For most of my career, I’ve gravitated toward the center of the action — the place where community work, strategy, storytelling, and connection overlap. Whether I was meeting with Tribal leaders as a Senate staffer on Capitol Hill, shaping national Tribal policy at NCAI, or building Tahoma Peak Solutions from the ground up, I was always searching for the same thing: the work that actually moves Native communities and Tribal sovereignty forward.
Over the past few years, I realized something important about myself. I’m at my best when I’m in direct collaboration with people — listening deeply, helping distill big ideas, building meaningful relationships, and telling Native stories with the accuracy, care, and cultural grounding they deserve. What energized me wasn’t the mechanics of running a large organization. It was the projects themselves: the conversations, the strategy, the creativity, the cultural nuance, and the responsibility that comes with telling our stories well.
I founded Tahoma Peak Solutions in 2021, and I was proud to guide a fast-growing, Native women-led organization until its natural close in 2025. That chapter taught me a great deal about leadership, scale, and what it takes to sustain meaningful work. But the truth is, I was spending more time keeping the machine running than doing the work I’m uniquely built to do. When Tahoma Peak Solutions closed its doors, it became clear: to do the kind of work that feels truly purposeful and rooted in community, I needed to build something of my own.
Launching Maria Givens Consulting allows me to return to what I’ve always loved — helping Native communities and Native-serving organizations communicate who they are, what they do, and why it matters, in a way that is culturally grounded and visually beautiful. Without the weight of institutional overhead, I can devote all my energy to the actual work:
Developing communications that reflect community values
Facilitating conversations that lead to real clarity and direction
Telling stories with integrity and authenticity
Supporting Native nonprofits, small businesses, and Tribes as they build their digital presence and visibility
WHY I STARTED MY OWN
CONSULTING BUSINESS
WHY I STARTED MY OWN CONSULTING BUSINESS
My perspective is deeply shaped by growing up Coeur d’Alene. I watched my mom make history as the first Native woman to be elected to the Idaho House of Representatives, serve her community, advocate for Native rights, and pave a path for Native women into public service. I watched my dad serve as my Tribe’s lead litigator — strategizing through Supreme Court cases over Lake Coeur d’Alene and negotiating Idaho’s first compact with the state.
In the Givens household, the dinner-table conversations were about sovereignty, strategy, community responsibility, and doing the right thing even when no one is watching. And those teachings — humility, integrity, honoring relationships, staying close to community — continue to guide how I work today.
Being Coeur d’Alene means I approach every client relationship by listening first. It means I won’t oversell myself or promise something I can’t deliver. It means that every work product — whether a video, a facilitation, a website, or a communications strategy — carries the same level of care I’d bring to my own community.
THE THREAD THAT RUNS THROUGH IT ALL
During my time working on Capitol Hill, I saw firsthand how much power lives in clear, well-told stories. I also saw how often Tribal programs doing extraordinary work were asked to compete for attention without the same communications tools or visibility as larger institutions. That experience stayed with me. I want to help Tribal departments, Native nonprofits, and community organizations create materials that reflect the strength, vision, and care already present in their work. I want their stories to be culturally grounded and told clearly, beautifully, and accurately — not mimicking anyone else, but standing confidently in who they are.
I want to keep facilitating conversations where people feel safe enough to tell the truth — the kind of moments that unlock real clarity, shift an organization’s trajectory, or spark a story that would otherwise go untold.
I also want to continue my work in DEI to strengthen cultural competence among non-Natives. Native perspectives are excluded from decision-making far too often, which carries real consequences to our communities. Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed how relationship-centered, culturally grounded education leads to more respectful relationships and durable outcomes for Indian Country. Regardless of shifting political climates, I’ll never abandon my community and stop telling Native stories. I remain committed to supporting learning that helps close the awareness gap in ways that are honest, accessible, and rooted in respect.
WHAT I WANT TO BUILD
After 15 years of working across Indian Country and returning to my Coeur d’Alene homelands last year, the timing finally made sense. Today, I have the skills, experience, perspective, and community grounding to offer something that didn’t exist when I started in this field:
Native-led communications consulting that is strategic, culturally rooted, visually strong, and built entirely around relationships and integrity.
This isn’t just a career move. It’s a return to the kind of work that feels like home.