Regional Autonomous Indigenous-Centered Educational Spaces
(RAICES) Project
RYP 2023 Cohort
ACCESS strives to bridge the divide between academic and community serving. They enable a path to opportunity and self-advocacy.
As part of OYE's 2023 Cohort, they worked to serve the indigenous youth of South Oxnard, home to a large population of Mixtec communities, through after-school educational support and college readiness mentoring.
Grupo de Jóvenes de Taft - Taft, CA
Grupo de Jóvenes de taft is a youth group that aims to host a safe space for Indigenous youth to practice different sports and cultural activities outdoors.
As part of OYE's 2023 cohort, they hosted spaces for indigenous youth to learn about the traditional dances from the regions of Oaxaca to promote indigenous pride and cultural enrichment.
Niñes del Maíz - Oxnard, CA & Santa María, CA
Niñes del Maíz is an indigenous-led community collective capturing and uplifting the voices of indigenous diasporas beyond transnational borders and across seas.
As part of OYE'S 2023 cohort, they worked to spread consciousness around topics such as language justice and historical and societal movements within the community, simultaneously highlighting the stories and issues impacting our community through their growing digital platform.
The Regional Autonomous Indigenous-Centeted Educational Spaces (RAICES) Project is a continuation of our previous 2023 & 2024 program, Regional Youth Group Project, developed to further reach pre-existing autonomous indigenous groups/spaces in the diaspora. We highly encourage already established groups to apply for this fund; however, developing youth groups, dance groups, and cultural arts groups are encouraged to apply as well.
The RAICES project aims to assist Indigenous groups serving the indigenous migrants community, but not limited to the MIxtec, Zapotec, Triqui, in their respective regions and to help them create and develop a goal they wish to accomplish locally. OYE will review all applicants before deciding which groups are approved for this program. Your group's objective/project should fall under one the following categories: Mental Health, Educational, Cultural, and/or Social.
Accepted groups will be required to present their project and outcomes during the OYE's Annual Indigenous Youth Conference tentatively scheduled for the second weekend of November 2025. The six-month program will be from April-November 2024.
Limited funding is available for each project and/or group that gets approved. Reasonable expenses may include group activities, meetings and travel expenses.
In 2023, we supported 3 Indigenous/Oaxaqueñx youth groups located in regions of the Central Coast of California. The Regional Youth Program (RYP) provided leadership guidance and financial support to existing indigenous/oaxaqueñx-led youth groups in developing community projects related to mental health, education, culture, and/or social over a six-month period from June 10 - December 10, 2023. The follow was our 2023 Cohort:
OYE wants to support you to build and foster Indigenous youth leaders with activities that create a space that reflect our mission and values. Please consider applying and reach out with any questions you may have regarding you eligibility. We encourage you to apply if your group’s objective/project falls under one of the following categories:
Mental Health, Education, Cultural, Social
