Mission: The Indigenous Solidarity Fund’s (ISF) mission is to support elders, leaders, and wisdom-keepers of indigenous groups in Colombia and the Americas in their efforts to preserve and share their cultures and traditional practices. The ISF will primarily fund projects and provide financial relief as deemed necessary by these indigenous authorities for the preservation of the integrity, health, and well-being of their communities and future generations.
About the Indigenous Solidarity Fund: ISF is dedicated to supporting the wisdom keepers and elders of the indigenous groups of Colombia and the Americas. The majority of our work focuses on supporting the leaders of indigenous groups in Colombia, where we have worked with leaders and elders from the Witoto, Sikuani, Embera, Kofan, Siona, and other groups in an informal capacity for the past eight years.
The ISF was founded by its director, Jesse Stamell, who has lived in Colombia since 2009. The vision for our work formed organically as Jesse began to come into contact with elders and wisdom-keepers from various indigenous groups at gatherings held outside of Bogota, in the Putumayo, and in the mountains of Antioquia, Colombia. It became clear that many, if not all of these indigenous leaders who he spoke with were concerned about the health of their lands, the well-being of their communities, and the threats facing the continuation and preservation of their ancestral practices.
Jesse began bringing travelers and Colombians to meetings with elders from these groups. The attendees were interested in learning more about what was happening in the more remote areas and communities of the country that they normally would not have access to or hear about. The result was that individuals from around the world were inspired to help. The ISF is our vehicle for collecting and directing those inspired energies so that these communities can receive the resources and aid they seek.
