Program Areas

Click on the four program areas to learn more.

Environment

Land-based work is the heart of Pueblo community work.  Through this program area,  the AYHF works to restore comprehensive practices to support, strengthen, and heal the relationship between people and land through innovative practices created and guided by AYHF community members.  Projects are rooted in the core values of stewardship, transformation, sustainability, and relationship.

Fruit To Elders (F2E) – The F2E project, initiated by Martha Chosa, engages with community members and organizations to plant fruit trees at their homes or organization spaces.  AYHF is working with Pueblo elders, senior centers, schools and non-profit organizations.  This pilot project is funded by a grant from the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples.

Pueblo Adobe Solar Initiative (PASI) – PASI is a project started in collaboration with two youth Pueblo women farmers who envisioned learning spaces in their farm fields.  As a result, the concept of PASI Tiny Learning Centers was born.  These Tiny Learning Centers are 500 – 700 sq ft solar adobe buildings where community engagement is facilitated through various topics.  AYHF is working with local architects to design Tiny Learning Center models for individuals from the Pueblos of Taos, Jemez, Acoma, Isleta and Santa Clara. 

Education

AYHF believes deeply in supporting the educational and professional development of Pueblo community members.  Through a Pueblo-based framework of recognizing the spirit of a person’s engagement, AYHF offers Heart Award scholarships to college students identified by AYHF community members.  Similarly, AYHF, in partnership with foundations and philanthropists, offers Legacy Heart Grantmaking Awards to youth serving organizations and projects.   This support is rooted in the core values of recognition, contribution, belonging, and celebration.

Grantmaking – The Legacy Heart Award is a joint effort between the Legacy Fund and the Attach Your Heart Foundation to recognize, through a grant award, Native American organizations focused on programming for leadership, mentorship, college readiness, and youth enrichment opportunities.

Scholarships – The Heart Awards are awarded to five New Mexico college students each semester. AYH Foundation works with five native education professionals who each identify a student who they see embodies our community values of perseverance and dedication. These students receive a monetary award as recognition for their hard work. These awards carry no obligation but are meant to recognize students for their hard work. Heart Awards are made possible by collective contributions from AYH Foundation friends.

Emergency Aid
AYHF recognizes that college students sometimes face circumstances that may determine whether they are able to stay in school or not, and where assistance like this could make a difference. Emergencies include travel home or back to school, books, fees, and personal necessities. There are limited resources available each semester.

Art

Art and creativity represent the spirit of our communities in New Mexico.  AYHF commits to supporting our community with financial resources for arts initiatives identified by AYHF arts advisors.  Currently, AYHF is conducting a Pueblo artist co-op needs analysis.   Projects are rooted in the core values of creativity, restoration, reclamation, and preservation. 

Pueblo Artist Coop Study – In 2019, the Attach Your Heart Foundation received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to conduct a feasibility study/market analysis for a Pueblo Artist Coop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Through surveys, focus groups and interviews with Pueblo artists, the study, now complete, provided incredible insight into the need to create a space to support Pueblo artists.  The study also highlighted multiple opportunities to support artists.  Contact AYHF to get a copy of the final product. 

Pueblo Artist Oral History Project – As an outcome to the Pueblo Artist Coop Study, the AYHF is designing and conducting a Pueblo artist oral history project.  An advisory team was recently created and is engaged in designing this project.

Pueblog: Youth and Community Voice

Pueblog is a blog sharing space where members of our community contribute short written pieces on issues, reflections, and innovative ideas related to New Mexico Pueblos and the larger Native American population. Pueblog consists of a monthly written piece by a community member.  Pueblog also works with five character contributors who collectively represent many voices of our communities.  As it continues to evolve, the Pueblog website space will include short rotating features on art, photography, and poetry.