Sometimes we are asked how folks can support the work of the Nakoda AV Club. We wrote this list to help guide requests. Here's a few things you should know about the Club before offering your assistance.

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The Nakoda AV Club is an arts collective. We are not a non-profit, and we are not a charity. We are working towards becoming a society in the eyes of our community members, not the Canadian state. For us this is about sovereignty. Some of our members are proud Canadians and some are not. We are just working collectively to rebuild the structures of our community, and for us this means we should not seek authorization to tell stories from the Canadian state. 

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We are a collective, some members are full time artists, and some are not. We are supported by one settler person in a arts administrative volunteer capacity. From time to time we hire non-Indigenous people to do specific jobs when no other alternative can be found, but in general, we try to use our work as a collective to fund Indigenous livelihood.

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We are based in Mînîthnî (Morley) Alberta, but have connections to many places in the Bow Valley, and the other Stoney Nakoda reserves (Gahna & Kiska Waptan), as well as Vancouver, Edmonton, and reserves in Ontario.

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We did not think to make this list or ask for support in this way ourselves. We are often asked how folks can support our work at events and so put together this list. It is in no particular order. Please contact us if you'd like to make a contribution.

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Îsniyes (thank you)

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What we could generally make good use of:

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Gear - We use all types of gear for our projects, from digital to analogue (although, see note below about tapes). If you have cameras, mics, lights or computers that are in working order (or if they are film cameras, not working order), there's a good chance we could make use of them.

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Identifying Grants - We apply for grants for artist collectives and individual artists (that don't require a non-profit or charitable status), that are for arts projects (including the work of researching, learning skills, making art, and sharing our art with the world). We occasionally use fiscal sponsorship for grants that require charitable status. If you have the time to help us create a spreadsheet or other tool that shows grants that we are eligible for, with their timelines and focus, this is something we could definitely use.

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Identifying Opportunities - AV Club members have a variety of interests in the arts. We always welcome folks to share any opportunities that might benefit members. We can also often use assistance applying for opportunities, or coordinating between group members and the opportunity organizer. There are lots of ways to do this work (DM an opportunity to our Instagram, ask to join our FB group to provide opportunity information and assistance, or contact us for more).

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Assisting with Accessibility - We want to make our stories as accessible as possible, and we know we lack some skills and expertise in this area. If you can assist us with captioning, described video, alt text, or have ideas or suggestions for how we can make our work more accessible we'd appreciate your support. 

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Researching Festivals - One of the ways we share our stories is through the festival circuit. There are some digital platforms that share information about festivals around the world, and it takes a lot of research to figure out which of our projects might be suitable for which festivals. If you enjoy research, this is something we could use help with.

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One to One co-mentorship - Some of the AV Club members are willing to develop mentorship relationships with people, where you coordinate times to chat. Both parties learn about the lives of the other, and both have some skills and expertise to share. If this is something that interests you, please contact Amanda who can let you know which member is activly looking for a mentoring relationship.

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What we generally can't make much use of:

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Skills based workshops. Although we have members that want to develop new skills, the amount of administration work involved in coordinating a workshop is not often feasible for us. An exception is if the interest comes from within the Club

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Tape based film gear. Although we have members who love older mediums, we currently have an excess of equipment that uses mini DV tapes and VHS to record.

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One long term goal: We'd love to have a centre in Mînîthnî where we could store gear, and do production work on shared equipment and infrastructure  that all members would have access to. This is not something we're actively working on, because we are focusing on our stories. We If you have interest or capacity to help us begin this jounrey we would appreciate your support.

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The best way to support the work of the Nakoda AV Club is to watch our films, learn about our stories, and share them. Îsniyes!

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