The Fourth World Documentation Project (FWDP) is a unique resource for the promotion of Indigenous rights. The purpose of the FWDP is twofold: disseminate new and timely information from Indigenous Nations and organizations, and archive older documents and records for historical preservation. Few know of the people and organizations who have contributed so much over the last thirty years in the struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and self- determination. Few records have been kept in many instances, and even fewer released to the public. It is vitally important that the positions taken by tribal governments and inter-tribal organizations be carefully archived for present and future policy-makers and researchers.

The Center For World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) has made great inroads over the past four years meeting these goals with the Fourth World Documentation Project. We would like to make the FWDP the most comprehensive and in depth archive of its type in the world. To this end, we would like to ask those of you who use the FWDP archives for your help and assistance. By becoming a contributor to the Fourth World Documentation Project, you will play an important role in the improvement of this work and in the promotion of Indigenous rights. You will also receive a "Certificate of Appreciation" on behalf of CWIS as a token of our gratitude.

Becoming a contributor is easy! We rely on many of forms of assistance. Our most pressing need, however, is also the hardest to ask for. We need funds to continue this project and upgrade our scanning equipment. The Center For World Indigenous Studies is an American-Indian controlled, non-profit [U.S. 501 (c)(3)] organization. We run entirely on non-governmental grants, private donations and the efforts of numerous volunteers. If you would care to make a tax-deductible donation to the Fourth World Documentation Project, please make your check or money order out to the Center For World Indigenous Studies and send it to:

Center For World Indigenous Studies (CWIS)
ATTN: FWDP
1001 Cooper Point Road SW
Suite 140-214
Olympia, WA 98502 U.S.A.

Don't feel bad if you cannot afford to help us out monetarily! We also need your donations in the form of time. We would like to improve the usability of the FWDP World Wide Web Site and archives. Would you be interested in helping us re- organize the archives by nation or subject material? Would you like to help out in converting documents from ASCII to HTML? Can you create web forms or write CGI scripts? Do you have any ideas on how to improve this site? We can use your assistance! Just send us an e-mail with your ideas to usaoffice@cwis.org .

Your help, in whatever form, will be greatly appreciated!