Sitka School District & Sitka Native Education Program (Organization)
Sitka, AK
Tlingit Craft
Walking Together will support our program in reaching more students year-round through increasing our personnel capacity.
$50,000
Creative West and the other Fa'alapotopotoga Fa'aitulagi a Amerika (USRAO’s) today announced the grant recipients of Walking Together, a program administered by Mid Atlantic Arts.
Walking Together will support 22 grantees across the West and Pacific as they preserve and celebrate cultural traditions—ranging from Indigenous art and storytelling to traditional dance, drumming and more.
This pilot program awards significant nonmatching grants to traditional artists, practitioners, nonprofits, local and Tribal governments, and community organizations and knowledge keepers that demonstrate a deep commitment to sustaining folklife rooted in communities of color.
“This is an opportunity to address inequities in arts philanthropy, with unrestricted support for caretakers of cultural knowledge rooted in communities of color,” says Ellie Dassler, Program Director of Folk and Traditional Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts. “Investing in traditional artists is investing in the well-being of their communities.”
A total of $3.34 million has been awarded to 96 grantees. Fifty-six organizations will each receive $50,000, while forty individuals will each receive $15,000.
Meet the Creative West Walking Together Grantees
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (Organization)
Pagopago, AS
Samoan Language, Other Traditions
Walking Together support will help our youth with our mental health field days and secure a bigger place to host our activities.
$50,000
Harmony Project Phoenix (Organization)
Phoenix, AZ
Latin American Traditional Music
Walking Together funding will help us transform former students into teaching artists, creating a powerful student-to-teacher pipeline that carries our musical traditions forward for generations.
$50,000
Merced Maldonado (Individual)
Tucson, AZ
Taqui Pascola; Indigenous Ceremonial Dances, Regalia, Knowledge Keeper. Material
Culture
I will use Walking Together funds to expand my teaching offerings and tools my students
will have access to. As well as camping trips to connect to nature.
$15,000
Culture through Cloth (Organization)
Sacramento, CA
Hmong Flower Cloth (Paj Ntaub)
Walking Together support will bolster the visibility of our organization, allowing us to develop a stronger online presence and expand Paj Ntaub Circles to offer new workshops and digital courses to reach out national audience.
$50,000
Jenny Young (Individual)
Castro Valley, CA
Kalinga (Filipino) Traditional Arts; Weaving, Dance, Sing Medicine, Healing, Knowledge
Walking Together funds will enable collaborative projects with other Indigenous Peoples, support an exhibit showcasing work by myself and my apprentices, and permit re-rooting trips for cultural immersion and exchange in my native province known as Kalinga.
$15,000
The Global Food and Drink Initiative (Organization)
Oakland, CA
African Diaspora Foodways
Walking Together funds will be the foundation of launching our project to preserve Black food culture and history globally for the public, education institutions, libraries, museums and more.
$50,000
Stiles African American Heritage Center (Organization)
Denver, CO
Community History of Five Points Black Neighborhood
Walking Together allows us to carry on the vision and legacy of Grace Stiles, who 30 years ago founded the Stiles African American Heritage Center as a cultural pillar of the historically Black neighborhood of Five Points in Denver. We are excited to grow ways we may weave community in the garden and around community tea tables, where we share food prepared with love, stitch together histories as part of quilting circles, inspire each other by honoring the accomplishments of community members, and delve into social contexts through hosting book clubs and signings.
$50,000
Dakota Camacho (Individual)
Barrigada, GU
Matao/CHamoru Ceremony
I will use Walking Together funds for the development of Gi Matan Guma’ tools and programs that will support our work in documenting, creating, and disseminating Matao/CHamoru Indigenous knowledge & arts.
$15,000
Inadahen I Lina’la’ Kotturan CHamoru (Organization)
Hagatna, GU
Pacific Island Craft, Other Traditions
$50,000
Wāhea Foundation (Organization)
Honolulu, HI
Men’s Hula Dance (Hula Kāne)
Walking Together funds will help us create an exhibit called “Ke Kilo Lani”. This exhibit opens a window into Robert Uluwehionapuaikawekiuokalani Cazimero’s extraordinary life’s journey to ensure the continuity of Hawaiian cultural heritage in both traditional and innovative teachings.
$50,000
Danza Azteca Tonatiuh (Organization)
Boise, ID
Mexican Traditional Dances for Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe
Walking Together support will strengthen our ability to preserve and share our traditions through Aztec dance by expanding our outreach, training, and community engagement. It will allow us to deepen cultural education, mentor new dancers, and provide regalia so more families can access and connect with their heritage.
$50,000
CNMI Arts & Culture, Inc. (Organization)
Saipan, MP
Chamorro and Carolinian Traditions
Walking Together will support uniform use and alignment of instructional language delivery to over 5,000 students in our public elementary schools through training of teachers on the new orthography. Walking Together will also give youth the opportunity to share as well as experience the dual CNMI culture through expos and performance.
$50,000
Crow Fair Powwow (Organization)
Crow Indian Reservation, MT
Apsaalooke (Crow) Powwow Traditions
Walking Together support will ease our workload to provide services. It will maintain the rich culture and ensure the arts exist in continuity for generations to come within the Indigenous community.
$50,000
The Center for Social Sustainable Systems (Organization)
Albuquerque, NM
Sustainability of Traditional Acequia Water Systems
Walking Together funding will significantly strengthen CESOSS’s ability to expand our school-based acequia education programs.
$50,000
Warlance Chee (Individual)
Albuquerque, NM
Diné (Navajo) Chanter/Singer, Ceremonial Arts
Walking Together will allow us to continue to provide access to ceremonial healing for our community and continue working with our Diné male relatives on their roles and responsibilities.
$15,000
Tribal Minds (Organization)
Sparks, NV
Powwow Traditions, Community Health, Youth Programs
This support is going to help save our culture, in a time, where we need the most care and
encouragement.
$50,000
Celeste Whitewolf (Individual)
Tigard, OR
Washut Indian Religion of the Plateau Tribes of Eastern Oregon/Washington and Idaho
Ceremonies, Dance
The Walking Together grant will fortify my ability to teach my traditional skills to other
people. I will teach younger people how to use their skills to “pass down” knowledge to
future generations.
$15,000
Community Building Services (Organization)
Aai o Sate Leki, UT
Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese Traditions
Walking Together support will enable Community Building Services to secure a dedicated
dance studio space and strengthen organizational capacity. With these funds, we will create cultural exhibit showcases that highlight our work and foster connections with broader communities. This initiative will promote the sharing of cultural values, expand learning opportunities, and enhance workforce development. Ultimately, it will increase participant engagement and build a stronger, more inclusive community.
$50,000
Global Wisdom Collective (Organization)
Tacoma, WA
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Other Traditional Medicine Systems
Walking Together funding will help GWC strengthen its capacity to better support communities in safeguarding their Indigenous Knowledge Systems and sustaining intergenerational learning and archiving efforts.
$50,000
Hai Hong (Individual)
Bothell, WA
Vietnamese Traditional Music
Walking Together affirms that my 25 years of dedication to preserving Vietnamese traditional music have not been forgotten, and it will empower me to continue and expand this important work, allowing Vietnamese traditional music to reach and inspire more people across America.
$15,000
Wind River Community Alliance (Organization)
Riverton (Wind River Indian Reservation), WY
Wind River Craft
Walking Together funding will empower Indigenous artists of the Wind River Reservation to thrive as cultural bearers and entrepreneurs by expanding authentic opportunities to showcase and sell their work. This support strengthens community resilience by keeping resources on the reservation and sustaining cultural traditions across generations.
$50,000
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