Investing In Indigenous Futures
Who We Are
The Future Is Indigenous Women (TFIIW) is the transformative result of a five-year strategic partnership between New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC) and Native Women Lead (NWL).
We are the architects of an evolved economic ecosystem that directly challenges Western financial paradigms and centers the sovereignty of Indigenous women entrepreneurs.
Indigenous-led solutions are not merely beneficial, but are the true solutions for a sustainable and equitable future for all.
The Waterway: Our Theory of Change
The Waterway: Our Theory of Change
Our foundational narrative is the reimagining of economic movement. We have successfully institutionalized a permanent shift from the extractive "pipeline" model of Western capitalism—characterized by one-way value extraction—to the "waterway" model.
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The Waterway is an ecosystem of capital designed to circulate within and nourish Indigenous communities, preventing wealth from flowing out.
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We honor the ancestral wisdom that in many Indigenous languages, the concept of “economy” is indistinguishable from the concept of “life.”
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We dismantle exclusionary financial frameworks by centering relationships, water, and Mother Earth. We anchor our vision in the Ancestral Ledger, demonstrating that Indigenous peoples have always been intrinsically investable.
Many challenges exist for Indigenous women entrepreneurs.
Pay Inequities
Erasure
Violence
Economic Exclusion
Historic & Systematic Oppression
Native Americans have the highest poverty rates (25.4%) among all minority groups.
Indigenous women make .60 cents to the dollar in comparison to white (non-Hispanic) male counterparts.
Because of these barriers, limited pathways currently exist for Indigenous women entrepreneurs to become investment ready.
To combat these barriers, we’ve created 4 key programmatic strategies.
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CAPITAL STRATEGIES
We focus on creating innovative ways to invest and support Native women through capital and resources. We do this by developing investment products derived from the lived experiences of our founders, creating access and talent waterways for Indigenous investment career building opportunities, increase the capital waterway to provide for more Indigenous women building their businesses, and increase capital agency to self-determine a dignified, safe life for Indigenous women and their families.
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COMMUNITY TABLE BUILDING
We build community and power with and for Native women entrepreneurs at all levels. We offer in-person/virtual workshops, trainings, summits, events and activities curated to help entrepreneurs build their businesses, skill sets, networks, knowledge and wealth. We do this by providing a community for them to lean into and learn from. We hope these offerings continue to evolve to increase access and support to Indigenous women on their journies of economic empowerment and increased agency.
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CIRCLE OF SUPPORT
We build upon, share and connect resources and trusted mentors to Indigenous entrepreneurs. We extend access to an Indigenously-tailored Business Marketing and Essentials course, 1:1 coaching, and provide mentorship opportunities and support where it’s needed the most. Our BME course teaches participants how to effectively conceptualize, plan and implement their business ideas and financial goals through hands-on learning experiences within a community of peers and mentors.
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STORYTELLING
We demonstrate & showcase the power of Indigenous women through multimedia collaborations across Turtle Island. We bring Indigenous narratives into the mainstream media by amplifying Indigenous excellence through honest, authentic and respectful storytelling practices. We collectively collaborate, record, document and share content highlighting the stories of Indigenous entrepreneurs, their families and the communities and organizations that support them!
Goals
What Our Future looks like.
Abundant Resources
We are known and supported as unique Peoples who provide critical resources, knowledge and skillsets to help "fill" the world's knowledge and resource "gaps".
A Regenerative Economy
We are physically and legally protected in order to ensure a stabilized and thriving future for our Peoples and the world.
Equality and Diversity
Our Traditional economic knowledge systems are held on equal footing with Western economic systems and we are acknowledged as knowledge keepers and practitioners.
Respective Experts in our Craft
We are respectfully recognized as experts in our fields and acknowledged as critical economic drivers in bringing forward solutions that address gender, racial and cultural wealth gaps on a local, national and international scale.
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WINNERS OF THE "EQUALITY CAN'T WAIT" CHALLENGE
Rising to the top of the more-than 500 proposals, The Future is Indigenous Women initiative, from New Mexico Community Capital and Native Women Lead, is working on the front lines and from within Native communities to help Indigenous women build power in their lives and careers.
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BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL: THE FUTURE IS INDIGENOUS WOMEN
As I step out of the Albuquerque sun into the breezy, Indigenous-led offices on Gold and Third Street, I am met by Native women, their warm greetings, their laughter. Little did I know their financial revolution-rooted in…
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INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
"Women in America earn, on average, 82 cents for every dollar a man earns, and for some underrepresented groups, that gap can be much higher. Joining me to talk about efforts to empower native women and their businesses is Jamie Gloshay..."
