The Forge Project Fellowship is intended to support Indigenous cultural workers broadly. The Fellowship supports writers, language teachers, musicians, scholars, health workers, organizers, activists, researchers, cultural practitioners, educators, artists, and others who represent a diversity of expertise, participatory research and organizing models, and geographic contexts.

Applicants must be an enrolled member, citizen, or descendant with verification from the enrollment office of a state or federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, or of Native Hawaiian ancestry, a Canadian First Nations (status or non-status), Metis or Inuit to apply for the Forge Project Fellowship. Applicants may be asked to provide documentation of their Native citizenship or ancestry to confirm eligibility.

At least two Fellows will be Stockbridge-Munsee enrolled tribal members, First and Second Line descendants of Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans.

We designed this fellowship for Indigenous individuals working to honor Indigenous pasts as well as build Native futures, and this eligibility requirement is intended to ensure that this is who the fellowship serves. We recognize that there are many distinct political realities that impact who is included within these designations and are actively working toward expanding access that is aligned with these lived experiences and tribal sovereignty.

For the 2026 application period, after consideration from our Indigenous Steering Council, we decided to maintain eligibility requirements from the 2025 fellowship cycle which includes enrolled members, citizens, and descendants with status verified by the enrollment office of state and federally recognized Native Nations tribes, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian peoples, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. While we do not seek to be gatekeepers of Indigeneity, Forge Project shapes these guidelines with attentiveness to the widespread impact of Indigenous identity fraud in the arts, academic and community spaces as a continuation of colonial extraction.

We welcome feedback on how our application process can be more accessible and legible beyond the structures of occupying state(s), as well as firmly accountable to the relational and political practices of Indigeneity, kinship, and belonging. Please email [email protected], and please consider including information on your tribal community’s unique political and social context to better support inclusion and nuance in future applications and residency guidelines.

Yes, our eligibility requirement is to be an enrolled member, citizen, or descendant with verification from a state or federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, or of Native Hawaiian ancestry, a Canadian First Nations (status or non-status), Metis or Inuit. If you are applying as a descendant, you will need to have a document issued by your tribe’s enrollment office to verify recognition by and involvement in your community.

Unfortunately, at this time, we have limited the fellowship to individuals enrolled in or with verified descendant status from Indigenous nations occupied by the United States and Canada. We encourage you to email [email protected] to provide feedback, as we continue to assess our application guidelines each year.

Fellows are invited to stay in residence at Forge for up to three weeks to make use of the studio, library, and lending collection and be on the land. We also understand that many of our fellows have full-time careers, families, and other responsibilities. Forge’s Director of Relational Programs, Sarah Biscarra Dilley (yaktitʸutitʸu yaktiłhini [Northern Chumash]), and Public and Relational Programs Coordinator, Monica Sekaquaptewa (Diné & Hopi), will work with fellows to determine residency dates (often between May and October of each year) that work best for them.

Each Forge Project Fellow receives $25,000 USD in recognition of their practice and a flexible residency stay in which the fellow will have full access to the Forge Project site, library, and lending collection of living Indigenous art. Fellows may also have the opportunity to present their work to the local Forge Project audience on site as well as a wider international audience via social media. Forge covers round trip travel, local transportation, accommodations, two prepared meals during the working week,and per diem offered for remaining meals while fellows are in residence.

The cash award is unrestricted and can be used however you wish. Please note that this award is considered taxable income by the IRS.

No, the application for the Forge Project Fellowship is currently closed.

The application period for the 2027 Forge Project Fellowship will open in Fall/Winter 2026. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, or check back on our website for updated information on the next application round.

Forge Project recognizes that written texts are only one way of representing ideas, sharing personal experiences or reflections on your practice. To support this,our application format includes the option to either write text-based responses or upload audio recordings reflecting responses of a similar length. Please note that there may be application file size upload limits, which will be shared at the beginning of each open application period.

Work samples may reflect a variety of documentation that best highlights your practice. Some examples include lesson plans, photographs of land-based processes, video for film samples, texts, audio samples, photographs of visual art, or performance documentation.

Yes, each of your two references will need to submit letters of recommendation. More guidance and specific directions to submit these letters will be provided when the application period opens.

Please note, applications without letters of recommendation will be considered incomplete.

No. Each year, the Forge Project Fellowship is reviewed by a panel of distinguished jury members external to the Forge Project team. More information and bios for the jury will be shared at the beginning of each open application period.

No. Each year, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Fellowship is reviewed by a panel of distinguished jury members. More information and bios for the jury will be shared at the beginning of each open application period.

Please email [email protected] with any other questions.