for your loved ones (or yourself!) and celebrate two decades of Indigenous-led activism.
Na’ah Illahee Fund (NIF) is seeking an insightful and committed team member to join us as a Communications and Engagement Manager. In this role, you will play a pivotal part in elevating the impact of our programs and fundraising through Indigenous-led storytelling, community-building, and event planning.
This GiveBig season, we are also honoring our Executive Director, Susan Balbas, and this matriarchal line-up of women leaders in philanthropy at Seattle Town Hall this week.
We love our sister organization, the Potlatch Fund and their values of bringing this sacred tradition of giftmaking into the world of philanthropy. They remind us that ‘we measure wealth not in possessions but in shared abundance.’ This is the true meaning of the practice of potlatch.
When we lead with our values of mutual respect, reciprocity, and commitment to caring for all our relatives, we know a better world is possible. We are at our best when we act on the fire in our hearts. We call this feeling paiya-tumtum (in the Chinuk Wawa language). In coming together to care for one another, we each hold a piece of the fire (paiya) in our hearts (tumtum).
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, our staff members share quotes that inspire them and explain why they’re special to them.
We are excited to release the Na’ah Illahee Fund 2020-23 Impact Report. As we reflect on the last four years, one thing is clear, the unprecedented challenges have intensified our resolve to build lasting momentum as we strengthen traditional values, practices, infrastructure, food systems, ecologies, and economies throughout Native communities.
This season of reflection and gratitude is a perfect time to honor those that make our circle of giving possible. Thank you, supporters, for your generous support. We couldn’t do this without you.
We are pleased to announce the recipients of Na’ah Illahee Fund’s 2023 Food Sovereignty Grant, which seeks to support our hunter, gatherer, and grower way of life by funding Native organizations and individuals who preserve and practice these traditions.
Congratulations to the 2023 Na’ah Illahee Fund’s Green Infrastructure Capacity Building Grant recipients! We encouraged organizations to apply who address unjust policies that have disproportionately resulted in decades of environmental degradation and negative impacts on Indigenous peoples’ lands.
Building a Movement: Remembering and Reclaiming Indigenous Birthing Roles Helena Jacobs (Koyukon Athabascan) got a text one night: “There was a very young mom who
We are pleased to launch our new website. The desire to be as responsive and responsible as possible to the communities Na’ah Illahee Fund serves led to its development.
In partnership with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and Green Seattle Partnership and Seattle Neighborhoods Na’ah Illahee Fund is kicking off our Community Forest Restoration Planting Parties with “Forest Week at Daybreak Star Cultural Center” Saturday November 4th, 10 am – 3 pm
Na’ah Illahee Fund and Potlatch Fund are deeply honored to partner and share the Power of Ceremony and Healing Grant as a collective gift to our relatives.
“For the Tlingit people, our identity is tied to herring. It’s the largest resource in our waters. It’s our Haa Ḵusteeyí – Our Way of
Sacred Sea Land Conservancy “We had no idea we were doing Rights of Nature all along.” Lummi Tribal member Raynell Morris believes it’s easier for
Na’ah Illahee Fund is pleased to share our redesigned logo. The journey has been a labor of love and a time to reflect on our steadfast commitment towards the ongoing regeneration of Native communities.
During Women’s History Month, we want to honor, respect, and pay tribute to the Indigenous women leaders of Na’ah Illahee Fund’s Board of Directors, who
Native Girls Code – Learning technology skills together For seven years, Native Girls Code participants met, building relationships with one another while they learned and
American Indian women face murder rates alarmingly higher than the national average. This violence that is disproportionately perpetrated against highly vulnerable Native women reflects the
Something wonderful is waiting to emerge at Discovery Park in Seattle! There, members of Na’ah Illahee Fund’s Youth Trails & Restoration Cohort worked last year
Alice Oligario is helping others make their own regalia. In March of this year, Alice Oligario, a Nanaimo & Squamish First Nations, Philippines elder, asked,
United Way of King County invited Susan Balbas (Cherokee/Yaqui), Executive Director of Na’ah Illahee Fund, to pen a guest blog about Native American Heritage Month.
After two long years, Na’ah Illahee Fund’s cherished Blue Jay Festival returned as the “Blue Jay Brings Back the Moon” on Saturday, October 8th. Celebrating
Blue Jay, Northwest Coast Salish tribes’ trickster character, who through his antics brings us laughter, pranks, and yes, even powerful lessons.
Meet Mei’lani Eyre (they/them), a graduate student working toward a degree in library and information sciences at the University of Washington. For the past two
(she/her), Swinomish/Visayan, Community Engagement and Culture Director
Shelly Vendiola, (Swinomish/Visayan) is an enrolled member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and Visayan. She has served as an educator, facilitator, activist, and peacemaker/mediator for over 30 years. Shelly co-founded the native Community Engagement and Peacemaking Project and offers consultation in the areas of community engagement and facilitation services including: leadership development, strategic planning, organization mapping, dispute resolution, interest-based negotiations and peacemaking circles throughout the country.
Currently she works as a Community Engagement & Culture Director for the Na’ah Illahee Fund, and serves on the board of the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Skagit YMCA. She continues to work in partnership with the Swinomish Department of Environmental Protection, co-chairs the Protect Mother Earth Subcommittee, and is a member of the Swinomish Health, Education and Social Services Committee. Shelly developed a place-based curriculum about the history and culture of the Swinomish peoples and taught a series of cultural sovereignty courses for over 10 years at the Northwest Indian College – Coast Salish Institute within their Native Studies Leadership Program.
Previously her team provided leadership and consultation for the Lummi Cedar Project – Organized Generations Healthy Lifestyles Program. Ms. Vendiola served as President for the national Indigenous Women’s Network and a Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental Network. Shelly received several years of formal dispute resolution training from the Indian Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., and the San Francisco Community Boards Program. She is the recipient of the Native Action Network – Enduring Spirit Award, and a recognized educator and peacemaker in the Northwest region. Shelly has an M.Ed. in Higher Education and practices indigenous pedagogy and indigenous research methodology within all aspects of her work.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Shelly is passionate about gardening. She practices the ancient form of meditation known as Qi Gong for balance, energy, and resiliency, and is a certified Yoga instructor. Her motto is, “There is nothing permanent in the world but change, the key is how we flow with it!”