Capacity Building Initiative 

Technical Review Committee Meeting
August 18, 2025 | 9AM - 4PM

The technical review committee for the Capacity Building Initiative will meet on August 18th. More details to come.

Indian Law 101: Understanding the Legal Foundations of Tribal Sovereignty

Virtual Workshop
September 5, 2025  |  9 AM - 12 PM  | REGISTER HERE

Join us for a virtual workshop on the foundational principles and history of Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law in the United States. This session will explore the legal relationship between tribal nations, the federal government, and the states, offering essential context for funders working with or within tribal communities.

Led by Shawn Watts, Executive Director of the Tribal Stewardship and Sovereignty Network for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, this workshop will provide an essential introduction for those new to the field, as well as a valuable refresher for professionals seeking to strengthen their understanding.

The workshop will last from 9AM - 12PM. After the program, CBFN members will have the opportunity to stay on for a 30-minute member-only session with Shawn. 

Audience
This workshop is open to member and partner foundations, philanthropic infrastructure organizations, non-profits, and tribal governments.

Speaker:
Shawn Watts, Executive Director of the Tribal Stewardship and Sovereignty Network for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Justice of the Supreme Court of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Shawn has dedicated his entire legal career to Indian law, mediation, and negotiation. He is the Executive Director of the Tribal Stewardship and Sovereignty Network for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. He also serves as Director of the Tribal Law & Government Center, Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, and Mediation Clinic at the University of Kansas School of Law. He teaches Mediation and Negotiation for Law Practice at Columbia Law School where he previously served as the Associate Director of the Mediation Program. Shawn taught a Native American Peacemaking Clinic at both Columbia Law School and Yale Law School before becoming the Director of Strategic Initiatives and U.S. Strategy at The Christensen Fund.

As a law professor, Shawn specializes in helping tribal courts to integrate traditional and customary tribal justice practices. In addition to his work with Indian tribes and tribal organizations, Shawn is also a lead trainer and formal partner with the United Nations Institute of Training and Research where he trains and advises world diplomats on the issues facing the world's Indigenous Peoples. He also provides the U.N. training and curriculum on conflict resolution, negotiation, and peace dialogue.

Shawn graduated from Columbia Law School, where he won the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for clinical advocacy, was a Strine Fellow, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and managing editor of Columbia Law’s Journal of Law and Social Problems. While in law school, he served as the president of the National Native American Law Students Association. Shawn has also served as a district court judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Exploring Poultry & Oyster Industries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

Field Trip
October 7, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM | REGISTER HERE 

Join us for an immersive field trip exploring aspects of Maryland’s agricultural economy. Funders will tour a commercial poultry operation and a working oyster hatchery to gain firsthand insight into how these industries shape the local economy, feed people, and impact the health of the Chesapeake Bay. This trip offers funders an opportunity to explore investment strategies that support food production, rural livelihoods, and Chesapeake Bay restoration.

The trip will include a Talbot County farm visit led by the Delmarva Chicken Association and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, tour of Ferry Cove Shellfish in Sherwood, and end with lunch in St. Michaels.