Short Summary
The International Folklore Festival of Fribourg (RFI) is located in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland. Founded in 1973, the RFI is the oldest and most popular cultural event of the region. It takes place every year during 8 days in mid-August and features 8 to 10 international traditional dance ensembles. Offering about 50 performances and special events spread over the week, the festival attracts more than 30'000 people ever year. This will be the first year in history that Native Americans have been asked to dance and share their culture. Native Pride Dancers have the opportunity to be the FIRST! We have been asked to fly 20 Native dancers and singers to Switzerland to share our history, our present, and our future with over 30,000 people.
What We Need & What You Get
Our goal is to raise $30,000 to fly all of our dancers to Zurich, Switzerland to perform. We will bring all our sponsors along on this journey via videos, pictures, and live streams on our social media platforms throughout the 8 day event.
The Impact
Your generous support would help Indigenous American’s and first Nations of Canada succeed in sharing our ancestral knowledge to help improve connections of our future generations and dispel the stereotypes that still exist today. Our dancers range in ages from 4 years old to 86 years old. This opportunity will show our younger dancers how important it is to keep the traditions alive and learn from our elders the ways of our ancestors.
Risks & Challenges
As many know, the westward push has left many of our communities in poverty and battling the use of drugs and alcohol. Our dancers have overcome these oppressions and are staying true to our culture through a positive outlet- Music and Dance. Unfortunately, the challenge is that many of our Indigenous dancers do not have the financial means to travel abroad. We hope this campaign will afford the opportunity to share friendship, peace and respect among different cultures of the world as well as intercultural exchange and cultural diversity.
Other Ways You Can Help
Please share this campaign with others via social media, word of mouth, etc. We need your support!