The Taos Pueblo Foundation is the strategic philanthropic partner of Taos Pueblo.
We work to catalyze long-term investment at scale to support the Pueblo’s being a model of how communities worldwide can live prosperously in harmony with their neighbors and with nature – in unbroken continuity with the past and in service to those yet to come.
Explore our strategyAs the Taos Pueblo Foundation enters its second decade of operations, we are operating with a clear strategy for supporting Taos Pueblo to be a model of health, well-being and opportunity grounded firmly in its people’s cultural continuity and groundbreaking leadership on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In doing this, we take inspiration from Taos Pueblo’s leadership in advancing the sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, and we bring Taos Pueblo Foundation into the global movement to have the resources of philanthropy be guided directly by the communities in which it is and ought to be invested. Recognizing that Taos Pueblo has been a model for Indigenous Nations and Peoples to continually defend and advance their self-determination in opposition to forces of political and economic oppression, the Taos Pueblo Foundation sees the need and opportunity for advancing self-determination in relation to global philanthropy in particular and in the global economy broadly.
Today, the Taos Pueblo Foundation is evolving into a truly forward-looking philanthropic champion for Taos Pueblo and its people. Today, we work to develop partnerships with philanthropic and impact investors to catalyze social investment at scale to advance systems change interventions and build the economic, cultural and civic institutions that support Taos Pueblo to be a model of health, well-being and opportunity that honors our history, conserves our culture and carries us forward for all generations to come.
In doing this, we are intentionally moving away from the outdated models of previous eras of philanthropy – in which larger foundations identify priorities for and direct the uses of philanthropic resources in distant and diverse communities, and place-based foundations replicate this behavior locally with a focus on redistributing charitable amounts of resources in ways that do little to systematically improve peoples’ lives.
Of course, the Taos Pueblo Foundation is not unique in recognizing this need and opportunity, but is joining global movements to decolonize and #ShiftThePower of global philanthropy. However, we see the clear need and opportunity for the Taos Pueblo Foundation to intentionally and boldly evolve to be a model of sovereign philanthropy – working alongside other champions worldwide to put the resources of global philanthropy into the hands of communities in which it ought to be invested, like Taos Pueblo – for all of these communities, including ours, to determine ourselves the highest priorities for our development.
Our generations ahead will inherit a world shaped by the decisions we make now. We are developing the Taos Pueblo Foundation in this direction for them.
Taos Pueblo is recognized worldwide for its culture and governance that its people have sustained without interruption for millennia, which has been core to its leadership on the rights of indigenous peoples.
This recognition was formalized in 1992, when Taos Pueblo became the first UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized not only for its physical uniqueness but also for the continuity of its cultural, ceremonial and governance traditions.
The Taos Pueblo people have also been leaders on indigenous rights the world over, going back to the Pueblo’s resistance to Spanish colonialism, including playing critical roles in two expulsions of the Spanish from the ancestral homelands of the Pueblo peoples. Centuries later, after these lands were incorporated by the United States and the national government sought to impose conditions on Indigenous Nations’ sovereign governance, Taos Pueblo resisted, forcing the national government to retreat from its efforts not just related to Taos Pueblo but to all Tribal Nations within the territories of the United States. Taos Pueblo’s model of protecting its sovereignty has served as inspiration to other Tribal Nations within the United States for centuries, from colonialism to the present day.
This leadership, however, also extends far beyond the United States. Over half a century ago, Taos Pueblo was the first Tribal Nation within the United States to recover land of which it had been previously dispossessed by the United States – the restoration of Blue Lake – which quickly became an inspiration for Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Even further, with its 2010 negotiated settlement of water rights directly with the United States government, Taos Pueblo also became a model for Indigenous peoples throughout the world to be recognized as co-equal authorities in natural resource governance alongside other nations.
We define our vision in terms of holistic health, a concept that has been central to the Taos Pueblo people since before it was a concept of the modern world. The Taos Pueblo people do not see a separation of the health of the individual, the community, our culture, our creativity and the larger living world of which we are part. Translated into our mission, we work to support the Taos Pueblo people to have the greatest personal, social, cultural, economic and environmental health possible. In doing this, we recognize, as Taos Pueblo always has, that the health, well-being and opportunity of the Taos Pueblo people are not separable from those of its neighbors. As such, we envision a Taos Pueblo that is a leader in building healthy communities not just for our people but for our neighbors as well with whom we share our existence.
a world-class regional health care facility developed and led by the people of Taos Pueblo, offering the highest quality of health support to our own people and offering to Taos Pueblo children the inspiration and opportunity to become medical professionals who can provide care to their own people.
a modern, high-quality, accessible community recreation complex that offers space for cultural activities, casual socialization, play and other shared activity to be woven into the daily lives of Taos Pueblo children, youth and elders, along with friends, family and neighbors.
one of the greatest museums of Indigenous Peoples in the world at Taos Pueblo, allowing us to preserve and tell our own history, supporting our conservation of our unique living culture, and ensuring that we can help visitors to Taos Pueblo understand our welcoming them as guests into our home.
a diverse, dynamic Taos Pueblo economy, with high-quality physical, financial and educational infrastructure to support strong Taos Pueblo-based businesses and entrepreneurs that both serve local needs and sustain traditional livelihoods, from agriculture to adobe construction, and create new ventures that generate employment opportunities and new sources of income and wealth for the community.
a Taos Pueblo center for research and study of sustainability, developing knowledge and resources to support all persons’ access to environmental health and sustainability, inspired by our relationship with the land and other beings – one of co-existence and belonging that informs all of our decisions – and offering to our people and those of neighboring communities opportunities to become leaders in environmental health and sustainabiliity.
We are looking for partners who understand that the most significant investments are the ones that outlast the people who made them.
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