Support Drawing Wisdom Decolonizing Society
It’s never been more important to build decolonizing tools. Support us in our work by direct donations or by purchasing some of our art cards, made with images from our films. We are currently working on educational resources for decolonizing “From the Salish Sea to Palestine,” and raising money to create a feature documentary. We just launched a fundraiser on Chuffed!
OUR CURRENT GOAL $150,000
Support Our Work
Documentary in Development!
An Indigenous and Palestinian led feature film illuminating shared stories of resistance, culture, and liberation across occupied lands from Turtle Island to Palestine.
We are an Indigenous and racialized led team raising funds to transform the short film From the Salish Sea to Palestine into a feature-length production. Through this film, we aim to amplify the voices of Indigenous and Palestinian artists whose stories are often silenced, and whose art embodies both grief and resistance.
"From the Salish Sea to Palestine"
Ten years after Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, only 15 of 94 Calls to Action have been implemented. A decade later, the truth remains buried under performative gestures: corporate land acknowledgments, government apologies without reparations, and “reconciliation” campaigns that sanitize ongoing colonial violence.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the world watches another genocide unfold. Even under “ceasefire,” bombs fall, aid is blocked, and entire generations are being erased. The announcement of the “ceasefire” has systematically taken eyes and money off Gaza.
These are not separate failures: they are symptoms of the same settler-colonial system that rewards silence, punishes dissent, and criminalizes resistance.
The same forces that delay justice on Turtle Island fund the destruction in Palestine.
“Ceasefire” is not a Free Palestine.
From the Salish Sea to Palestine weaves together powerful stories of artists whose intersecting visions for liberation, resistance, and deeply decolonized futures create hope in a time of global upheaval. This film tells the story of shared struggles for freedom and survival from Indigenous communities — peoples bound together by histories of genocide, displacement, and unbroken ties to land and water.
The film’s central themes also confront collective tools of oppression:
- Censorship is silencing Palestinian stories. One of our participants had her film pulled by a major broadcaster. This project ensures these voices are heard, uncensored, independent, and true to their message.
- Children are being targeted. From residential schools to Gaza’s bombardments, both Indigenous and Palestinian peoples have endured genocide through the erasure of their children.
- Culture as resistance. Our collaborators use art, weaving, Tatreez, and oral storytelling as tools of survival, remembrance, and defiance.
Your donation supports:
- Filming and post-production to expand the short into a feature-length documentary
- Indigenous–Palestinian solidarity live stream events amplifying the film’s message about cultivating decolonization movements globally
- Community screenings, educational toolkits, and translated materials to reach broader audiences
- Fair pay for the artists, filmmakers, and Indigenous collaborators
- All surpluses from the film will go to Land Back initiatives in Palestine and Turtle Island
“I can’t imagine my world without any of my Palestinian kin very directly in it. And that’s actually the world that I want.”
Drawing Wisdom Art Cards
Support the fundraising campaign by buying beautiful art cards with land or medicine themed photos.
Thank You Funders
With your support, we have raised over $145,000 FOR OUR PROJECTS since 2015!
Thank you to the Vancouver Foundation, Telus, Inspirit Foundation, Reach 3.0 and CBRC for contributing funding. Thank you also to the individual anonymous donors who have contributed to our project.
Seeking Funding Partners
We are in production on Season 4 of the Drawing Wisdom Video Podcast and seeking funding partners. We are also looking to expand the scope of an educational project exploring the roots of colonialism and oppression "From Salish Sea to Palestine."
$ 50,000
In 2024, we received the Vancouver Foundation Humanitarian Crisis Grant for $50,000 and are developing a curriculum that explores the intersections of colonialism and systemic oppression, drawing parallels between Canada (Coast Salish Sea) and Palestine. Using short films, the curriculum will foster cross-cultural understanding and solidarity through educational workshops, storytelling, and documented community dialogues.
$ 20,000
Grants from Telus STORYHIVE Voices in 2022 and 2023 for $10,000 each allowed us to create the second and third seasons of the Drawing Wisdom Video Podcast.
$ 12,000
In 2021, we received a Telus Community Content microgrant for $12,000 that funded the first season of the Drawing Wisdom Video Podcast.
$ 45,500
We received a second Impact Grant of $20,000 in 2020 from the Inspirit Foundation for our work in getting the film, HIV: Healing Inner Voices, and Peer-led workshops out digitally.
We received a grant of $25,000 from Reach 3.0 for this work as well, and to engage stakeholders.
We are also thrilled to have gotten the Audience Choice Award from the Vancouver Queer Film Festival which came with a $500 cash prize!
$ 12,500
In 2019, we received an Impact Grant of $10,000 from the Inspirit Foundation to develop an impact campaign for HIV: Healing Inner Voices.
We received a grant of $2,500 from CBRC for Peers to participate in workshops.
$5,000
We were very pleased to win the People’s Choice Award of $5,000 from the Operation Blue Sky Aboriginal Health Initiative, which kickstarted Drawing Wisdom in 2015.
