Intertribal Friendship House

(510) 836-1955

Types

Cultural Non Profit

Type

About Intertribal Friendship House

Intertribal Friendship House (IFH) located in Oakland, CA was established in 1955 as one of the first urban American Indian community centers in the nation. It was founded by the American Friends Service Committee to serve the needs of American Indian people relocated from reservations to the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area American Indian community is multi-tribal, made of Native people and their descendants—those who originate here and those who have come to the Bay region from all over the United States and from other parts of this hemisphere.

For urban Native people IFH has served as the Urban Reservation and Homeland. In many cases it is one of the few places that keeps them connected to their culture and traditions through pow wow dance, drumming, beading classes, and the many social gatherings, cultural events, and ceremonies that are held there. Intertribal Friendship House is more than an organization. It is the heart of a vibrant tribal community.

The mission of Intertribal Friendship House (IFH) is to promote the ability of Native people to thrive in an urban environment through ceremony, traditions and cultural connection, to provide a safe environment to strengthen cultural identity, promote health, inter-generational healing and support the development of extended family.

We envision a future where Native people in the Bay Area are rooted in strong cultural connection and intergenerational healing and invested in out traditions that will help future generations survive.