Animal Welfare Professionals

November is Native American Heritage Month (aka Indigenous People's Heritage Month). This year's theme is "Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity," urging for the inclusion of Tribes in decision making about their property and citizens (including their beloved pets). We would like to commit to challenging each other to take action for the amplification of Indigenous communities and Tribal nations. While current practices, like land acknowledgements, have positive intentions, their impact is limited. So, here are a few recommendations to make the shift towards positive change this holiday season:

1. Read this article on how to be a better ally to Indigenous people. 

2. Learn about how you can take steps beyond land acknowledgements. 

3. Make land tax payments to recognize our access to stolen Indigenous land. 

4. Watch this funny video to understand why we should push beyond land acknowledgements. 

5. Shift your mindset from Partnership rather than Servitude through this Community Conversation with Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity

6. Get excited by learning about the largest ever land back

7. Hear about Animal Wellness Services on Navajo Nation

8. Deconstruct your current understanding of the Thanksgiving holiday

9. Support indigenous businesses for Small Business Saturday 

10. Follow Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity's Native American Heritage Month series on Instagram to learn more about Indigenous Leaders in Human and Animal Welfare at @CAREforEquity 

 

Thank you for your commitment to learning (and unlearning) together!! 

#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice

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Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
Maddie's Fund
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I appreciate these thoughtfully compiled resources for ongoing learning. 

I'll share a recent webinar through the Center for Disaster Philanthropy: "Indigenous land management: Decreasing disasters and increasing resilience." 

The webinar was co-sponsored by Native Americans in Philanthropy, Alliance Magazine, Giving Compass, United Philanthropy Forum, Council on Foundations, PEAK Grantmaking, Philanthropy New York, The Funders Network and Philanthropy California.

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Irene Chansawang
Senior Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
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Thank you for sharing these resources! Since we've been talking about fundraising and grantmaking, I wanted to share the Native Americans in Philanthropy website (https://nativephilanthropy.org/), which is packed with resources. 

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[Nadia] [Oseguera]
[she/her]
[CA Program Manager]
[Koret Shelter Medicine Program]
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Love this. Thanks Maddie's Fund and the committee for prioritizing this message. Another great documentary to watch is Gather. It's on Netflix.

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Jennifer Evans
CARE
Baltimore MD
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Thank you for this list!

It is so valuable to be seen in the Animal Welfare space.  Animals are integral to our world views and deep relationships.

I would also add a link to a PBS curated list:

https://www.pbs.org/articles/celebrate-native-american-and-alaska-native-heritage-month

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Raye Taylor
Veterinary Medical Officer
CARE
MN
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These are great resources. I can't wait to share with our team and our organization!

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Shonyae Johnson - CPDT-KA
Program + Operations Management
Behavior Manager
Operation Kindness
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Thank you for sharing this message and resources to encourage us to learn and act on this important issue and so many others. 

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Akisha Townsend Eaton
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Thanks very much for compiling and sharing these resources! I'll be sharing these important recommendations with my networks.

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Celeste Morales
Senior Director of Research and Development
CARE (Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity
BC
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