Image: Pamos Nguntimo by Karma Jamtsho We’re happy to announce the Tribal Trust Foundation (TTF) has successfully funded a grassroots cultural revitalization and research initiative for the Monpa, a tribe of Indigenous hunter gatherers who live in the Black Forest, a remote area in Central Bhutan. The Monpa community is rich in culture and they recognize “it is on the verge of disappearing”. This funding will empower the … Read More
Monpa Medicinal Plants: Indigenous Knowledge From A Himalayan Healer
Inspired by her time in Bhutan with the Monpa people and with teachings from wisdom Elder Ap Tawla, professor Dawn A. Murray wrote the book Monpa Medicinal Plants: Indigenous Knowledge From A Himalayan Healer, a book about the Monpas and their intimate relationships with the plants, the land, and cultural practices. Murray’s book illuminates the Himalayan medicinal plants that the … Read More
Honoring Indigenous People’s Day
HONORING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY! For those of you who follow us on social media (@tribaltrust), you may have seen some heartwarming images of Shipibo-Konibo youth in the Peruvian Amazon, where they were participating in a workshop to learn how to use traditional fishing tools, which are on the brink of extinction. The project was developed by our fiscal partner Bari Wesna to promote ancestral practices while strengthening the … Read More
Shipibo-Konibo Youth Learning Traditional Fishing Ways
With thanks to our partners, Bari Wesna, Shipibo-Konibo youth learning traditional fishing ways, is just one of many ways we partner with this Indigenous led organization committed to preserving culture.
Supporting Monpa Youth: Healers of the Black Forest
A new model of Indigenous led storytelling and filmmaking happens in collaboration with local filmmakers, and initiates audiences into new ways of being. Having built trust with the Monpa people over many years, The Tribal Trust Foundation is able to share a close-up living portrait of one 15-year old indigenous girl, Sonam Yangki. Our film invites viewers to emotionally connect … Read More
7 Ways To Preserve Indigenous Culture
This Giving Tuesday and Season we invite you to support the Tribal Trust Foundation’s vital cultural preservation work across the globe. Our focus this year is to provide funding to various initiatives that empower the next generation of Indigenous change makers. By supporting these youth, we know that Native communities will continue to safeguard their traditional ways of life and local environment–continuing the practice of living in harmony with the … Read More
Chumash Trails Day, Santa Barbara, CA
We are delighted to announce a special partnership with multiple organizations in the Santa Barbara area that came together on October 10th to celebrate Chumash Trails Day! Our hope is that this inaugural holiday will inspire us all to think about who walked the land before us, and how, in particular, the Chumash Peoples continue to maintain a sacred connection with … Read More
The next generation Shipibo storytellers
Learn more about how Tribal Trust Foundation supports the Shipibo Youth and how you can help us help them.
A Special Thank You From Bhutan
Within Bhutan, a small Kingdom in the Himalayas, hidden away in the deep forest and high mountains, live the Monpa, the Indigenous people considered the country’s first inhabitants. In 2014, the Monpa asked the Tribal Trust to help them preserve their culture. We responded by funding their grassroots cultural preservation initiatives every year since then. As the Monpa Lama Dophu … Read More
A Virtual Visit with the Indigenous People of Bhutan
A virtual visit of Monpaland and the Indigenous People of Bhutan with Dr. Dawn Murray and Dr. Seeta Giri The Monpas are the first people of Bhutan. They hold tremendous Indigenous wisdom on their ecosystem, plant life, and natural resources that are utilized to sustain their everyday life. The Monpa people also have deep knowledge of the medicinal plants that … Read More
Hope For Native American Youth
The Tribal Trust Foundation would like to enlist your support for the Native American Youth. We live in a world eternally interconnected and interdependent. This fact has become increasing clear during these most difficult times. Global environmental, political and economic discrimination has impacted indigenous people, making them the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. TTF understands that indigenous people are the … Read More
A Message of Indigenous Wisdom
During these unprecedented times, all of us at the Tribal Trust Foundation are thinking of you, our loved ones and communities. Like you, we are also concerned about, and are adapting to, the changes brought upon our lives by the global pandemic. It is natural for many of us to feel anxious at this time – but remember that we … Read More