Intertribal Friendship House

The Intertribal Friendship House (IFH) of Oakland is one of the oldest Native American-focused urban resource and community organizations in the United States. Founded in 1955, IFH was created by local residents, similarly to American Indian Center in Chicago. Beginning in 1952, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) supported a plan to relocate Native Americans to urban areas, further encouraged by the Indian Relocation Act of 1956. The IFH served as a hub for Native American activism in the Bay Area throughout the 20th century.^[1] Millie Ketcheschawno became the IFH's first woman president in the 1970s after deep involvement with the Occupation of Alcatraz.

Intertribal Friendship House

Founded	1955
Type	Non-profit cultural organization
Location	523 International Boulevard Oakland, CA 94606
Coordinates	37.795229°N 122.253435°W / 37.795229; -122.253435
Area served	San Francisco Bay Area
Services	Social services, education, cultural programming
Key people	Sophia Taula-Lieras, Iona Mad Plume, Janet King, Bonney Hartley, Maria Garcia, Vida Castaneda, Mindy Woolbert
Website	www.ifhurbanrez.org

The IFH continues to offer educational activities, elder and youth programs, holiday meals, counseling for social services, space for community meetings, conferences, receptions, memorials, and family affairs.^[2][3] According to author Ed Vulliamy, 90% of Native Americans in California, "of which the majority are not indigenous California tribes," currently "live in cities."^[4]

Related Groups

Organizations and institutions, especially of the San Francisco Bay Area that at some point were or are currently related to or affiliated with IFH include:^[3]

• Native American Health Center
• American Indian Child Resource Center
• United Indian Nations
• Indigenous Nations Child and Family Agency
• San Francisco Indian Center
• Friendship House Association of American Indians: An inpatient substance abuse treatment center in San Francisco. Former board member "[Peter] Bratt, whose mother is indigenous Peruvian, explained that 'today most of our clients are from California tribes.' "^[5]
• California Indian Legal Services
• American Indian Film Institute
• American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco

See also

• American Indian Center
• International Indian Treaty Council
• American Indian Public Charter School

References

1. Kubal, Timothy (2008), Kubal, Timothy (ed.), "Ethnic: American Indian", Cultural Movements and Collective Memory: Christopher Columbus and the Rewriting of the National Origin Myth, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, p. 66, doi:10.1057/9780230615762_4, ISBN 978-0-230-61576-2, retrieved 2023-03-16
2. Park, Alex (October 22, 2011). "Oakland's Intertribal Friendship House will celebrate 56 years of supporting Native American community". Oakland North. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
3. Lobo, Susan (2002). Urban Voices: The Bay Area Indian Community. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1316-3.
4. Vulliamy, Ed (June 2023). "Reclaiming Native Identity in California". New York Review of Books. 70 (11). ISSN 0028-7504.
5. Vulliamy, Ed (June 2023). "Reclaiming Native Identity in California | Ed Vulliamy". New York Review of Books. 70 (11). ISSN 0028-7504.

External links

• Intertribal Friendship House official website.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs under the United States Department of the Interior.