Apply to the Núhi Grant

The Núhi Grant is a new initiative from the Walker Youngbird Foundation that centers Native artists working within and for their own communities. Named after the Hidatsa word núhi, meaning “to uplift,” this $7,500 grant honors creative work deeply rooted in place, tradition, and lived experience.

To apply for the Núhi Grant, artists must:

Applicants will be asked to provide documentation of eligibility.

Unlike many awards that focus solely on public exhibitions or commercial outcomes, the Núhi Grant supports artists whose work is grounded in cultural reciprocity. It uplifts artists who document, protect, and share stories, practices, and traditions that are vital to their people.

Each $7,500 award is given to an artist whose project engages meaningfully with their tribal community, through:

Many of the most powerful expressions of Native art are created away from art world centers: in kitchens, lodges, workshops, and tribal halls. The Núhi Grant recognizes that this work is no less significant.

By supporting artists who remain embedded in their communities, the Walker Youngbird Foundation affirms that:

The first recipient of the Núhi Grant is Hayden Haynes, a Seneca artist of the Deer Clan, whose work spans antler carving, photography, and Indigenous storytelling.

With support from the grant, Haynes will honor the eight living Seneca Name Givers, matrilineal clan leaders who are responsible for preserving and passing down traditional names. He will create a series of antler-carved medallions representing the eight Seneca clans (Deer, Snipe, Heron, Hawk, Turtle, Beaver, Wolf, and Bear) and pair each with a photographic portrait of the women who hold this sacred role.

“It’s my aim to establish a tradition of documenting these Name Givers so this kind of cultural memory can continue for generations.”Hayden Haynes