The Good Mind Project

Team Leader

M B

What is the name of your organization?

The Good Mind Project

What is the name of your solution?

The Good Mind Project

Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.

The Good Mind Project

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Woodville, NC 27944, USA

In what country is your solution team headquartered?

United States

What type of organization is your solution team?

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

My people, Skarù·ręʔ Katèhnu·ʔaka (Tuscarora People of the Sunken Cypress) are the indigenous people of Eastern North Carolina. We are continuing to fight for our legal and political recognition as Tuscarora people. The federal government of the United States, and the state government of North Carolina continues to deny our existence and erase our history, especially under the current administration. They continue to try to force us to accept a different tribal name an identity that has no historical basis. We continue to assert our identity as Tuscarora people and we refuse to have our culture and history erased.

What is your solution?

Our solution is The Good Mind Project. Mission Statement: To educate, restore and promote the ideas and practices of using a Good Mind in all interactions among individuals and our environment. Our government, The Great Law of Peace, is a democratic system steeped in spiritual traditions that offer a personal code of conduct which is intended to dictate all of our actions, words, and decision making. That is, our spiritual democratic laws provide guidelines to raise up and maintain healthy communities of individuals that not only survive but thrive when we live and interact with the natural world according to our original instructions given to us by the Creator. A Good Mind is fundamental to proper conduct in all things from ceremonies, political decisions and personal interactions. Keeping a Good Mind is essential in promoting healthy environments where we understand the necessity and commitment of maintaining good relationships, be they with one another, the environment or nations. A Good Mind is understanding we are different, we have different ideas and different solutions to life’s challenges. A Good Mind accepts these differences, acknowledges the value of others and does not falter in showing respect and appreciation of others.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our target population are the Tuscarora Indians living in North Carolina. North Carolina Tuscaroras are among the most underserved indigenous communities in the United States. The government of the United States refuses to provide financial assistance to American Indian tribes that do not have federal acknowledgment. The North Carolina Tuscaroras have fought for our federal and state recognition for almost 150 years now. Throughout our history we have been denied recognition under our true tribal name as Tuscarora people. Because of this we are forced to raise all of our own funding and revenue through our own labor and efforts. The Good Mind Project is giving access to cultural education to all of the Tuscarora people living in our homeland of Eastern North Carolina, as well as to all the Tuscarora people living in diaspora. This project not only serves those living now, it serves our ancestors who want to see us thrive, and it serves the next seven generations of Tuscarora people by ensuring our culture does not go extinct. Our larger projects will serve in solidarity with other indigenous nations, and our environmental programs will serve all of humanity and all our relations by ensuring a healthy earth.

Solution Team:

M B