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 2026 Forge Project Fellowship. Applicants may be asked to provide documentation of their Native citizenship or ancestry to confirm eligibility. At least two Fellows will come from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

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.

This year, after consideration from our Indigenous Steering Council, we have 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. The first part of the application includes space for feedback—if you have the capacity and interest, 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 are limiting 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 fill out the first part of the application, which provides space for feedback and will allow us to assess our application guidelines for next 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 Indigenous Programs and Relationality, 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 that work best for them.

Each Forge Project Fellow will receive $25,000 USD toward their practice and will have full access to the Forge Project site, libraries, and lending collection of living Indigenous artists during their fellowship. 2026 Fellows will 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, 2 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.

The Forge Project Fellowship does not require you to have a specific project in mind. You can apply with a project, a goal, or simply use the time to deepen your practice.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Community Fellowship does require that you apply with a specific project that supports community engagement and opportunities to share back directly with Stockbridge-Munsee Community members.

Through the project proposal, Forge staff can help support SMC Fellows in developing programs or methods to share back their work with the community, as needed. This is in alignment with shared commitments between Forge Project and Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding which aims to support deepening place-based cultural work and Indigenous world-building.

SMC Fellows are encouraged to work within their community networks to share back with the greater Stockbridge-Munsee tribal community effectively.

Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans tribal members, First and Second Line descendants are also welcome to apply without a project proposal by applying to the General Fellowship track. In this case these applications will be evaluated as part of the 2026 Forge Fellowship but will not be considered for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Fellowship.

Please review the application guidelines for more information.

Forge Project recognizes that written texts are only one way of representing ideas, sharing personal experiences or reflections on your practice. To support this, we have adapted our application format to include the option to either write text-based responses or upload audio recordings reflecting responses of a similar length. Please note the application file size upload limits in the question below.

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.

Keep in mind that the online form cannot submit file sizes that exceed 400 MB with a maximum submission upload size of 800MB. An alternative method of sharing large files, like sound or video, is to upload them to a program like Soundcloud or Google Drive and provide a PDF with embedded links allowing reviewers to access them. If files are password protected, please include the passwords.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any further questions about work samples or practices the Forge Project Fellowship supports.

Yes, each of your two references will need to submit letters of recommendation. Submittable will send an email with the contact information that you provide to each of your references, who can then upload their reference letters directly to Submittable. It is the responsibility of applicants and references to coordinate completion and upload letters of reference.

Please note that all letters of reference must be received in Submittable on the application due date of Sunday, February 15, 2026, by 11:59 PM EST.

Applicants can confirm or review the status of their Letters of Reference directly through their application by reviewing the Forms section of the application to confirm. Each reference will indicate either “request sent” or “response received” with a timestamp.

You will also receive a confirmation email when references are submitted through Submittable.

Applications without letters of recommendation will be considered incomplete.

No. The 2026 Forge Project Fellowship will be reviewed by a panel of four distinguished jury members, one of whom is a 2025 Forge Project Fellow.

No. The 2026 Stockbridge-Munsee Community Fellowship is reviewed by a panel of three distinguished jury members, one of whom is a member of Stockbridge-Munsee Community and 2025 SMC Fellow.

Feel free to reach out to Director of Indigenous Programs and Relationality, Sarah Biscarra Dilley (yaktitʸutitʸu yaktiłhini [Northern Chumash]) at [email protected] or Public and Relational Programs Coordinator, Monica Sekaquaptewa (Diné & Hopi) at [email protected] for one-on-one guidance.

Forge Project will host an informational webinar via Zoom:

• 2026 Forge Fellowship Informational Webinar, Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 6–7:30 PM EST. Register here.

This webinar will cover application guidelines, eligibility requirements, how to use Submittable, reflections from former Fellows, and an open Q&A for applicant questions.

The webinar will be recorded and uploaded to Forge Project’s Vimeo for access throughout the application process.

Please email [email protected] with any other questions.

Forge Project is also hosting an informational webinar via Zoom:
2026 Forge Fellowship Informational Webinar, Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 6–7:30 PM EST. Register here.

This webinar will cover application guidelines, eligibility requirements, how to use Submittable, reflections from former Fellows, and an open Q&A for applicant questions.

It will be recorded and uploaded to Forge Project’s Vimeo for access throughout the application process.