Native and Tribal Partnerships Grant Supports Community-Led Work Across Southwest Washington
SWACH’s Native and Tribal Partnerships Non-Competitive Grant has concluded, marking an investment in Native and Tribal communities, Native-led organizations, and partners serving Native and Tribal communities across Southwest Washington.
The grant was designed to put resources closer to Native and Tribal communities and support work already being led locally. By using a non-competitive approach, SWACH sought to reduce administrative barriers and grant recipients’ greater flexibility to invest in priorities grounded in their communities’ knowledge, relationships, and needs.
Funding supported four recipients: Nch’i Wana Housing, One Community Health, Gorge Native American Collaborative, and Chinook Indian Nation. Together, their work reflects a broad vision of health and wellbeing that includes housing stability, health care access, food sovereignty, cultural preservation, youth and family support, and community safety.
For Mercedes White Calf, SWACH’s Tribal Liaison, the approach was about respecting the expertise and autonomy of the organizations receiving the funding.
“It allowed partners to identify their own priorities instead of aligning their community needs with what SWACH is requiring,” White Calf said. “It supported their autonomy.”
For White Calf, that distinction matters. Competitive grants often require significant time, effort, staffing, and administrative capacity. Smaller organizations and community-led groups may be doing essential work in the field but may not have the same infrastructure as larger organizations to pursue funding through a more traditional process.
“It eliminated the administrative processes and burdens from non-traditional organizations serving non-traditional communities,” White Calf said. “They are in the field, and we didn’t stop them or take them away from the field to do a process. We put impact above process.”
That approach was grounded in trust and relationship-building. Rather than defining what Native and Tribal communities needed, the funding recognized that communities already understand their own strengths, priorities, and ways of caring for one another.
“We trust that you know what you’re doing,” White Calf said. “We’re just going to support you, and we’re going to invest in your plan, your vision already.”
The four recipients used that flexibility to respond to priorities in their communities.
Nch’i Wana Housing focused on housing stability for Native individuals and families, providing rent assistance, winter support, and emergency resources for people navigating housing instability, including those living at in-lieu fishing sites.
One Community Health expanded access to culturally responsive health services through mobile care including a free vision and dental clinic and a back-to-school health event that brought services closer to Native youth and families.
Chinook Indian Nation invested in culturally grounded health and wellness, including a full-time healthcare coordinator to support with care coordination and resource navigation. Funding also supported food access for elders through Meals on Wheels and food bank-related efforts.
Gorge Native American Collaborative, also known as GNAC, supported community-led, culturally centered work throughout the Columbia River Gorge. including gatherings, food access, youth and family support, and activities that strengthen connection and belonging among Native community members.
White Calf said the approach also strengthened meaningful relationships between SWACH and Native and Tribal partners by creating space for more open conversations about organizations’ goals, capacity, and challenges.
“It created more meaningful conversations between myself, SWACH, and the organizations because it built a level of trust and showed our interest and our respect for their autonomy,” White Calf said. “They were able to openly discuss with me their capacity and their challenges.”
Those relationships extend beyond the funding itself. Through its Native and Tribal partnerships, SWACH is continuing to explore how it can support community-led priorities while honoring Tribal sovereignty, Native expertise and community decision-making.
Looking ahead, White Calf hopes to create more opportunities for Native and Tribal community members to participate in shared decision-making and advisory spaces. She also sees an opportunity for SWACH to help connect organizations with outside funding and resources to organizations, particularly when administrative capacity can make traditional grant opportunities difficult to pursue.
For White Calf, one of the biggest lessons from the grant is the value of approaching partnership with humility.
“They know how to serve their own communities better than I ever would,” White Calf said. “What I may prioritize may not be what they consider a top priority.”
Although the grant has concluded, the relationships it strengthened and the community priorities it supported continue. SWACH remains committed to working alongside Native and Tribal communities, reducing barriers to resources, honoring sovereignty, and supporting work grounded in culture, community knowledge, health, and well-being.