Herring Pond Wampanoag awarded $145,000 from Native Youth Empowerment Foundation
December 2, 2022
Capacity building grant will support tribe’s youth programs and facilitieS
News Release
Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe
Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth, Massachusetts, is pleased to announce they have been awarded a $145,000 capacity building grant from the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation of Massachusetts. The grant will support the continuing efforts of the tribe’s mission to preserve, promote, and protect the cultural, spiritual and economic well-being of its tribal youth and for the preservation of their tribal homeland and facilities that house their youth programs.
“The Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe is forever grateful for the friendship, generosity and support that we’ve received from the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation” says Melissa (Harding) Ferretti, Chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe. “As a Native people who have long retained our deeply rooted connection to our homeland, we are honored to partner with a grassroots organization that appreciates and recognizes the valuable work that tribal nations in Massachusetts are doing today to support their sovereignty and self-determination.“
As a state-recognized tribe and a typically underserved community, the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe is committed to multicultural education that is genuinely inclusive of the diversity and richness of Indigenous peoples’ knowledge and histories in New England.
The tribe will use this grant towards their long-term vision to build organizational capacity, support and preserve community-based knowledge, and promote tribal values, while expanding their tribal education initiatives, youth empowerment and infrastructure. They will create equitable access by sharing their community-based knowledge with kinship tribes and other Native youth outside of the HPWT.
The funding will also help to establish a strong partnership between Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe and the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation.
The Native Youth Empowerment Foundation is located in Ashfield, Massachusetts.
Native Youth Empowerment Foundation’s mission is to support Native youth statewide by providing small educational grants, workshops that promote professional development, cultural engagement initiatives, networking, and other resources aimed at intertribal inclusivity and youth empowerment. These funds reach across the state and will aim to aid and empower the youth of federally recognized and state-acknowledged tribal nations.
“We maintain a strong focus on equity and access and seek to dismantle the continuing harms of colonization in philanthropy.” said Rhonda Anderson, Co-Founder. “We look forward to supporting Herring Pond Wampanoag’s mission as they lead efforts to advance their capacity, equity in education for Native youth and community members throughout the region.” said Larry Spotted Crow Mann, Co-Founder.
