The Future is Indigenous Women by Sara Shawanokasic

THE FUTURE IS INDIGENOUS WOMeN

BY SARA SHAWANOKASIC - MENOMINEE NATION, AIGCS ALUMNA

Native women are the centering force in their communities, which is why Native Women Lead (NWL) and New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC) joined forces to create The Future is Indigenous Women Initiative for The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge — and they won $10M.

The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge is hosted by Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates investment and incubation company, with additional support provided by MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies in partnership with Lever for Change.

NWL and NMCC collaborated to develop a proposal, which seeks to the United States by 2030. Not only are Native women breadwinners, they carry culture, language, families, communities and sometimes their Tribes to THRIVE. Unfortunately, Native women entrepreneurs currently do not enjoy equitable access to capital, business development resources, financial capability or career opportunities. “Native Women Lead’s mission is to revolutionize systems and inspire innovation by investing in Native women in business. We do this by co-creating with and convening our community to build a coalition, while honoring our culture, creativity and connections,” said Alicia Ortega, (Pueblos of Pojoaque and Santa Clara) American Indian Graduate Center Alumna, co-founder and co-director of NWL, as part of The Equity Can’t Wait Challenge video.

The work of NWL, coupled with NMCC’s dedication to growing sustainable Native economies through culturally appropriate tools for success to emerging Native-owned companies, families and Tribal enterprises is a recipe for meaningful change. Through their collaboration, the coalition will deliver a culturally relevant solution to the gender and racial wealth gap, scaling impactful businesses owned by Native women to create a waterway of investable companies. Their growth will increase power and influence within their families and unlock potential for wealth creation through community employment opportunities.

Additionally, the organizations will assess the national investment landscape through an Indigenous lens. These activities will engage investors to remove systemic blocks Indigenous people face. This effort is about catalyzing the investability and economic liberation of Indigenous women while co-creating non-harmful investment mechanisms.

“We will focus our solution on dismantling the barriers that hold Indigenous women back, and we’ll actively engage to redefine economics and economic justice that addresses the deep system traumas that Indigenous people have faced,” added Liz Gamboa (Mexican & Apache), Executive Director of NMCC in the video. “No one program exists that addresses the needs to support Indigenous women in business.”

From 1997 to 2017, the number of businesses owned by Native women grew 87% faster than the number of businesses owned by women as a whole. As of 2017, Native American and Alaska Natives owned 1.4 percent of all women-owned businesses, employing 61,300 workers and generating $11B in revenue. Yet, Native women continue to face steep pay inequities in the workplace and do not enjoy equitable access to capital, business development resources, financial capability or financial career pathways. “The cumulative harmful effects of Native women not having access to capital to fully realize their business potential has long been deserving of more than a band-aid approach and this type of investment will be revolutionary in our space,” added Jaime Gloshay (Navajo, White Mountain Apache & Kiowa), co-founder and codirector of Native Women Lead.

To address these inequities, the coalition has built a three-pronged strategy to empower Native women entrepreneurs: Community Table Building will provide peer network activities, workshops, training events, fireside chats, presentations and annual business and wealth summits. A Circle of Support will deliver culturally aligned business readiness and digital media training, as well as provide no charge access to women of color and Indigenous mentors, coaches and consultants. Lastly, the Indigenous Women’s Fund will launch an integrated capital strategy that blends grant and character-based loan products that provide scalable and equitable capital to entrepreneurs.

“We can’t wait to get started, co-create with our community and link arms with partners who are committed to the larger rematriation movement,” said Gloshay.