The Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) is a left-of-center Native American cultural organization that promotes Native American culture in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is focused on a six-block stretch of Minneapolis known as the Native American Cultural Corridor, a historically Native American neighborhood that the group helped formulate a blueprint to develop starting in 2006. The group hosts events centered on cooking, agriculture, and other Native American cultural topics and is affiliated with several left-of-center organizations and alliances in Minnesota particularly around increasing voter participation and operates a campaign called Make Voting a Tradition. ^{1 2 3}

The NACDI is a member of We Choose Us, a left-of-center coalition of 26 groups based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that promote left-wing voting policies such as expanding voter registration and mobilizing young activists to change election laws. ^{4 5}

The NACDI is funded by left-of-center foundations including the Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation. ⁶

Background

The Native American Community Development Institute was founded in 2007. A case study from the Bush Foundation, a left-of-center Minnesota-based family foundation that funds the organization, stated that the organization grew out of research that indicated “outcomes for American Indians in Hennepin County had not improved substantially in the past 40 years.” ⁷

The first notable project for the organization was its formation of a blueprint for the revitalization of the neighborhood where it was located, an area on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis known as the American Indian Cultural Corridor. The group led efforts to open additional Native American-owned and focused businesses and organizations in the area and hosts a weekly farmers market in its parking lot, and has promoted the development of local art galleries displaying Native American art. ⁸

The group operates several programs and trainings centered around “community engagement and organizing, food sovereignty, and Indigenous arts and culture.” The branded programs that the group manages include All My Relations Arts, Four Sisters Food Sovereignty, Make Voting A Tradition, and the American Indian Cultural Corridor. ⁹

Leadership

Robert Lilligren is the president and chief executive officer of the Native American Community Development Institute. Lilligren served 12 years on the Minnesota City Council as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party and was appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) in 2019 to the Metropolitan Council, the regional governing body of the Twin Cities area. He is a citizen of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation. ¹⁰

We Choose Us

The Native American Community Development Institute is a member of We Choose Us, a left-of-center coalition of 26 groups based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that promote left-wing voting policies such as expanding voter registration and mobilizing young activists to change election laws. We Choose Us Action is fiscally sponsored by Faith in Minnesota, the political action arm of ISAIAH, an activist organization based in Minnesota that recruits left-of-center activists from church congregations in order to advance a number of left-of-center policy priorities. ^{11 12 13}

Funding

Funders of the Native American Community Development Institute include the Target Foundation, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, the Nielsen Foundation, Minnesota Voice, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Kresge Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, Headwaters, the Rosemary and David Good Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Common Counsel Foundation. ¹⁴

1. “Make Voting a Tradition.” NACDI. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://nacdi.org/programs/civic-engagement/make-voting-a-tradition/
2. “About.” NACDI. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://nacdi.org/about-us/
3. “Native American Community Development Initiative Case Study.” Bush Foundation. Accessed August https://www.bushfoundation.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Notes_on_Innovation_NACDI_web.pdf
4. “Partners.” We Choose Us. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://www.wechooseusmn.com/partners
5. About. We Choose Us Action. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.wechooseusaction.com/about
6. “Funders.” NACDI. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://nacdi.org/about-us/funders/
7. “Native American Community Development Initiative Case Study.” Bush Foundation. Accessed August https://www.bushfoundation.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Notes_on_Innovation_NACDI_web.pdf
8. “Native American Community Development Initiative Case Study.” Bush Foundation. Accessed August https://www.bushfoundation.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Notes_on_Innovation_NACDI_web.pdf
9. “About.” NACDI. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://nacdi.org/about-us/
10. “Robert Lilligren.” 22^nd Century Conference. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://conference.22ci.org/presenters/robert-lilligren
11. About Us. ISAIAH. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://isaiahmn.org/about/
12. “Partners.” We Choose Us. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://www.wechooseusmn.com/partners
13. About. We Choose Us Action. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.wechooseusaction.com/about
14. “Funders.” NACDI. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://nacdi.org/about-us/funders/