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The PM Podcast
The Trust Factor: A Conversation with Jackie Blackbird, Indigenous Communities Officer, Newman's Own Foundation
01:18:56
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- [00:00]
A
We have so much, so much trauma in our communities that I saw a lot of it growing up and I wanted a different life for myself. And I think in turn, in turn having a different life for myself, I could be, you know, that role model for others and showing the young people that you can leave the reservation and you can become educated, you know, gain a college degree and choose what you want to do in life.
- [00:27]
B
Welcome to the PM Podcast, brought to you by Evertru Studios, the show that takes you inside the lives of thought leaders, innovators and changemakers in fundraising, philanthropy and civil society. I'm your host, Jay Frost. My guest today is Jackie Blackbird, Indigenous Communities Officer at Newman's Own foundation and a leader advancing Indigenous food justice for kids. An enrolled member of the Aani tribe and a descendant of the Nakota tribe, Jackie manages partnerships with more than 30 grantee organizations working across Indigenous communities. Before joining Newman's Own foundation, she helped lead her tribe's economic development efforts and co founded the Aani Nakota Community Foundation. Jackie also spent more than 18 years at Nike where she led the N7 fund, directing over $10 million to support sport and physical activity in tribal and First Nation communities. Today, she continues that commitment through her work and through service on multiple boards supporting Native led initiatives. In this episode, we trace her journey from tribal community to national leadership and explore how culture, community and philanthropy come together to advance opportunity and food justice for the next generation. I'd love to ask you where you're from originally. Which. Which part of the. The country.
- [01:52]
A
The country, sure. I grew up in north central Montana in a small reservation of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. And so we're not very far from the Canadian border. Like it's less than an hour, so we're pretty far north. And the Fort Belknap Indian Community hosts the. I mentioned the Aani people, but also the Nakota people. So there's two different tribes and. And I actually have a parent from each. Each of the tribes. So I have lineage to both in. In our community,
- [02:27]
B
and those communities are living closely together because that's not always the case. So how do parents meet each other?
- [02:34]
A
Yeah, they are. So when the reservation was created back in, I believe it was 1889. Yeah, I think there was a lot of. There was a lot of conflict. And you always hear stories from elders and even some of my. Some that the Assiniboines. Well, the other word is assiniboine that the government use. Assiniboine and Grosven don't always get along. But I think what I've also heard is that that is kind of one of the reasons why the government put two tribes together in hopes that they would have that conflict and do away with each other. But that didn't happen hundreds of years later. Right. And so we have a mountainous region on a reservation, and then we have one closer to the river. So they say those are the River Ani people or the river or River Nokota people. And then there's the Mountain Aani and the Mountain Nakota. So in a way, it's kind of separated that way too. And then we have separate individual communities. The agency is where, like the tribal headquarters are a lot of our key program offices. And then we have Hays, which is H A Y E S. I know a lot of people think it's like Es, but Hayes, and then Lodge Pole. And so those are three separate communities all on one reservation that have members from both tribes living in.
- [04:00]
B
Does the reservation or maybe the community bleed across the border as well? Because those borders, like all the things we're talking about, were designed for specific purposes at particular times. So is the community kind of across into Canada as well?
- [04:18]
A
You know, there is talk that we do have relatives, especially on the Nakota side, because a lot of us believe there is no border. And then there are people from the Aani, you know, that have migrated south too. So. Yeah, that's true. And then with the reservation, borderline housing is. Is a challenge on our reservation. So a lot of people live in border towns just off the reservation because homes aren't available on the reservation. So that also is true.
- [04:52]
B
There's so much I could ask you about this, but, but when I start with a question like, where are you from? I don't usually get this level of detail. So it's really fascinating to think about. And one part of this is when, when people are born into a place, they aren't necessarily aware. It's just home. So when did you become aware of all these things you're sharing with me? Were they known to you because your family, your parents and others told you or did that? Was that something you became aware of as you got older?
- [05:22]
A
I would say I became aware of it as I got older. So growing up, I grew up in the south end of our reservation near the mountains. And so we were a very small, tight knit community. And a lot of the families, you know, we made do with what we had. So we pretty much as, as kids, we didn't travel a lot. Right. Even to the agency, which is 36 miles from the hometown I grew up in of Hayes. We. Our worlds were pretty small. Right. So what we learned was whatever we learned in school. And I actually went to Catholic school up until fifth grade and what I was taught at Catholic school. And then as I got into junior high and high school, our community council, as well as the schools were trying to do a better job of integrating more of our cultural teachings and our history into school, like the school curriculum. So that's where in junior high is when I really start learning a lot more outside of what, say, my grandmother shared with me or my mom shared with me. And even then, you know, my. Both my parents worked. So I think they. They. They called a lot of kids, I heard this term, later in life, latchkey kids.
- [06:39]
B
Right.
- [06:40]
A
So I definitely was one of them because my parents weren't home when we got home from school, and our grandparents took care of us when we were younger. But once you became the age where you could take care of yourself. Yeah, it's like you get home and unlock the door and make yourself a snack and wait till the parents get home.
- [07:00]
B
What are your parents? What did they do? What kind of work were they doing?
- [07:03]
A
Yeah, my. Growing up, my. My dad was a carpenter, and so he worked for a lot of years on the reservation helping build things. Build different buildings, repairs the homes. And my mom, she bounced between working for our tribe, but also the federal government, and that's the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And so she worked for a time in the administration of BIA and then worked some for the tribe as. So they've. She kind of bounced around with the type of work that she did. But I always remember my parents never being home. They're always working.
- [07:40]
B
That's a common experience for latchkey kids. So that's. That's something I know a lot of people can identify with. You were talking about living in a community on the reservation.
- [07:49]
A
Yes.
- [07:50]
B
And first of all, that could be. How large was it? How big was this area? Land area?
- [07:56]
A
So the reservation is not very big at all. It's like 25 miles wide by 36 miles. And our little, small town of Hays, you know, there was no more than 500 people in the community.
- [08:08]
B
And then you were living at the foothills of the mountains, did you say?
- [08:12]
A
Yeah. At the foothills of what we call the little Rocky Mountains.
- [08:15]
B
Yeah. What was it like to grow up near the mountains?
- [08:18]
A
I loved it. So my grandparents, I mentioned Hazel and George, they would be my mom's parents. They had a home three miles into the mountains. And so I often Spend a lot of time there and. Yeah, and playing outside. Interest enough, too, behind our house. When I was younger, we called them the sand rocks. So thinking about, like, the land being under water at one time. Yeah, there's like these huge rocks just made of sand, and we would go carve things out of them. And so the. Yeah, all the neighborhood kids would go play back there. But I really enjoyed growing up near the mountains. And we grew up around horses. My grandpa had cattle. So when I was young, you know, I thought it was cool to drive the pickup truck when he was feeding the cows at like 5.
- [09:09]
B
So that was very much the rural childhood, which sounds beautiful. I mean, you know, idyllic. So how did you end up leaving there? I mean, where. Because you were there, I guess, until. At least you must have graduated from high school, right?
- [09:27]
A
Yes. Well, see, my grandma, she was a grade school teacher for like 27 years. So she always stressed education with all her grandkids and her kids. And I was actually a first generation graduate. My mom did not graduate, nor did my father graduate from college. And she really encouraged me to do that. And my grandma was really like a second mom to me because my mom worked often and grandma got done when school was out. And so we spent. I spent a lot of time with her, and she always instilled in me how important it was to gain an education. Right. And hold that not, you know, knowledge as. As a power, as a way to get ahead in life. And even though I lived in this little small community, I'm like, okay, grandma, you know, and just always trying to do well in school. So from a young age, getting involved in programs like Upward Bound, for example, being able to go live in a dorm in high school, which I had, and it wasn't very far from home, was like 76 miles in a small town called Haver. But it gave me that exposure to what a college class could be like, being away from family. But also we got to go on a trip, like we. I believe I went to Seattle one time. We went to St. Louis, we went to Minneapolis. So it really gave me insight in my high school years outside of the reservation and what, you know, you know, what existed outside of the reservation and, you know, and what could be. And so at a young age, even, I guess in junior high too, because we would have people come in and talk about the different colleges. There was something in me that knew that I wanted to do something different and I wanted to leave the reservation to come back eventually and help our people and also be a Good role model for the younger generations. We have so much, so much trauma in our communities that I saw a lot of it growing up. And I wanted a different life for myself. And I think in turn. In turn, having a different life for myself, I could be, you know, that role model for others and showing the young people that you can leave the reservation and you can become educated, you know, gain a college degree and choose what you want to do in life. And so that was what really, I guess, inspired me to do well in school. And I applied to all colleges outside of Montana. I did have a backup school, but I really wanted to have an experience outside of the state of Montana and be able to meet new people and gain maybe not just knowledge, but also, you know, education knowledge, but also life experiences.
- [12:10]
B
So I'm wondering what that was like for you as you, I don't know, just talked with friends day after day in school and outside of school and did all the things you did back there at home, whether it was riding horses or whatever it was you were doing, because maybe some people never left and other people chose the same path you did. So how different was your decision and determination and flight path from your peers?
- [12:40]
A
It definitely was challenging. I think out of my graduating class, there's maybe a handful of us out of the 27 that. That left the reservation to go to school or maybe enroll in a trade school in a lot of smaller communities. In our smaller communities, high school kids, you know, they like to hang out, they like to party on the weekends. And I. And that was something I never did. So that alone set me, you know, set me aside from all of my other classmates, which, yeah, I got picked on a little bit because of it. But I was so focused on that goal. Like, I always thought about the consequences of, like, what could happen even if I chose to go hang out with some of my best friends, and they're at this party and something happens, right? I may not be partaking in the activities, but I could never control that. So I was kind of the bookworm that stayed home, you know, read a lot of books. I was in all kinds of sports. And when, you know, I decided to, you know, get the good, good grades to go to college, that did set me apart from those friends that I grew up with, because a lot of them didn't see that future for themselves. It was more kind of like living in the moment. I guess I would call it living in the moment. And I'm just gonna enjoy, you know, enjoy being in high school. And then whatever happens after High school happens. But for me, it was like I had a set path. I was. I was determined to be successful outside of the reservation so that I can bring some skills back to help our people.
- [14:15]
B
And you've mentioned that a couple times about wanting to come back and bring things back to the community. And you also mentioned trauma. So I'm trying to figure out how to ask this question. I mean, what was it that you observed that was important for you to go back and try to, I don't know, address.
- [14:36]
A
Well, I think even. Well, the first thing that pops in my mind is the food insecurity. So growing up, you know, I had both parents that worked. They. I. I think they probably made not very much more than, like, minimum wage because we did qualify for the U.S. the USDA's commodity program. And so commodities were a staple in our household. So the canned high fruit to syru fruit, the canned meat, flour, powdered eggs, things like that, they were always present in our home. And it was rare that we had, like, fresh fruit. It was rare that we had salad. Like, those were things that we didn't grow up with. I always remember my mom's sister, she has one sister, and she lived in a larger town of Billings, Montana, with her family for a number of years. And when she would come to visit, she would bring fresh fruit. And that was always a treat for us. And so that was part of kind of like what I thought about as I got older. It's like when I. When I become an adult and when I make choices and like, what I'm going to do for my career, you know, how can I bring, you know, additional resources back to the reservation so that our kids are exposed to more healthy foods? But I will say since. Since I was younger, the USDA has gotten a lot better in what they provide our communities. I mean, they're getting fresh vegetables now, they're getting fresh fruit, but back then it didn't exist. They're actually even getting, like, ground hamburger and whole chickens. And we didn't get that. Everything was canned back then. And so that would be one of the things that I kept in the back of my mind is like, those kids that are going hungry in our community, like, how can I come back and also help with those families that we talk about trauma that maybe are experiencing trauma. And we've had a lot of conversations with our young people in community about how they just. They want to be with their parents. They want. And oftentimes their parents are in addiction. And when they're in their addiction, it's really hard to be there for anybody, even themselves. And so a lot of our kids are with like guardians or grandparents, aunts, uncles, you name it, whoever you know, can step in and help and even foster care can help take care of them. And so, you know, my thought around that too is like, how do I keep myself well? How do I learn more about healing and wellness so that I can bring those learnings back?
- [17:16]
B
There's, there's a lot in there. And I can imagine, because you can speak about it from that distance that, that we gain when we're older, that it's something. You have language for now. But even though you were clearly a very studious kid, I wonder if you were able to put a label to some of those things that you were living around or observing then, or did you already recognize that those things were the things you wanted to leave at least to gain some kind of additional understanding and worldview and education. All these things, experience, and then come back with, did you already know?
- [17:55]
A
I think I had a little knowledge about it. And that really came from learning from role models that I had in our community, those that did go away to college. Because there were others, you know, before me that went away to college and just really, they had opportunities to come to the school and speak to us in, in these large assemblies. And that just really inspired me because it's like they're gonna, they, they've done it, you know, why can't I? And so I, I would say I had a little bit of knowledge of it, but I feel like, again, going back to growing up in that small town and small community, you know, it was educate, it was focusing on my, my studies, it was sports. But also when I was 14, going on 15, my older brother, I have an older brother and I have a younger brother. My older brother had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Well, he wasn't prepared to take care of his son, nor was his girlfriend. So at the age of like six months, I start helping my mom raise my nephew. So from 16 to 18, I was like, heck, I guess I could say I was a co parent in the household and they were raising my nephew until I left for college.
- [19:11]
B
How was that for you? That's a lot of responsibility. You're trying to.
- [19:14]
A
It was a shock. It was definitely a shock because as you know, with babies, you know, when they get sick or, you know, they need the extra attention, you're up late at night and. And so my mom, I did my best to, best I could to help my mom take care of My nephew and then my brother was six years younger than me. So, you know, when I was 15 and the baby came in the house, he was nine. So I also cared for my brother after school and, and during the summers, too, when I wasn't working. So it was a lot. So, you know, and you talk about, like, what was that kind of worldview or what did that look like? It truly was through gain, through, like, school. And I talked about the summer programs I got to attend a couple years and was able to take some college classes and then go on a few trips.
- [20:05]
B
You know, what I'm imagining now is that because you're clearly already at that age, a very responsible person, that it must have also been hard to leave, even though that's what you wanted to do, because you would have been leaving these kids behind and you were a major part of the support system. So how was it that you found the strength not just to go on and do all these great things, but also to be able to put that responsibility aside for a bit?
- [20:36]
A
It was very challenging. I just think even thinking back is just my heart, you know, I think about my. My little nephew. By the time, you know, I left, he was like two or going on three. And he. He really couldn't understand why auntie was getting on the train and going to Minnesota again. You know, why is she leaving me? But also my grandma, you know, my. My grandma always wanted me to go to a college really close by because I had that strong bond with her. And I always think about how she encouraged me to go to school, but in my mind, she was like. But not too far away, I think. So when. When I did leave, it was really, really difficult, but I. I always thought about. I tried to keep in the forefront of my mind that what I was doing was going to help my family. What, you know, the. The sadness, the lonesomeness, all of that was going to be worth it in the end. I. I tried to keep that in the forefront because I knew if I stayed home, I would, I would continue that caretaker role, but. But I wouldn't be working towards the goals I had for myself in life. But I will tell you, I was pretty unique as a college student during breaks because all of my breaks, instead of going, you know, during spring break to, like, California or Florida and all the different places my friends are going, I came home. I came home to be with my family, especially my grandparents as they got older, and to see my nephew and my little bro. And because of, you know, that tie to family was so important. To me. And that's like one of my values. Right. That family connection. Yeah. So it was difficult. Yeah, it definitely was difficult leaving.
- [22:22]
B
So you went off to school. Where did you go?
- [22:24]
A
I went to the University of Minnesota. Twin Cities.
- [22:28]
B
Yeah. Yeah. Which is a storied school. And how was it going and being a part of that after being in this very close knit community and then you're in this place where I know it's always, if somebody goes to college, it's always a big change. This must have been particularly big one.
- [22:47]
A
Oh, gosh, talk about culture shock. Like I heard about. I mean. Well, here's the other beautiful thing I'll insert before I talk about the experience. I had the opportunity to attend a program before school started at the University of Minnesota. They only had it for one, no, maybe two years, but we were the last year they, that they brought 20American Indian students, 20 Hispanic Latino students, 20 Asia Pacific and 20 black students all came together. There was 80 of us that got to go live in a dorm, take a couple college classes and get a feel of how large the university was. But not only that, you got to meet some peers. Right. You got to meet some classmates. For me, it was really important to meet other Native Americans that were going to be going to school there because you mentioned, you know, I grew up in the small community which was all Native American to like this huge city. That was really important to me. So I think that experience, or I know that experience definitely helped me become more comfortable leaving to this big city, this big university to start my freshman year. And that was a gift. Like that truly was a gift. And you had to apply for it and have an interview. And I met some of my closest friends that I'm still in touch with today in that program because we were all going through the same thing. That, that disconnect from family for that short term was, was really difficult. And some actually didn't even. Didn't make it that long. They left for home after like a couple weeks and it was a, it was a seven week program.
- [24:23]
B
Yeah, well. And for all those communities you mentioned, I assume that they were just a small part of the broader student population. So they were all trying to make their way and you know, swimming in that big pool. So it must have been pretty important as a way to sort of acclimate and then, but still retain their identity and their communal identities. But I don't know if that kind of program. You just said two years there. How often is that kind of thing offered anywhere now?
- [24:57]
A
I have not Heard of any? Yeah, I think it all comes down to, you know, the funding of programs like that because they paid for us to arrive to the university early. You know, they paid for the dorms, the meals, they paid the professors for us to take the classes. But I will. Yeah, I will tell you, Jay, it was. It definitely was a challenge for me going into university and knowing that with my grades and with my extracurricular background, I had was able to get into the Carlson School of Management, which is the business school of the university. And not being from Minnesota, I didn't know the prestige that came with getting accepted into that school. And my class, I think there was 273 of us, were 273 freshmen that entered the Carlson School of Management for the first classman, first freshman class ever. And that was in years ago, in 1997. And so they. I always tell people, like, they had us as, like, a whole cohort group and gave us all the skills or provided skill learning for us to succeed in college. But what was most difficult for me is I was the only Native American student out of that 273 class. And a lot of the youth that I met through that summer program, they're like, oh, wow, you got into Carlson. And a lot of them were from the Minnesota area. I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm interested in business, and this is what I want to do. And throughout the four years, I was the only Native American student in my class, in classes.
- [26:41]
B
And you must have been keenly aware of that, I'm assuming.
- [26:45]
A
Yeah, definitely. Because all of my friends like that I did make throughout the years, they were all in other programs, you know, in liberal arts programs, American Indian studies, engineering and. Yeah, and, you know, it's funny, Jay, like, even professors sometimes, like, called you out, made you feel like that. I remember I had this professor, his name was Professor Fox. I was telling my classmates, because we did a lot of teamwork, and on my team, I said, he always calls on me in class. Like, I have to be on my A game all the time. And they're like, that. That can't be true. They're like, it's not true. See, they were. They weren't even aware of it. And I said, okay, well, when we go to class, you know, tomorrow or next day, watch, we're going to go over the test. How much you want to bet? I'm not going to raise my hand. He'll call on me. And sure enough, he did.
- [27:33]
B
What do you. Where do you think that came from? Was that Testing you or was that highlighting you? What was that
- [27:40]
A
when I was that age? Now that I think about it, I feel like he was testing me. But as I, in, in hindsight, I feel like he was highlighting me that, yeah, I may look unique in this classroom of mostly non native people, but I'm just as smart that I can hold the knowledge just like them. But as an adult, I can see that. But back then I'm like, he's targeting me and he's picking on me. I never made a big deal at it, just with my teammates, but that's how I felt back then.
- [28:14]
B
Well, especially when you're between 18 and 21, I mean, that kind of being center of attention, when you can't control how it is or what it means, it can really definitely feel like a spotlight for all the wrong reasons sometimes. But you just mentioned how people that you came in with, especially through that early program, went in all these different directions. You chose business, and that wasn't just unique because of who you are and where you come from, but it's also unique, frankly, to pick a BBA as a major going into college. Why business? Because that has become a through line for all your work and the work that you do today. So why business?
- [28:52]
A
I think when I initially chose that as a degree, I felt like business could be kind of like a. In my mind, like a general degree that I could take home and build a business of my own, whether it be something around healing and wellness or whether it be around maybe it was physical activity, getting kids more moving. Because that was something I was passionate about too, growing up with sports. Sports and how much sports helped me become the person I am today. So I just thought, hey, if I went with a business degree, I could always utilize that, you know, to start a business, to gain that knowledge or even eventually graduate and work for a company that is looking to help Native American people. And so for me, I just, it seemed like it was like a. I don't know if you want to call it like a staple degree, but a degree that could go across many different areas.
- [29:50]
B
Yeah, very, very portable, the skill set and I'm sure contacts potentially that you could make there. You've mentioned sports several times. What were your sports when you were growing up?
- [29:59]
A
I was in basketball and volleyball and track and field.
- [30:04]
B
Oh, so all the above. Okay, well, that makes sense as a transition because I know that I don't know how quickly it was you went on to Nike, but you spent a long time at Nike. So was this almost immediately after graduation? Or what went, what happened next?
- [30:18]
A
Yeah, so I was fortunate to get an internship, lend an internship with Nike the year after my sophomore year. And the way I was able to do that was another program that I heard about at school is called Inroads. And Inroads was a program that assisted people of color in getting positions with large corporations, if you will, that were looking to increase their diversity. And so I initially interned with Ford Motor Company in the Minneapolis area. The summer after my freshman year definitely wasn't what I wanted to do. And, and, and so I stayed with the program and I asked, hey, you know, does the chapter, the Inroads chapter in Oregon have a connection to Nike? Because I'm interested in sports. My degree is going to be in business. You know, I'm passionate about sport and movement. Is that something you can connect me to? And so they did, they made a connection. And I interviewed with Nike's corporate, a few people in corporate responsibility and they offered me an internship the summer after my sophomore year. And so I got in my little car and jetted out to Nike and spent the summer out there working in corporate responsibility around. They had this program called Reuse a Shoe. They were taking shoes back from individuals and they were re grinding the shoes to create sports surfaces. It's pretty neat. I think they still do a little bit of that. And so that was one of my key projects is figuring out how do we work with the colleges and all of this product that we give to the colleges, we as a Nike, and how much of it actually just gets left laying around. Could we take some of that back, regrind it and make these sports surfaces? So that was really my entry into Nike was that internship and met some people there that I had stayed in touch with. I had thought about going back to Nike, but I ended up interning with the Minnesota Twins baseball club, which was in the Minneapolis area.
- [32:29]
B
Wow. Well, that's, that's another power move, frankly. So for people who are sports fans, they're already drooling over Nike. But before you go away from Nike, because I know you'll get back to it anyway. But this is another one of these things where if you're at that age, I can't imagine you even knew what corporate social responsibility was. I mean they probably weren't teaching that in business school. I mean, maybe they do a little today, but not much. So how in the world did you know to go there? Was it just that they had the foresight to say, hey, well we've got a potential intern, so okay, yeah.
- [33:01]
A
At Nike you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They had X number of positions for this Inroads program. I think there were, like, five. And so for me, I had heard. I think it was at the national conference Inroads had. That Nike was a sponsor. So I was like, hey, how can I be part of that interview pool? And that's really how I, you know, accessed that internship.
- [33:24]
B
Yeah. Yeah. Well, a wonderful way to be introduced to this whole philanthropic sector really early. But then, nevertheless, you went to the Twins. Now, you didn't mention baseball on your list of sports, but I guess that you just.
- [33:36]
A
We didn't. We don't have baseball in Montana, unfortunately, but at all. Little League. So growing up, yeah. Taught Little League, but I never got to play because it was all boys. And he would never let me. Let me play. But I was in the background throwing the ball around. And so, yeah, my love of baseball started when I was younger, even though we didn't have softball and we didn't have baseball teams here in Montana, at least close to us.
- [34:01]
B
So what were you doing with the Twins, and how long were you there before you, I guess, went back to Nike? It must have been, like, almost a slingshot.
- [34:08]
A
Mm. So I. It was interesting. I was at the American Indian Learning Resource center, and the Minnesota Twins had sent a fax. Do you remember faxes?
- [34:19]
B
Oh, yes. Yeah.
- [34:21]
A
They faxed the job description for an internship program to our learning center. And I saw it, and I'm like, hey, I should apply. Why not? May as well put my resume in and. And see if I get an internship. And within a week, I received a call, and I still remember her name. Her name was Glow Westerdahl. And Glow is this grandmothery figure that had been at the Twins for a lot of years. And Glo asked me if I wanted to come down and interview at the Metrodome. And I was like, whoa, The Metrodome? And we weren't very far from there. The university wasn't very far. But I'm like, okay, you know, and again, small town girl. I'm like, what, three years off the reservation? And so I got my business suit because they were. I always talked about the business school boot camp at Carlson. They always made sure, you know, you had one proper suit. You had interview skills, your resume. What does networking look like? All those things. So I. I was ready. And I'm like, okay, I'm going to go down, and I'm going to go to this interview. And it was. It was in. It was also in corporate responsibility. But it was in community relations for the Minnesota Twins. And yeah, and I interviewed with, at the time, it was the senior director of business management, Glo Westerdahl was like the coordinator of community affairs. And they offered me the job the next day and said they'd like me to come work for them for the summer.
- [35:45]
B
And community relations, now that's another one of those terms that can mean a lot of things. So what did it really mean at the Twins?
- [35:51]
A
So at the Twins, it meant there was a players wives program. So the wives would come together and they would do events that give back to the community. Any player appearances to, like, nonprofits in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. It involves tickets. Like some of the players would say, I'm going to give X dollars to the ticketing program so that we can bring these schools for free. Schools or programs to the Metro Dome to watch the game for free. So as managing that. Managing a ticket program. And then also there was donations. So people wanted signed Kirby pocket balls or, you know, signed, you know, signed jerseys. So there was a lot of different auctions. Right. That Glow was the one to actually manage all the donation requests. And that was something I helped her a little bit with and figure out a process. And then we supported any of the players as well as any of like the media personalities that had fundraisers. And so that was. It was pretty fun. It was something pretty neat to do and to learn about.
- [36:55]
B
Yeah, another great introduction to this whole world. So at that point then was that when you ricocheted back to the other coast or were you. Were there other things in between?
- [37:06]
A
So during my. My school years, that's one thing I didn't mention too. The other areas I worked in for work study job was working for the athletic department in marketing at the university. So when I started college, the women's athletic department, the men's athletic department, they were two separate entities. A lot of universities, you know, they're all one, right. Athletic program. So I. I was able to work with our intern and use my work study position to work at the marketing team, which was a blast. I will say. The one fun part that. The one part that was not fun, there's a lot of students interested in being the mascot. I wasn't one of them. It was Halloween my sophomore year, and my boss was like, yeah, Jackie so and so didn't show up. You know, we really don't want to disappoint this. These kids at this volleyball game. And I'm like, amanda, no, I'm not getting in that stinky Outfit. It was like a big gopher outfit. And she's like, jackie, please, please. And I'm like, oh, God. Okay. I was like, but if I do this. There were. We had all this different promo product. I'm like, I want you to gift me those yellow basketball trunks I've been looking at. And she's like, fine, I will give you the trunks. Get in the. Get in the outfit. I'm like, okay. That was one of the most difficult jobs. Like, I don't know if people think, like, mascot jobs are easy. I could not see where I was walking. I was sweating buckets. But the kids love. You know, kids love mascots. And so. But I only had to do it for a couple hours, and then the person showed up. But it was fun because it really helped me come out of my shell with being able to speak in public, building relationships, because I spent a couple years of my university years working in that department. I was at volleyball games, introducing fans in the crowd, asking them a question. I. I was inviting fans to be part of, like, pre game or middle of the game promotions. It was a lot of fun doing that and being part of that marketing team.
- [39:21]
B
There's something funny about coming out of your shell and going into a gopher costume. Not sure.
- [39:28]
A
It was only one time.
- [39:30]
B
I hope you get a picture. That's the kind of picture I'd want in my house if I'd ever worn.
- [39:34]
A
Should have gotten a picture.
- [39:36]
B
Not that anybody would know you were inside there, but I guess you could. Yeah. Wow. That's.
- [39:41]
A
And then I also had a sports job with the Big Ten Pro. It was at the time, it was the Big Ten. Oh, men's in men's and women's internship program. And so I. It was my junior year. No, junior slash senior year. I was able to rotate through different areas of the athletic department. So I was in, like, sports information marketing. Oh, gosh. I can't remember what their foundation. I can't remember their words for their foundation, but basically the. The giving arm of the university as it related to sports and was able to learn the various areas of that at a broader scale than. As opposed just to marketing with the women's athletic department. So that really set me up with experience with, you know, to have experiences with the Twins. And Nike was more. More corporate. So leading back to your question, when I got back from. To school my senior year, Nike did not have a position I was interested in that I thought, okay, after college, I could easily navigate into this position. But the Minnesota Twins created a job for me, I was shocked. They were like, we want you to be part of our team. We know you're graduating from college. Two of our vice presidents sat me down and said, we're creating a marketing coordinator position and we want you to take on the role. Oh, the, the front office staff at the Twins were like my family. And it was like, if I could take any job besides Nike, like, I would want to be at the Twins, but there was not a position. And then they created this job for me and I'm like, yes, I'll take it, I'll take it. And so that's how I navigated to work for the Minnesota Twins for a year before I moved to Nike for my longer 18 year career.
- [41:30]
B
Wow. Yeah. Again, for people who are big sports fans and in school, these are dream jobs. This is what a lot of people strive for and they're so hard to find. And you found a couple that were really, really special. So I know that Nike was special to you, but you were in already this kind of early postgraduate dream job. How did you decide to leave? Why leave? Why go to the other. And so far away really, from both school and from family at this point?
- [42:00]
A
Point, yeah. There were a couple factors, Jay. One, I don't. Do you follow baseball?
- [42:09]
B
A little.
- [42:10]
A
A little. So I. It was in the news that back in 2001, 2002, time frame, major League Baseball was going to eliminate a couple of teams from the league. And the Minnesota Twins received notification that we might be one of them. So here I am, just recently graduated from college and I made this decision to join this team and I might be out of a job within less than a year. I mean, it got to the point where we were told to halt all operations. So we were all showing up to work every day, but we weren't able to do any of the work that we were hired to do. And that lasted for just over a month. During that time, I use my networking back at Nike to be like, hey, let me know if there's any jobs that come up. I might be, you know, I might be interested sooner than later. And I had this great contact who he, his name was Sam and he managed the Native American business for Nike that had just started in 2000, the year before I graduated. And I had met Sam was at Nike and was an intern and he was one of the main contacts I had there. Well, he had an extensive network at Nike and was able to find an opportunity for me through, I guess it was hosted by Nike's operations and information technology. Because the two co sponsors of my position and one other individual's position was, was two vice presidents from IT and from operations. And so I was offered an opportunity to fly to Nike and interview for this position. It was a, it was called the Rotational Management Training Program. And I was, would have the opportunity to spend six months in operations, six months in IT and six months in an area of my choice, which for me it was marketing. That was kind of like the, the emphasis that I had with my degree. Yeah. So I flew. It was interesting. So at, in baseball it's called a home stand. So when you have a home stand there's like back to back multiple games. So we had a 13 game homestand and we were just kicking it off and I told my boss, I need a couple days off. I need Monday and Tuesday. I didn't tell him why and I'll be back. He, he was okay with it. I had people that could take over the promotions that I was working on for those game days. And so I flew out to Nike. They picked me up at the airport, took me to my hotel the next day. I did five interviews in one day. Four of them were with the VPs that were helping sponsor the program. One was with HR and then within two days they offered me the position.
- [44:55]
B
Yeah. And that led to, as you said, quite a long term with Nike. And I know that a big part of the transition here, maybe to your current role, which we're going to talk about in a second, was this whole N7 program. Can you talk about that? What, how did you become involved? What was it and why was it important for you to be involved in that?
- [45:18]
A
Yeah. And so thinking about that position I just mentioned, like when I arrived at Nike and decided I was going to take that position, I, you know, I, like I mentioned I knew Sam. I knew Sam, started up this new kind of business unit within Nike that was assisting Native American communities in the area of health prevention and disease promotion or health promotion and disease prevention. Working with Indian Health Service like he had, he had built something from nothing internally, you know, at a corporate, at such a large corporate organization that offered access to tribal communities, reduced rate Nike products for their programs. And we started with, he started with diabetes programs around the country. And he was the, he was like a one man show at the time. He didn't have help. So I volunteered my time. You know, I was doing my regular rotation job, but always assisted, tried to assist Sam. Like, hey, what can I volunteer with? What can I help you with? Just always letting him know Like, I was passionate about the work he was doing for Nike and our native communities. Well, fast forward, let's see, 2001, I started, and then fast forward five, six years still at Nike. I had taken a position with the operations team in procurement. Now that probably you're thinking that doesn't even align with, like, what your goals were. But my goal was, what position can I take at Nike to stay here so that I could eventually work with Sam and Nike. N7. And so in 2000, I was believe it was six or seven. Nike created shoes specifically for the native foot. It was called the Nike Air Native.
- [47:05]
B
How did that come about?
- [47:07]
A
Yeah, so the work that Sam was doing from 2000 to like 2006, a lot of the feedback was, I want to walk, I want to be healthy, but I can't fit the shoes. I can't fit. Nike shoes I can't fit. They would list a number of brand names.
- [47:23]
B
Yeah.
- [47:23]
A
So there was a team that, at Nike that were footwear designers that stepped forward to say, I will take this on as an extra project and work with Sam to go to different Native American health organization conferences and use the technology to scan people's feet, the Native American people's feet, to figure out is it true what they're saying is that the shoes just aren't fitting them. And it was true that the Native American foot of the studies they did is wider than what Nike would call their wide shoes.
- [48:00]
B
Wow, this is, this is really fascinating. I've never heard this, this story before, but it also has some other resonance, which is. I didn't ask you if you're willing to share your, your name.
- [48:12]
A
Oh, sorry. I'm Jackie Blackbird.
- [48:15]
B
Right. No. But you also have a name within the nation.
- [48:20]
A
Yes, I do. And it, I was given it by one of our late spiritual leaders. And it's Walking Woman. And in our language, it's Itha Gabith. That.
- [48:30]
B
And so, I mean, I just, I finally made the mental connection between Walking Woman and, and what we're talking about. And I, I know that there's. That that's just a coincidence, but it's a pretty amazing coincidence because I had never heard anything about this. And I don't know if other communities have also said this product is not for me in this way, but then had a company and the people at the company decide we're going to do something about it, and we're going to do it by actually consulting the people for whom this product is being designed.
- [49:03]
A
So this had been done before.
- [49:04]
B
No, that's really remarkable. So, okay, so then the shoe is made, I assume, and distributed. But you've got a community where some people have resources and other people don't. So I don't know if that was a part of the strategy to get these shoes on, to actually onto people's feet, some of whom could buy a whole bunch and some of whom couldn't buy any. But. But what was the strategy for making sure that not only the shoes were made for folks, but the folks could get the shoes?
- [49:33]
A
Sure, that's a great question. So the shoe was created, it was distributed and only available to tribal communities. Right. They could only purchase it through an online retail, a retailer. They were able to use a retailer web portal to purchase the shoe. So what Nike also decided to do, and this is where, you know, my, I guess, increased passion for the give back and the philanthropy piece of work came in. After all the expenditures were paid of creating that shoe, marketing it and selling it to the communities, 100% of the proceeds went back into a fund and it was called the Nike N7 fund. That gave back to communities for, like you mentioned, walking programs, but also for kids in sport. For sport, physical activity and movement. And that to me, I was like, oh my gosh, like, how do I. And I was always in Sam's ear, how do I work for you? Like, how do we get more resources? Well, my opportunity came in 2008, I believe. There was a lot of calls, a lot of press around the shoot shoe that was created, only offered in the United States. Now we talked about the border, right? The Canadian border. A lot of communities don't see that as a border. Right. So they're asking, why does the US Indigenous slash tribal communities get access to that shoe and we don't? And so a PR executive at Nike Canada was getting all these calls and she called Sam up and she's like, what is this shoe and what is going on? We're getting all these calls from these different reserves in Canada and they want access to the shoe. Well, that helped helped get a position. A part time. Well, I guess it went part time. I was full time in what we called like a. A stretch assignment at Nike for five months. I moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to work at Nike Canada to do the research to see if was it truly true that the First Nations Inuit and Metis communities wanted access to this shoe internally? Could I build a business model to make it work? And also how could we give back dollars through the N7 fund to these communities across Canada? Well, after five months, studies shoot the studies I did showed that definitely there is a need. And I was hired to live in Canada for four years and run the N7 program and N7 fund for the country.
- [52:08]
B
And this is probably under a Nike Canada. Nike Canada because so monies derived from the sales of the shoes would have been retained in Canada in order to be redistributed in Canada. This is so where the border may not be very significant for the people. It's very significant for the corporate structure. Oh, yes. So, yeah, this is really interesting. And it's also a way that a company can do good in different countries and all those values are aligned, but they also work not just on the balance sheet, but with the attorneys. Really fascinating. So you did this work. You're getting the shoes again to people who want shoes. Make it more human for us. So what was it like talking to some of these people who maybe never been consulted by one of these companies before, and you're talking to them for the first time. I know this is really going to resonate for people who are following the way it's been for indigenous communities in Canada.
- [53:09]
A
Well, you know, Jay, we can go back to the trust factor, right? The. The fact that a lot of our communities do not trust, you know, governments, corporate entities. So that was a lot of the work that I had to do. I had to do the groundwork in building relationships. I mean, there were times I was cold calling, like, a reserve in Canada, and they're like, wait, you're from where? And they would always say, what store do you work at? Because they couldn't, like, conceive that I was calling from, like, a headquarters. Like, it was just like, tell me what store you work at. And so there were times that people would just hang up on me. They thought it was a prank call. So they would just, like, hang up. And I'm like, okay, maybe I'll call them back later. Maybe I'll get someone else. But not only that, when you think about our tribal communities, a lot of what needs to take place in community has to get the blessing of the leaders, the tribal government. And so oftentimes I needed to go in front of their tribal council and present, this is what Nike N7 is. This is what the N7 fund is. This is Nike's intention. And it's all in the spirit of, you know, health promotion and disease prevention. It existed in the US and we want to bring this program to your people. I remember how nervous I was, Jay. One of the largest reserves in Canada, the Six Nations Reserve, which is Part of the Iroquois Confederacy. I was invited to their tribal council. And it wasn't just their council. It was like, like all of these people in this huge room and they called me up and I had to present my case. I felt like I was in like court. And they made the decision after that meeting that yes, their recreation department and their youth programs could work with Nike, sign up for that account that we talked about to be able to access those air Native shoes. But also other items like socks or T shirts or things there were other items they could purchase for promotional items in their community.
- [55:16]
B
What was the biggest thing that you learned from that experience?
- [55:24]
A
I would say the biggest thing that I learned is that the power of like collective thinking and the power of the collective work can truly bring that positive. Positive because it was positive for the people, the positive programs and the positive efforts to the indigenous people. Because if you think about it like for me internally, I was a person approaching Nike Canada sales, the warehouse, and they're like, who are you and why are you here? Luckily for me, you know, we had the blessing from the general manager of Nike Canada to help start that conversation. But it was up to me to build the relationships and really share about the importance of it. But not only that, like building those relationships across the country in Canada. And one of my key moments that I was proud of is they have a organization called the assembly of First Nations. And it, it's. It's a governmental entity that oversees all of the different reserves. They have leaders that are part of it. I was able to get the national chief that led all of it to sign a memorandum of understanding with Nike to have Nike N7 recognized by these chiefs across the country. That we were doing a good thing, that what we were doing was meaningful, that what Nike wanted to do was to help the people. And so we flew our general manager from the US of all of N7, Sam. He came up and signed that MOU at one of their meetings. But that wouldn't have happened if that relationship building wasn't there, right? That trust, trust based relationships, that wouldn't have happened. And that took me three years to make that happen. That didn't happen overnight.
- [57:20]
B
I know that's not the only thing you did there, but I know that it's just a piece of what took you to where you are. So after you did all that work, and I know that you were, I guess Global Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager, I think was your final, your title there. But then you went on and did work with Island Mountain Development Group. So Is that along the lines of a community foundation, first of all? And what, what. Tell me, tell me what that is, how you chose that and how that acted as a bridge then to this work that you do today.
- [57:52]
A
Sure. Well, Jay, one of the things that I wanted to do was to. Was to navigate home to help take care of my mother. So my mother was fighting cancer, and so it was figuring out how to find an opportunity closer to home. Well, I'd always heard about Island Mountain Development Group, which is the. It's like, the. How would I say it? I'm trying to think of the words. They call it, like planning. Oh, planning and development within the tribe arm of the Fort Belknap Indian community. Well, I had known them as generating funds to give back to community. And, and I didn't know a lot about it. I know we had a call center and the call center took calls and helped make loans for certain companies. So I'm like, wait, where does this even fit in with what I'd like to do? Well, I think it, for me, what was exciting is talking to at the time to the CEO and president is he said, we want you to come back, we want you to use your business skills that you gained over the time you were at Nike and share that with our people. Like, what area do you think is important? And so when I was in diversity, inclusion, and also throughout my career at Nike, I was involved in an employee resource group called the Native American Network. Through that, we always worked on like, talent development and training, right, Helping individuals try to better their skills so they can advance in the organization. So that was always kind of like a side interest to me because at the end of the day for me, it did align with my passion to like, help, help Native people, right, become better than they are today by gaining more skills or, or maybe they get a higher paying job, right, that's better for their family. So when I navigated to Island Mountain, I told them that I wanted to be in talent and development, that I had some experience and background around offering access to training and development. So they created a job for me and I was the director of talent management. And I was able to create programs, a mentorship program for new employees. I was able to create like, access to online tool. LinkedIn. Learning is a big one that we used. And then I helped the call center figure out what, how could they better train the new staff that they have coming in, really reducing that lead time, time of training those individuals. And then through that work, they knew that I had some background in Grant giving. They knew I had some background in the philanthropy space. And I, myself, and one other individual at Island Mountain was tasked to create a foundation for our community that would be funded by Island Mountain Development Group. And we called it the Aani Nakota Community foundation, which still exists today, and I am still on the board. And that, you know, is to help elders and youth and veterans in the community around any of those needs that they have, you know, that they request for a lot of the kids. It's sports, it's, you know, scholarships, things like that. And the elders, you know, do they need firewood during the winter time? Do they need a little bit of extra help, you know, around their house? What could that look like? So the foundation was created as, like, almost like a pass between Island Mountain and the community. And so that I thought was awesome because I got to do the talent development piece, but also the foundation piece. And that was all before I found the position posted, actually in a online group about Newman's Own foundation.
- [61:28]
B
And before you go on to that, because I do want to talk with you about Newman's Own and the work you're doing today. But I have to ask you about the town that you left and then the town you returned to when you went back to Hays to work at Inter Mountain. Island Mountain.
- [61:42]
A
Island Mountain.
- [61:44]
B
How had it changed, if at all?
- [61:49]
A
There really wasn't. If I think about it, there really wasn't a lot of change. If there was change, you know, it's sad to say, is that. That, you know, a lot more drugs are being sold in our communities and a lot more of our younger people, drugs and alcohol are being used. And I. And that was. That was shocking to me because when I was younger, you know, we didn't hear about that a lot. Sure, you know, one of my parents had an addiction issue, but we still didn't hear, like, as a whole, of how, you know, how difficult it was for the young people to navigate that. Not only that, you know, the suicide epidemic. I mean, gosh, when I got back, there was, like, at one point, three suicides in one week.
- [62:42]
B
Wow.
- [62:43]
A
So when you ask if much change had happened, I guess in the space of improvement in community, there's definitely more jobs available because of Island Mountain Development Group, but there was still. There's still a lot more of our people that are still in their trauma, and that hasn't changed very much.
- [63:07]
B
And you were the same person. But I'm sure you had changed significantly, too, because you had had all this experience across the country doing all these Things and in Canada, at a minimum, maybe other places as well. So. So it must have been both gratifying to be able to build an entity that could provide assistance to the community, but also it must have been heart wrenching to see some of these things occurring in equal time and you're working your heart out and then these things are still there. So what did you imagine when you saw that next opportunity with Newman's Own that you could do not just for, of course, for Hays, but across the country? Because I know that you weren't just focusing on home when you were at Nike, but you had seen these issues writ large Canada across the U.S. what do you imagine might be possible working with them, especially with Indigenous communities?
- [64:08]
A
Well, when I was at Nike and I managed the N7 fund for a number of years, a lot of the communities asked for assistance to buy food for their kids that come to their programming because a lot of the. The children came to the programming hungry. Well, with. Oftentimes, with granting, there's. Sometimes there are parameters, right? There's there. Some of them are restricted grants for Nike's money. It. It was restricted to items that were direct, directly related to the program, whether it be soccer program, basketball program, and it did include food. So we would have to tell them, unfortunately, you can't use the funds to purchase snacks, if you will, for your basketball program. So I always knew, and in, you know, even further back in my own community and growing up, knowing how insecure we were about food and the limited access, I still saw that play played out. You know, when I traveled around the country, even in Canada, they would ask the same question with the N7 fund is, hey, can we buy food with this? Can we buy food to distribute to these children? And so having said that piece of it, but also coming back home and realizing that there's still a need in the town of Hays or at our agency for access to healthy foods. When I saw the job position for Newman's Own foundation for an Indigenous Communities Officer and I read the description, I'm like, oh, wow, this is. This position is about figuring out how to get dollars into the indigenous communities for more access to healthy foods. Right? Access to healthy foods, but maybe even education. That's the other. That's the other piece I saw in it. And so my hope, you know, my hope when I first took this position is that, oh, wow, this is almost like taking me full circle from when I left home and knew that there were areas that I wanted to help in. And food was always a big one. For. For our family and a lot of communities that. Now, here's a position that I could apply for that supports indigenous communities across the country. Should they apply for a grant to have access to dollars to be able to in. In. In part purchase food, but also teach kids about food? Like, we have one of these awesome programs in South Dakota where they do buffalo harvests, but they also purchase buffalo meat that the kids learn about, but they also take home. Right? They can take home, and their parents can cook that for them. So that's what I'll share about that piece of, like, navigating into this role with Newman's Own.
- [66:56]
B
Yeah, You must have been really looking forward to it. But then the size and scope of this thing that you're trying to address, even with the generosity of Newman's Own, must sometimes weigh on you. But I know you have very practical programs to address it. So one, I think, is the Indigenous Tomorrows Fund. Can you talk about that?
- [67:19]
A
Sure. Yeah. We at Newman's Own and with some of the individuals that we came up with the idea of figuring out, you know, how. How can we provide an opportunity for Indigenous youth to have a stronger voice and give them more agency around what philanthropy can do for their communities? You know, how can we include them in the process? Like, what could that look like? But not only that, some of them are already doing great work. How do we amplify their voices in the great work that they're doing around food justice, around food sovereignty, around health and well being? So initially, we're like, what could that look like? You know, thinking about those elements, but also thinking in the back of our minds, like, how do we create that philanthropic pipeline where more dollars are funneled into indigenous communities informed by our Indigenous youth, right through this Indigenous Tomorrows Fund. So when we kicked off the project, we initially thought, we need a partner, right? We need a partner that's in the work, that is highly knowledgeable of the community so that we're not missing anything. Right. Because at Newman's Own foundation, even with my lived experience, my background, we don't claim to know everything. So we wanted to bring more people on. Like, let's partner with the Native Americans in philanthropy. They have an extensive network across the country in community, but also with foundations. So how could we bring them in to help us manage what we're thinking? Like, this massive goal of how do we get up to $50 million over five years into the communities around the food space, health and wellness, and any other priorities these funders had? And so the fund launched last year and 2025 with a pilot year with Newman's Own committing a half a million dollars, as well as Novo Nordisk came in at a half a million. Their corporate responsibility arm based in New Jersey said, hey, they're doing some work in tribal communities. We want to help, we want to help you kick this program off. And so they came in as a partner and we were able to give some grants and NAP was able to build out that part participatory grant making model with these indigenous youth that some of them had the background from previous programs that they participated in, but others, it was something new for them to get involved in, to help share their knowledge of community.
- [69:54]
B
What must it be like for you to be working with these young folks, probably many, but not all on reservations, but with the distinct communities across the country, but giving them a chance to weigh in on which programs would be supported, how they would be supported and to what degree, because the pot of money, even if you're working towards 50 million, I know you're not there yet. You just described a million dollars. So what was it like to identify those kids, if you will, but then to make them a whole part of really owning the future of this program that affects them so, so directly?
- [70:34]
A
Yeah. So the another reason why we chose the Native Americans and philanthropy as a partner, they had an existing program called, that they partnered with the Common Council on was the Native youth grant makers. So they already had some knowledge on hand of bringing youth along in providing grants. And so that definitely was an asset. We were like, yes, we'll do that. But when NAP started recruiting these young people, yes, it definitely felt, I think it felt awesome because oftentimes youth are not at the table right. When these large decisions are made about dollars that go into their communities. Right. What is their perspective around health and well being in their community? What are we missing? And so, you know, selecting and knowing about these individuals that were to be part of the process, it was gratifying to know that there's so many that are passionate about the work as well. And our hope would be not only do they help instill knowledge into this participatory grant making model, but also like maybe a few of them will be interested in working in the philanthropy space because we don't have a lot of Native American program officers or board members or those working in philanthropy because this also gives them insight into what that could look like and what could that look like for a career as they think about their education. You know, Newman's own foundation is unique in the fact that they have a position specifically for the Native communities, nobody else does. People are always asking how did, how does this happen? Or how did it happen? And, and, and this is so cool. And, and tell me more about your job. And I found that a lot in moving into my third year in this position.
- [72:26]
B
Are other foundations and others starting to take up the baton too? Are they recognizing the value of this and seeing all these young folks who might want to move into this world of philanthropy and finding a way to bring them in at least as interns or junior staff and thinking about setting up positions like your, your role.
- [72:46]
A
Sorry, Jay, someone was at my door. Can you repeat the first part of that question?
- [72:51]
B
Sure. I'm just wondering if this has also inspired other foundations to at least start considering having roles like yours and maybe recruiting some of these young people that you were mentioning. They're eager and experienced already and what the language of philanthropy is and want to be involved.
- [73:11]
A
Yeah, I mean, I guess my hope is that we have inspired some, some foundations. I haven't, I don't have any specific in mind other than some like Native run foundations, the larger foundations like say a Ford foundation or a Robert Wood Johnson foundation, that I don't really have like the knowledge of that yet. But the Indian Collective is a Native nonprofit that definitely uses youth voices. It's not a foundation, but they are a regranter. So that piece of it gives insight, you know, gives youth insight into what that could look like at a larger foundation.
- [73:52]
B
Now we're, you're, as you said, two and a half years going on, three years into this. You also, I know, have a better grasp of these numbers than I do, but I understand that only about 1% of the funding across the entire philanthropic landscape is going to Native projects, Native peoples in the country. So if that, assuming that's true, what do you imagine for the future? What gives you that kind of energy and juice every day as you imagine what's possible?
- [74:29]
A
Yeah, it's true. I think it is like under 1% still the give back to indigenous and tribal communities in that philanthropic space. But I guess what inspires me about the future around this giving piece is well known foundations like a Newman's Own foundation, putting resources towards the Indigenous community specifically definitely gives me hope. I mean I am the person in this position, but it inspires others. Not only that, but having conversations, being able to bring people together for these people with foundations that are at foundations that are, aren't indigenous people but are interested in supporting the indigenous work like we started last Year having these informal roundtables with a number of program officers that are interested in working in indigenous communities. And I think it was. It's more about like, how are we educating each other as a collaborative. Right. Coming together, you know, as. As I said, as a collective. So that's definitely inspiring. I think it's. The other thing that inspires me is you start to see more individuals like a Mackenzie Scott that find importance in giving back to our communities. And she gave significant amounts of dollars to our tribal colleges. I know she supported the American Indian College Fund as well, knowing that individuals like her are interested in funding and understanding that our people are able to manage dollars that flow into the communities like that. Because I think when I was at Nike, a lot of what we heard from research that we were doing when we were trying to do a collective impact project is, well, you know, we did donate to this one tribal community, but we never got the grant reports or it was, or they were always delayed or. So what I heard through that is that a lot of our communities didn't have that capacity at that time to be able to take on those funds. What is comforting to me is knowing that there are so many more communities as well as native run nonprofits that have those skill sets now to be able to understand, you know, how to manage an organization. What does that look like with grant funding for their communities and the areas, the areas that are important to them in health and wellness, suicide prevention, mental health awareness. And then also, I don't know if you've heard of Decolonizing the Decolonizing Wealth. Yep. Edgar Villanueva. So I knew Edgar from God. I've known him for a while, but we were on the Native Americans and Philanthropy board together and he was just talking about the book he was going to write and that he might create his own foundation, but he wasn't sure. That too inspires me that people have responded to his book so well. Right. People are listening. People that are non native, you know, in spaces of influence are, are contributing to the cause, whether it be through decolonizing wealth or other areas. And so that's what I would say about kind of what's to come and what inspires me. And I'm excited about.
- [78:10]
B
Well, that's it for this episode of the PM Podcast. You can learn more about Jackie's work through Newman's own foundation@newmanzone.org Our thanks to our sponsor, Evertrue, the global leader in donor engagement and fundraising intelligence, helping nonprofits find, engage and inspire their supporters. Our producers, Jack Frost and our theme music as Moving Out, Moving in by Jay Taylor, courtesy of Epidemic Sound. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to subscribe and check out our sister shows, Front Lines of Social Good and How to Raise all part of the Philanthropy Mastermind series. Until next time, I'm Jay Frost. Thanks for joining me.