Tribal sovereignty is essential for Native communities to thrive. The Yocha Dehe Community Fund supports organizations that allow tribes to exercise their inherent right to maintain distinct identity, traditions, law and human rights.
The broader public is generally unaware of the issues surrounding Native rights and sovereignty. The fund will continue to support ways to educate people on the history, situation and importance of these issues and investigate broad possibilities for funding, including: conferences and the support of scholarship and academics.
A critical part of educating people about Native rights and sovereignty is capturing and disseminating the history of tribal-governmental relations. Therefore, the Tribe will explore the creation of school curricula, contribution to school textbooks and the sponsorship and creation of museum exhibits that accurately reflect the nature and history of Native rights and sovereignty.