Broken Rainbow is a United States registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on helping Native Peoples with all aspects of their lives, from ensuring access to vital resource like water and clothing, to helping natives face harsh conditions of the lands they have been constrained to, providing goods and services to Native Peoples, primarily of the Navajo and Hopi peoples living in the state of Arizona.
Formation
Broken Rainbow was started by early childhood teacher Cheri Breeman in 1998. Cheri started by collecting items from her students and their families and delivering them to Big Mountain on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Word of her efforts spread and soon other community members joined in, donating consumables and lightly used items.
Broken Rainbow was registered as a 501(c)(3) in 2021 and has since expanded to deliver resources including drinking water and firewood (a primary heating sources for many people), and new items donated by corporate sponsors.
Broken Rainbow partners with other organizations to enhance our efforts, such as Arapahoe Basin, Bombas Socks, Sedona Water Works, St. Michael’s Chapter (government unit of the Navajo nation), and the Township of Kayenta, and others. Learn more about our partnerships on our Partnerships page.
History Of The Name
The name Broken Rainbow comes from the 1984 documentary Broken Rainbow, which is about the history of Navajo Native Americans, focusing on the government enforced relocation of thousands from Black Mesa in Arizona after the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act.
