2022 impact report

SINCE 2012, OUR MISSION IN ACTION:

We've been busy over the years! What follows is a very partial list of what it looks like when YOUR support helps us to bring our Mission to life:

Bringing hundreds of people together, of varying ages, cultures and socio-economic status to learn about one another and be in service to the Native communities within which we work.

Regularly convening young people across lines of difference to work, play and develop lasting relationships.

Planting and providing ongoing support for over 25 gardens on the Navajo, Hopi and Pine Ridge reservations.

Riding 1000's of miles on horseback in service of raising awareness about the communities we serve.

Partnering with local community cleanup organizations in the ancient Hopi village of Walpi in Arizona.

​Providing multiple, ongoing, wage-earning opportunities for Tribal members.

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Distributing monthly donations of food and needed supplies.

​Providing roof and flooring repairs on the 17th century homes of Hopi elders.

Transporting Bison to their homelands to be managed by a Lakota family.
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Repairing and winterizing hundreds of homes on Pine Ridge.

Building a shed to shelter sheep on whom a community relies for cultural and physical nourishment on the Navajo Nation.

Providing volunteer and horse support for Pine Ridge search and rescue.

Running a year-round firewood bank on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Supporting the efforts of multiple Indigenous organizations across the Denver metro area.

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your support is deeply appreciated!

The Four Pillars of Our Mission:

Alleviating Conditions of Poverty:

The roots of the socioeconomic challenges faced by the communities we serve are complex: Ongoing injustices and inequities stemming from a history of colonization, genocide, dispossession and discrimination underlie the conditions of poverty on many reservations throughout the country. At the Tipi Raisers, we collaborate with our Indigenous partners towards the alleviation of these conditions through a variety of initiatives. While there are no simple solutions, we are committed to addressing the immediate needs of the families we serve and to advancing reconciliation through service.
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Our initiatives for alleviating poverty in the communities we work with include providing jobs, internships and skills training as well as operating a year round firewood bank, regular distribution of needed food and hygiene supplies and responding to requests for unique requests such as a wheelchair, funeral support, housing repairs, mattresses and provisions of warmth.

Reconciliation:

​Education, shared experiences and courageous conversations create authentic community between Natives and non-Natives.
This is complex work with no agreed upon definitions. It is wrought with generations of trauma from broken treaties, attempted genocide, overt racism and white guilt. We approach it with humility, curiosity and a deeply held conviction to get it right over time. Mistakes are made, misunderstandings happen. For our volunteers, where is their white privilege showing? For our Indigenous friends, where are assumptions of prejudice or racism? A Lakota elder who speaks to our groups, teaches us that reconciliation is "moving toward our own divinity" and that is where you will find forgiveness. This is the work of reconciliation that we seek to integrate throughout all of our activities.

Indigenous Wisdom:

​At the core of our mission is a commitment to honor and take guidance from sacred Indigenous wisdom. We learn of Hózhó, the concept of the Beauty Way- a way of living in balance with the beauty, harmony and well-being of all life from our Navajo friends, and of Mitakuye Oasin (we are all related) from the Lakota People.

Indigenous wisdom from all corners of the earth teaches us that water is life, the power of the circle, that respecting and learning from ones elders is a sacred duty and that we must tend to the land today so that those who will live on it in seven generations will have a beautiful and thriving Unci Maca (Grandmother Earth). As best we can, we seek to integrate this ancient wisdom through all of our activities, operations and relations.

Gen7 Youth:

Inspired by Crazy Horse's vision, we engage Native and non-Native youth throughout all of our activities and programs, facilitating opportunities for them to bridge cultural gaps, be in service, participate in paid internships and gain the experience necessary to understand - and bring forth - their inherent gifts.

“UPON SUFFERING BEYOND SUFFERING; THE RED NATION SHALL RISE AGAIN AND IT SHALL BE A BLESSING FOR A SICK WORLD. A WORLD FILLED WITH BROKEN PROMISES, SELFISHNESS AND SEPARATIONS. A WORLD LONGING FOR LIGHT AGAIN. I SEE A TIME OF SEVEN GENERATIONS WHEN ALL THE COLORS OF MANKIND WILL GATHER UNDER THE SACRED TREE OF LIFE AND THE WHOLE EARTH WILL BECOME ONE CIRCLE AGAIN. IN THAT DAY THERE WILL BE THOSE AMONG THE LAKOTA WHO WILL CARRY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF UNITY AMONG ALL LIVING THINGS, AND THE YOUNG WHITE ONES WILL COME TO THOSE OF MY PEOPLE AND ASK FOR THIS WISDOM. I SALUTE THE LIGHT WITHIN YOUR EYES WHERE THE WHOLE UNIVERSE DWELLS. FOR WHEN YOU ARE AT THAT CENTER WITHIN YOU AND I AM THAT PLACE WITHIN ME, WE SHALL BE AS ONE"
- Crazy Horse

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"When a society loses the sacred - when everything has a monetary value, the commoditization of human life cannibalizes itself." Basil Brave Heart   

In alignment with this Indigenous wisdom shared by our dear friend - and former Board President - Basil Brave Heart, all Tipi Raiser's events and programs - are FREE. We believe that those who join us in community receive the gift that is inherent in that experience and that they will give back to the best of their ability - in this way, we can all stay in balance. 

The generosity of our partners, through donations and grants, funds our humanitarian aid, service trips, events and Gen7 youth leadership and development program.

The Tipi Raisers is a Community Grounded in the Following Traditional Indigenous Values from the First Nations and Around the World:

​Unangwvaasi (Hopi)- Prayer  •  Ukuhlonipha (Xhosa)- Respect
Karuṇā करुणा (Hindi)- Compassion  •  Doohahooch'íídgóó (Diné) - Honesty
Sukupikunna (Quechua)- Generosity • Wahwala (Lakota)- Humility  •  Tʉsu’a-pʉ (Ute) - Wisdom