Restoring Our Relatives RFP Grant

The Restoring Our Relatives RFP, initiated by the First Nations Development Institute, aims to enhance biodiversity by restoring Native species through traditional knowledge and community involvement. This initiative seeks to address the health of ecosystems and cultural practices by funding projects that bring back key species like rivercane, beaver, buffalo, and shellfish. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 will support eligible Tribes and Native-led organizations in these vital restoration efforts.

Native peoples have cared for biodiversity on this continent for tens of thousands of years. The strong relationships Native people and their non-human relatives share are grounded in reciprocity. Each is dependent on and responsible to the other for health and continuity. Native people are nourished by the plants and animals that live in the forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra, and waters that connect them. To ensure the well-being of our cultures and ecosystems, First Nations created the Restoring Our Relatives project under our Stewardship initiative.
The Restoring Our Relatives project will invest in the reciprocal relationships, traditional knowledge, and stewardship that cultivate biodiversity and healthy ecosystems through the protection and restoration of Native species that will, in turn, protect our lands, waters, and ecosystems for generations to come. Some examples of protecting and stewarding Native species include:

• Bringing back rivercane to prevent erosion and support traditional basket weaving
• Bringing back beaver to retore wetlands and meadows that provide medicinal and subsistence plants
• Bringing back buffalo to revitalize native grasslands that are critical to tribal food systems and ceremony
• Bringing back shellfish beds for subsistence and to prevent costal erosion

First Nations is accepting applications for projects that aim to grow capacity and programming to employ and sustain efforts that restore Native species through traditional knowledge and community involvement.
Funding
First Nations expects to award up to 15 grants between $25,000 to $50,000 to eligible Tribes and Native-led organizations.