Causes: Civil Rights

Mission:
Our vision is to create a world where diverse Native American cultures and values are lived, protected and respected.
Our mission is to lead the grassroots fight to protect Native American Cultural Sovereignty.
Our goals are to protect sovereignty, preserve culture, educate youth and build capacity.

Direct beneficiaries per year:
The Association serves all of Indian Country and provides about $1 million in programing that is available to 574 federally recognized Native Nations and about 300 other Native Nations, Bands and Communities that have not been acknowledged by the United States.

Geographic areas served: Indian Country.

Programs:
The Association's repatriation and sacred places program:
1.Provides a centralized information hub of expertise and information that provides training and technical assistance on issues of repatriation of Cultural items, Ancestors and burial items domestically and abroad;and on protection of sacred sites and items looted from sites;
2.Develops templates, toolkits and model laws that can be used by Native Nations to support repatriation and sacred site protection;
3.Advocates for stronger laws and policies that support repatriation efforts and protect sacred sites; and
4.Raises awareness and provides educational opportunities about repatriation and sacred site protection.

The Association's Native American children & youth advocacy:
The Association has worked actively in the field of Indian child welfare for more than six decades providing extensive training, developing studies and analysis, and educating Native Nations, federal, state and local governments to protect Native American children and youth. The Association developed studies and advocacy that were the catalyst for the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), and for the new Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations implementing ICWA in 2016.The Association has convened Tribal leaders and juvenile justice experts to explore how Native Nations can benefit from alternatives to youth incarceration. The Association seeks to document and address disparities in the treatment of Native American children and youth by federal and state courts, and uncover improper incentives used to remove Native American children from their Nations for adoption to non-Native families.

Other programs include:
1. Scholarships - The Association is dedicated to supporting the education of Native American and Alaska Native people and offers scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students from federally and non-federally recognized Tribes;
2. Summer camps - The Association also supports youth education by providing grants to Native youth summer camps to develop programming dedicated to health and cultural identity;
3. Legal advocacy - The Association provides testimony, writes Amicus Briefs and releases press statements to protect Native American Cultural Sovereignty; and
4. Public Education - The Association utilizes its membership, coalitions and partners along with their podcast Red Hoop Talk, the website, social media, news publications, speaking engagements and the annual repatriation conference to educate the public about issues in Indian Country, while focusing on the vision to create a world where diverse Native American Cultures and values are lived, protected and respected.