PORTLAND, Ore. – A newly created Native American family foundation originating in North Dakota has awarded its first-ever grant to a Pacific Northwest investigative journalism group to support coverage of tribal issues nationwide.

The Many Dances Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation has made its first gift to InvestigateWest, a nonprofit newsgroup that specializes in investigative reporting.

Many Dances Family Fund was founded in 2016 by Charles Hudson and his sons, Kent, Cray and Stone Hudson, all of Portland, Ore., trustees. All are Hidatsa tribal members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. Charles Hudson grew up on the Fort Berthold Reservation and graduated from Parshall High School.

“We are honored that Charles recognizes the value of InvestigateWest’s Indian Country work,” said Robert McClure, InvestigateWest executive director. “We are grateful for this financial support and look forward to continuing to produce in-depth reporting on Native American issues.”

InvestigateWest launched its Indian Country reporting initiative in September 2016 with the aims of growing a free press in Indian Country, increasing opportunities for Native journalists, and providing the information that supports healthy, democratic communities. The project’s first published report, released in April in partnership with The Nation Magazine and Indian Country Today, highlighted conservative efforts to dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act.

“Tribal citizens are among the most vulnerable in the Nation,” Hudson said. “A strong independent press can help change that. I have known the principals of InvestigateWest for years and have admired the quality of their work and its power to create change. I am concerned about the relative absence of an independent press in Indian Country and particularly investigative journalism. InvestigateWest’s Indian Country initiative is a good place for the Many Dances Fund to launch what we intend to be many decades of advocacy for Indian Country.”

The Fund is named for Many Dances (1871-1923), Hudson’s great-grandmother and a revered Hidatsa woman who lived on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The Fund is focused on the values that are important to the ancestors of the Hudson family and include democracy in Indian Country, land stewardship, education, homelessness, food sovereignty, addiction and recovery, and reestablishment of traditional, healthful diets into tribal life.

The Many Dances Family Fund honors the Hidatsa matrilineal tradition of passing down family assets and values through its women. The Fund is built upon assets handed down by Many Dances and her family, generations of which have had careers in Indian law, education, health and environmental sciences.

Charles Hudson is director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Portland. He serves on the Oregon Community Foundation’s Metropolitan Leadership Council and has previously served on the Community Advisory Board of Oregon Public Broadcasting and the boards of Open Meadow alternative school and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility.

InvestigateWest (IW) is a nonprofit journalism studio that works in partnership with other media groups to publish original reporting with a clear bearing on public policy that strengthen communities and engage citizens in civic life. IW focuses on the Pacific Northwest region, which includes coverage of Indian Country, environment, public health and government accountability. InvestigateWest has offices in Portland and Seattle.