Q4 Grants: Native American Rights Fund Builds on 55 Years of Legal Advocacy

For NARF, civic engagement is the power to ensure the rights of Native Americans are honored.

Founded in 1970, NARF is a nonprofit law firm focused on protecting the sovereignty, natural resources, and human rights of tribal nations. NARF’s litigation efforts and multipronged legal advocacy and education help ensure governments honor treaty obligations, federal laws, and inherent tribal sovereignty.

A one-year grant of $500,000 was approved in Q4 to advance NARF’s work responding to federal and state actions that threaten the rights and well-being of tribal communities.

NARF helps develop shared resources and strategies for tribal communities.

“What does it mean to have tribal sovereignty? Much of the wealth of this country was built on—and is continuing to be built on—Native natural resources on Indigenous lands. Much of it was never ceded, so when we want to assert our treaty rights, there are specific reasons why,” Maybee notes. “One of the pillars of our mission is to educate the public about contemporary tribal nations’ legal rights.”

NARF is a member—and helps lead—the Coalition for Tribal Sovereignty, a nonpartisan collaboration among 26 local, regional, and national nonprofits focused on safeguarding tribal sovereignty. A significant part of that work is ensuring the US government upholds its trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations, communities, and individuals across the country.

The Coalition’s efforts encompass shared strategy, position papers, coordination of key meetings, development of talking points and resource templates, legal consultation, and other resource development.

NARF targets barriers to meaningful representation.

Ten years ago, NARF spearheaded the Native American Voting Rights Coalition (NAVRC), a nonpartisan alliance of national and grassroots voting-rights organizations, activists, and academics advocating for equitable access to the political process for Native peoples.

“Ensuring that marginalized voices participate in our electoral process is critical to exercising your individual sovereignty,” Maybee observes.

According to Maybee, NARF has around 10 current litigations with NAVRC concerning the Voting Rights Act. Some of those address activities at the state level that marginalize Native voters, make it difficult for them to vote, intimidate them at the polls, or lead to legislation that violates the act through redistricting that dilutes Native communities’ voices.

“In the current election cycle, much of NAVRC efforts require boots on the ground,” says Maybee. “For example, law student poll monitors create video documentation when polling places try turn away Native voters or when a sheriff is standing at the door eyeballing Native people as they exercise their right to vote. Or even running the plates of cars in the parking lot.”

Working to overcome obstacles like these is a goal of NARF and NAVRC. Civic participation—having a real voice in governance decisions—must be part of eliminating policies designed to discriminate against Native Americans.

“Sometimes elections are decided by 500 or 1,000 or 2,000 votes,” he continues. “A Native voting block of 8,000 people can absolutely help turn elections, but we need to be able to participate.”

See the work funded by the Foundation doubling its grantmaking dollars in 2025.

In 2025, the Foundation approved more than $35.8 million  through 182 grants, with 98 of them designated in the fourth quarter. The Q4 grants provided more than $14 million to organizations in our region of eight states and 76 Native nations that are advancing community-led efforts to thrive on their own terms, what we term racial, social, and economic justice. In addition to NARF, other Q4 grantees included:

Western Native Voice of Billings, MT—$250,000 of general operating support over two years to advance its efforts to cultivate leadership pipelines among the next generation of Native changemakers

Re:power Fund of St. Paul, MN—$250,000 over two years to support its work training organizers, volunteers, elected leaders, and organizations to block authoritarianism, defend democracy, and achieve meaningful change

If you want more context for our recent grantmaking or the Foundation’s mission and approach, contact Paul Bachleitner, director of communications, at pbachleitner@nwaf.org.

Check out these recent posts that reflect the Foundation’s work during the past quarter.

Retooling our mission-related investments (MRIs) puts more money toward our mission.

Our 2025 commitment to double our grantmaking to $35M continues through 2026.

We welcome new board members Sarah Kastelic and Luke Lynch and celebrate outgoing members Dr. Duane Carter and Elisabeth Buck.