Explanation
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this legislation is to authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO), a non-profit organization, to defray the cost of a van that will allow the organization to provide transportation services to program participants. The mission of the organization is to preserve and restore balance in the lives of Native Americans through traditional, cultural, educational, family, community, and wellness driven values and initiatives. Their focus areas are (1) Cultural Preservation/Restoration, (2) Social Development, and (3) Economic Development/Sustainability.
The NAICCO Outdoors initiative is an ongoing extension of NAICCO’s two previously implemented projects - both the Investing in Indianness to Ensure Our Future project and the Honoring Our Heritage to Ensure Our Future project were consecutively funded by Columbus City Council (December 2022 - January 2025). Notably, through participation in these projects, Native Americans from the NAICCO community have been able to develop a deeper connection to their Native American identity (individual, family, and community levels), attain invaluable cultural knowledge, develop important life skills, and grow more in their everyday lives (mind, body, and spirit). To date, NAICCO has been able to implement numerous programs in the focus area of what is better known as NAICCO Outdoors. Sustaining the success of this initiative is imperative to the lives of many Native Americans. As such, NAICCO must be able to continue engaging the local Native American community by meeting them where they are in their lives. To further strengthen the good work and the foundation that’s been created thus far - in and through NAICCO Outdoors programming - NAICCO needs to address the transportation issue it is currently facing.
NAICCO’s 2017 Chevy Express community van - which was used regularly during the two aforementioned projects fund...
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