Announcing Joy Harjo As NACF Incoming Board Chair

NACF is pleased to announce U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo as our new Board of Directors Chair. Ms. Harjo is one of NACF’s founding board members and is replacing Sven Haakanson, Ph.D., who has served as NACF’s Board Chair since 2018. We are grateful for Dr. Haakanson’s vision, leadership and service to organization.

I am honored to serve as the new board chair of NACF. As one of the founding board members I have long been invested in the success of NACF. To serve at this moment in history is especially humbling. We are at a crucial historical time that will decide the future of all of our communities, our relationship with Earth. Our arts and the gifts given to nourish us from our tribal communities are an important part of the solution. I will do my best to support the organization’s mission to advance Native equity and cultural knowledge, focusing on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities and promote positive social change for American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples in the United States.

― Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation)

Dr. Haakanson will be retiring from the NACF board along with Susan Jenkins and Buzz Tenny, all of whom have served as board members for three terms over a ten-year period. Their contributions to NACF over the past decade have been immeasurable and we are privileged and grateful to have such committed and devoted board members.

We would also like to welcome new board members Jaime A. Pinkham (Nez Perce), Nadia Sethi (Ninilchik Tribe-Alutiiq) and Kamani Kuala’au (Native Hawaiian) who have recently joined NACF. We look forward to working with you for years to come!