Meet Deanna Wohlgemuth, owner and creative mind behind Rock On Jewelry and Tin Cantina, LLC in Portland! Thanks to the Oregon IDA Initiative and NAYA’s Micro-Enterprise classes, Deanna began her own successful business making and selling incredible jewelry from salvaged materials, and tending bar from her vintage trailer at events. Our Micro-Enterprise classes receive generous support from ProsperView Article >
A decade ago, NAYA embarked on a journey to build a stronger network of Native leaders through an initiative called the Oregon LEAD Program. A nationwide effort developed by a coalition of nonprofits and the First Nations Development Institute, LEAD (Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development) works to build cross-cultural empowerment and leadership. In 2012, OregonView Article >
In 2010 NAYA participated in a research project conducted by the Coalition of Communities of Color. This project produced the report many are familiar with called Native Americans in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile. Our community has been using the data contained in this report to advocate for positive change. Participants in the Portland Indian LeadersView Article >
Announcement from NAYA Board Chair Eddie Sherman: It is my great pleasure to announce that the NAYA Family Center’s Board of Directors has appointed Paul Lumley as our new Executive Director. After conducting a thorough national search, our hiring committee selected Paul because of his successful professional career, his extensive experience working with American IndianView Article >
Dear Community partners, friends, and families we serve, Despite the continued misinformation being circulated by a local “news” publication, NAYA stands committed to the development of the Generations Early Learning Academy in order to meet the growing need of early childhood educational opportunities for Portland’s most vulnerable children. As part of our long-term strategy toView Article >
Water is life. It carries our dreams. It cleanses our souls. The water is blessing us. – Frank Alby, lnupiat, Elder and NAYA Canoe Journey spiritual helper. Beginning in 2013, a group of NAYA Elders began meeting to develop and plan ways to implement the NAYA Family Canoe Journey. Our Mission is to honorView Article >
The Early College Academy (ECA) is filled with students that come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. What they all share is a commonality that teaching culture is not a singular conception, nor is it something easy to explain. 10th grade student Paulina Gutierrez, Inupiaq/Puerto Rican, has excelled in her Art for Social Change class inView Article >
Dear Community partners, friends, and families that we serve. I am writing to let you know that the Willamette Week has chosen to publish an article about a disgruntled former employee of NAYA Family Center who voluntarily resigned her employment and, unfortunately, elected to bring a lawsuit against NAYA. First let me say that weView Article >
York in Portland: A New Perspective on Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery NAYA and the Rebuilding Center warmly welcome you to attend one of two incredible performances of the play York happening on March 12th and 13th at Jefferson High School. In a powerful, one-man performance, David Casteal plays the character York as “a whirlwind, a forceView Article >
Today is my last day as a NAYA Family Center employee, but not as a member of our community. I am so blessed to have my professional and cultural journey shaped by such a wonderful organization. I was introduced to NAYA in my early 20s when it was still located on N. Mississippi Ave. IView Article >