TABLE New Mexico’s non-profit profiles are supported by the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Together, we spotlight nonprofit leaders and organizations who are finding inventive ways to do the impossible in the midst of multiple crises. In the months ahead, TABLE will bring you stories of how they are helping our neighbors get access to the opportunities and services they need in the areas of Community Leadership, Education, Early Childhood, and in our Native American, Black, and LGBT+ communities.
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According to the group IndigenousWays, Native Americans and other indigenous peoples make up 10.6% of New Mexico’s population. Their impact has been and is profound and ongoing. For the last 18 years, the Santa Fe-based organization has offered educational, artistic, and musical programs to serve Native peoples and their supporters, as well as initiatives aimed at promoting cultural awareness, values and traditions. The organization, founded in 2007 by Elena Higgins and Tash Terry, fosters cultural exchange, healing, and connection.
Inside IndigenousWays: Arts, Music, and Cultural Programs in Santa Fe
Higgins, who recently completed a Creative West National Arts Futures Fellowship, also serves as Executive Director. A Maori/Samoan artist and musician, Higgins was born and raised in New Zealand. She lived in Australia before relocating to the United States. While attending South By Southwest (SXSW) in 2006 and being invited to visit New Mexico, she was introduced to Terry (Diné), also a musician. The women quickly formed Indigie Femme, a multiple New Mexico Music Award-nominated duo with six released albums.
“We were playing on the Santa Fe Plaza, and many people came up and told us we should form a nonprofit so they could donate to us,” says Higgins. “So we did. As we approach 20 years as an organization, I want to express a bit of gratitude to the community, which is a miracle itself, because of the incredible love and support we receive that allows us to do for the community.”
IndigenousWays is a lean organization with just two employees and a budget of around $300,000. Funds come from individual donations and grants, including a recent Creative West Cultural Sustainability award for small organizations. The board is 66% Indigenous, bolstered by more than 100 volunteers who coordinate the group’s four annual programs.
IndigenousWays 25th Anniversary Festival
The IndigenousWays Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this August. The annual festival is a family friendly evening of Indigenous music, art, and community. Each spring the IndigenousWays Film Festival acts as a gathering of community and storytelling on the big screen.
Monthly online wisdom circles feature artists, musicians, educators and others to share ideas. In September, the inaugural IndigenousWays Red Road Pow Wow at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds replaces the organization’s annual fall festival. The name Red Road refers to the widely used Native American recovery and wellness program phrase that represents a journey away from addiction, colonization, and self-destruction.
“Community is vital at this time, which is why it’s also important for our events to be free, so that no one is left behind.”
Story by Kelly Koepke
Photos by Mariano Frisoli
