Used in Education and Indigenous Philanthropy
There is quite a story behind the flag and has been used by school teachers in Canada and the United States in lesson plans discussing the circles and the representative colors. In 2022 the Indigenous Unity Flag Foundation Project was advanced by the artist of the flag, the Honorable Michael L. Sher who is a quantum member of First Nations living in Thornhill, Ontario to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his work.
Michael will continue to provide 24"x57" flags to Facebook page followers that contact him directly for $150 USD postpaid to the US and Canada (international shipping available) for those who donate directly to the foundation to encourage indigenous philanthropy which he strongly supports. The artist now licenses his common law copyrighted work under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA, this basically means that others can make copies of his work, modify the work, but may not reproduce his work for any commercial purposes or non-commercial distribution without a personal or corporate license from the foundation or a personal endorsement from the artist. All those who use the image online should tag, credit and attribute to the "Indigenous Unity Flag by Artist Michael Sher" or if using the flag in a photo, the Wikipedia image, or a Facebook post to credit the item "Photo compliments of the Indigenous Unity Foundation".
Licensing fees are now applied as donations to the foundation project to encourage others to use the symbol philanthropically to further empower Indigenous sovereignty, respect Indigenous rights to self-determination and create sustainable economies based on preservation of our natural heritage as Indigenous peoples. The licensing fees for commercial use range from $250 to $5,000 per year, currently only the Adivasi (ethnic group) are licensed to reproduce a modified version of the flag for sale and fundraising in India during festival weeks under a special agreement negotiated with the artist.
Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Ideals and Influence
In 2021 the flag was nominated by Globcal International as the "Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Culture" winning a small technology grant for being an "appropriate concept in its time and moment addressing Indigenous justice, the environment and our future as people sharing a living planet" subsequently it was recognized by the Goodwill Ambassador Commission when it was listed as a "symbol for good-will and unity among indigenous nations and all people." To further project the image of the flag representative of both diversity and unity we began to establish a foundation with Globcal International in 2018. Now in 2022 the foundation we started represents one of many programs of Ecology Crossroads aimed at protecting and restoring ecosystems within native peoples territories.
Ecology Crossroads Cooperative Foundation is a registered non-profit charitable organization founded in 1994, located in Kentucky that is both focused on empowered Indigenous philanthropy and protecting the natural environment. The organization based in the United States will be instrumental in helping us extend our reach, produce more flags and ensure that funds we raise with the Indigenous Unity Foundation Program provide benefits to plant trees, distribute more flags as well as, protect and recover indigenous territory lost to governments, corporations and private interests, all sponsors of the foundation will be prominently recognized.