Living in Abundance Initiative
Last year, BAAITS was awarded a two-year grant from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission to implement the Living in Abundance Initiative (LIA). LIA, using a community action participatory research framework (CAPR), is engaging the BAAITS community, the advisory board, community partners and staff in a process to plan and implement a full-scale comprehensive community health needs and strengths assessment to identify the most pressing health and wellness challenges in the Native American and Indigenous TSLGBTQI communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As part of the initiative we were able to provide the opportunity for Community Story Keepers to be trained as community researchers and assist throughout the project. Please help us welcome them to our BAAITS community.
Aldita Amaru Gallardo
Aldita Amaru Gallardo (she/her/ella) is an organizer, facilitator, and resource mobilizer from Lima, Peru. She is an independent philanthropic consultant, working to mobilize resources to trans communities of color.
Silky
Silky is a black, indigiqueer, disabled, neurodiverse, trans, and transdisciplinary artist who uses a synesthetic approach to engage with the world and their art. A weaver of poems, paint, prophecy, textiles, and worlds with 10+ years of community engagement as a passionate advocate with a commitment to social justice and anti-oppression work.
Maritza, OceloTemik
Piyali, I'm Maritza, OceloTemik. I proudly identify as a Nahua-Mexica two-spirit artist and entrepreneur, deeply immersed in the journey of re-indigenization and decolonization. In the last four years, I've furthered this journey through the launch of Mexica Tiahui, my apparel venture. At Mexica Tiahui, I weave together tradition and contemporary expression, infusing each design with ancestral narratives. Now, I'm eagerly extending my skills and dedication to BAAITS and its vibrant community. Every day, I engage in the transformative work of becoming the mentor and support I once sought at the start of my journey. I'm driven by the belief that my experiences can illuminate the path for others navigating their own quests for identity and belonging. -Tlazocamati
j. andrea amezcua porras| yAyA
j. andrea amezcua porras| yAyA is an independent Creative Capacity Consultant. Porras serves as a family advocate for Indigenous Justice. As an artist disruptor, they are copiloting & centering Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons and their Loved ones, through performance, theater & a recently launched podcast. As an Indigequeer /2Spirit curator/performer of Chicana of Coahuiltecan descent they embody the wisdom and ways of their ancestors and future relatives alike. Porras is an Indigequeer film producer, interdisciplinary artist & practitioner; with over 25 years of experience in performance, organizing, facilitation, grant making, grant reviewing, philanthropy coaching & mentoring.