NICWA News
The National Indian Child Welfare Association’s Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2014
Service and Advocacy for Indian Children
Message From Executive Director Terry Cross Dear Members and Supporters: With the arrival of spring, there is a new energy around the NICWA offices. We were very pleased to receive some significant contributions recently that will mean NICWA will end our fiscal year on a very strong note. Support from tribes, such as the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, continue to sustain the organization. In fact, the generosity of this year’s Protecting Our Children national conference’s tribal sponsors has already exceeded our expectations. NICWA’s annual conference has attracted additional key stakeholders this year. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is sponsoring a track of workshops in partnership with NICWA as part of our racial equity work. First Nations Repatriation Institute, a national organization dedicated to supporting Native adult adoptees, will also convene. Also, the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Government Accounting Office will all hold listening sessions at our conference. These partners recognize that our conference is the premier gathering of you—tribal child welfare workers and advocates who can greatly inform their work. Lastly, I want to update you on the progress of the leadership transition at NICWA. It is well underway and proceeding exactly as we had anticipated. Sarah Kastelic is now ably overseeing many of my former responsibilities. Watching her take the reins in new areas has prompted me to reflect upon my time at NICWA and to look to a future where I get to serve NICWA and tribal communities in a new way. Looking back, I can remember how my role at NICWA was the result of being in the right place at the right time, ready to get to work and do whatever my elders told me. I didn’t set out to create an organization. All I had to do is show up. Creator always gave me what I needed to do. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. Looking forward, I know that if things continue getting better in the next 40 years the way they have these past 40 years, we’re going to be in great shape. We’ve gone from failing court systems and non-existent structures for programs, to a place where every tribe in the nation has some type of child welfare services. Then, we didn’t have any legislation that protected children. Now, there is. When I think about all of the things I’ve been a part of and able to accomplish, I feel a lot of gratitude and wonder. It is with this sense of reflection and renewal that I thank you for your ongoing support and wish you well. Terry L. Cross Executive Director
NICWA News
Published by the National Indian Child Welfare Assocation 5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon, 97239 P: (503) 222-4044 F: (503) 222-4007 www.nicwa.org
What’s Inside the Spring 2014 Issue:
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Letter from the Executive Director NICWA Staff Visit DC Stakeholders Tribal Notification Policy in NM Leadership Transition Underway Poarch Creek Gives Critical Support Inside NICWA Seminoles Become Host Sponsor Where We’ve Been New and Renewing Members List Wisom Circle Scholarship Announced Upcoming Events NICWA Cares How NICWA’s RFI Process Works
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NICWA Works with Federal Officials and Partners to Improve Protections and Resources for Tribal Children and Families At the beginning of each year—after Congress comes back into session and federal agencies begin focusing on their plans for the year—NICWA goes to Washington, DC, to begin our education of federal officials on the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families. Since early February, NICWA staff and board members have been in Washington, DC, four different weeks as part of our outreach efforts. These meetings are critical to NICWA’s goal of establishing a strong presence in the home of the federal government and strengthening relationships that are necessary to promote effective policy development. Because of our ongoing work throughout the year with tribal leadership, NICWA has the support to carry important information to federal policymakers and agency officials so AI/AN children and families are not forgotten.
Associate Attorney General West responded that Department of Justice would look for ways to help support proper implementation of ICWA and was considering requests from tribal leadership to investigate examples of improper implementation.
Some highlights from our most recent work in Washington, DC, include a meeting with Associate Attorney General of the United States Tony West. NICWA staff and Board President Gil Vigil spoke with Mr. West about continuing gaps in compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). In discussing how it is a basic civil right of AI/AN children to be raised within their families and communities, NICWA staff asserted that these rights were being violated at an alarming pace in some areas. Sharing both research data and the myriad stories we hear from our constituents on an almost daily basis, staff emphasized how this was destabilizing tribal children, families, and communities. Associate Attorney General West responded that the Department of Justice would look for ways to help support proper implementation of ICWA and was considering requests from tribal leadership to investigate examples of improper implementation. In our work to educate federal policymakers, NICWA works with a variety of partners that are also engaged in similar work. One example of this is NICWA’s recent meeting with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The foundation has been very active in educating the child advocacy community and federal policymakers on child welfare finance reform. The federal government’s system of funding child welfare services has been in need of an overhaul for some time. Federal funding policies have a role in influencing how states and tribes focus their local efforts to help vulnerable children and families. In some cases, these policies have not fit well with the current knowledge we have about how to best prevent removal of children from their families. With the meeting, NICWA began a dialogue on how Annie E. Casey can bolster efforts to address the needs of AI/AN children and engage tribal governments. While Congress may not take up child welfare finance reform this year, our investment now will greatly improve the chances that when they do, Congress will have specific provisions that will benefit AI/AN children and families.
NICWA Board Member Aurene Martin and Government Affairs Director David Simmons in February.
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NICWA, AAIA Study Tribal Notification Policy in New Mexico National Indian Child Welfare Association Executive Director Terry Cross announced that the organization is embarking on a collaborative research project with the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) to study tribal notification law, a law unique to the state of New Mexico, and how it may improve outcomes for American Indian youth in the juvenile justice system. Currently, under the law, the courts are required to notify a tribe if one of their Native youth enters the juvenile justice system. The project launched earlier this year in Santa Fe, The project launched earlier this year in Santa Fe, New Mexico, New Mexico, with a convening of 22 experts in juve- with a convening of 22 experts in juvenile justice in New Mexico. nile justice in New Mexico, including tribal and state leaders and other stakeholders in juvenile justice, who helped inResearchers will study form the research strategy and identify counties of focus. The projwhether tribal notification is ect will examine the unique legal and policy environment in New effective in New Mexico, and Mexico regarding tribal-state relationships and juvenile offenders. Researchers will study whether tribal notification is effective in New if not, how it can be adjusted Mexico, and if not, how it can be adjusted to work more effectively to work more effectively and and serve as a model to address this problem in other states.
serve as a model to address this problem in other states.
NICWA and AAIA will be conducting interviews with New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department officials, tribal leaders, state and tribal judges, probation officers, service providers, and others working in juvenile justice, as well as American Indian youth who have been in contact with the juvenile justice system in the past. The study will feature a legal analysis of how the law works and best practices for its implementation. The project is funded by a grant from The Public Welfare Foundation. The foundation’s Juvenile Justice Program supports organizations working to reduce youth incarceration rates in the juvenile justice system and promote fair and equitable treatment of youth of color by the juvenile justice system. Terry Cross stated, “We are inspired by the interest and participation of tribal, state, and county leaders and others working in juvenile justice so far in this project. We are confident in the potential of the tribal notification law in New Mexico and in other states across Indian Country.”
NICWA will fight to protect our children. Will you help us?
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NICWA provides assistance to over 1,000 Native families annually, provides training to dozens of tribal communities each year, and advocates tirelessly to promote programs, funding, and services desperately needed by our Indian communities. Your support will ensure that NICWA will continue to fight to protect our children and preserve our culture.
Kastelic Assumes Increasing Leadership Role in Anticipation of Year-End Executive Transition In December 2014, Terry Cross will step down as the executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association and take on the role of senior consultant for the organization. He will spend his time writing, working with tribal communities, and training staff to work with tribal communities instead of focusing on the day-to-day management of NICWA. Consistent with NICWA’s four-year transition plan, Sarah Kastelic will become the new executive director. Taking such a measured approach to the executive transition has created the unique opportunity to evaluate the organization’s governance and operations, map a long-term strategic plan collaboratively, and promote transparency of the organization through constant communications with the communities NICWA serves. Support from the philanthropic community allowed NICWA to convene other nonprofits that have faced—or are facing—similar shifts. Kastelic says, “Learning how such changes in executive leadership have occurred in other similar organizations helped us understand just how transition can either result in turmoil, or it can create real strength. We’ve approached our transition with the latter in mind.” While Kastelic will assume her new role as executive director in the new year, she has already assumed leadership of some of Cross’s executive responsibilities. “Sarah is now overseeing NICWA’s fiscal operations and all board activities,” explains Cross. “Throughout 2014, she and I will be meeting and conversing with our partners to ensure that those relationships are handed off in a good way.”
Cross and Kastelic at the 2013 National Day of Prayer for Native Children
Significant changes such as these are bound to generate many questions, and even a little apprehension, about how a new executive director may change NICWA’s role as the leading advocacy organization dedicated to tribal child welfare issues. Understanding that such concerns are a natural result of the departure of a much-admired founding director, Kastelic remains optimistic that any fears will be quickly eased. “This is a real chance to engage our constituency in helping shape the future direction of NICWA,” Kastelic states. “Our goal is nothing short of what we’ve heard referred to as ‘radical stability’.” 5
Poarch Band of Creek Indians Gives $50,000 to Fund Core Work The Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama recently donated $50,000 to the National Indian Child Welfare Association in support of the organization’s core work. The gift marks the most recent in a series of significant donations from the tribe. “Support for our core work ensures that we can protect and defend our Indian children,” said NICWA Executive Director Terry Cross. “We appreciate that Poarch Creek understands how vital funding for these operations is. We’ve benefited greatly not just from their most generous support but from the leadership that tribal member Robert McGhee has demonstrated on our board of directors. NICWA considers the tribe a true partner.”
Gil Vigil
Inside NICWA NICWA Welcomes New Staff Members Gokee-Rindal and Boro NICWA is delighted to introduce two new members of the NICWA staff. NICWA’s new youth engagement specialist, Linda Migiziikwe Gokee-Rindal (Anishinaabe), is an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in northern Wisconsin. Linda obtained a bachelor of arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth with a major in American Indian studies and a minor in women’s studies and has previously worked in the fields of youth development, HIV/AIDS prevention, and domestic violence. Linda has presented on a variety topics including reproductive justice, Indigenous feminism, violence against Indigenous women in the U.S., two-spirit/ Indigenous LGBTQ perspectives, media literacy, and human trafficking in Minnesota and Wisconsin
Linda Gokee-Rinda
Justin Boro is from Portland, Oregon, and joined our staff in January 2014. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Portland State University in 2011, where he focused his studies on the effects of development and trade on political institutions and cultures. After graduation, Justin interned with state, federal, and local government offices to help improve the lives of Oregonians. Before joining our organization, he worked in the Oregon Senate, where he helped advocate for the Foster Youth Bill of Rights (SB 123), cultural competency in health care delivery (HB 2611A), and addressing the over representation of minorities within the social services and corrections systems (SB 463B). Justin is a NICWA support specialist, providing much-needed assistance to the communications, membership, and events departments. Justin Boro
We’re Hiring! We are currently seeking qualified applicants for two positions: Human Resources Supervisor and Community Development Specialist. Visit our website to view these and future job opportunities. Join Team NICWA! www.nicwa.org/careers 6
Seminole Tribe of Florida Provides Key Host Sponsorship of NICWA Conference The National Indian Child Welfare Association received a $20,000 host sponsorship from the Seminole Tribe of Florida for this year’s 32nd Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This year’s sponsorship by the tribe will help NICWA bring a wide range of workshops and relationship-building opportunities for child welfare workers, tribal leaders, and ICWA advocates from all across Indian Country and maintain the conference as the premier national gathering to discuss best practices in Indian child welfare. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has a long and proud history asserting their tribal sovereignty and is the only tribe in America who has never signed a peace treaty. Today, the tribe operates some of the most successful Native-owned business enterprises in the United States, employing more than 7,000 people and purchasing more than $130.3 million in goods and services yearly. Christopher Osceola
When reflecting on the tribe’s sponsorship for the annual conference, Seminole Councilman Christopher Osceola remarked that, “For the past several years, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has been a generous supporter in the efforts and important work that NICWA does for Native American children and families across the United States as well as preserving the Indian Child Welfare Act. As a member of the Seminole Tribal Council, it has given me an opportunity to see firsthand a lot of the issues that NICWA deals with. Furthermore, it has really opened my eyes to all the good work that NICWA does, and has done, for Native American people across this great country.” NICWA Executive Director Terry Cross noted that, “Simply put, the Seminole Tribe of Florida—as one of our largest tribal donors—has provided significant support to our organization over the years. Without the generous contributions from the Seminole Tribe, NICWA could not bring together such a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss, collaborate, and transform Indian child welfare. This year’s conference promises to continue to advance our mission to promote the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children, families, and communities.”
Where We’ve Been Every year, NICWA program staff provide on-site training and technical assistance to dozens of communities in the U.S. and Canada. Here is where we’ve been so far in 2014.
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New and Renewing Members January 1–March 31, 2014
Tribe
Suquamish Tribe
Tribe
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma Anvik Tribal Council
Coral Membership Tier
Individual
Organization
Shannon Jones Claudio Mantovani Tanya McElfresh
Eckerd
Turquoise Membership Tier Alex Cleghorn Trina Hofbauer Robert McGhee Patrick Shannon Adrian Smith Tim Tank
Individual
Lorraine Van Brunt Gil Vigil Jeffery Whelan Daniel Winkel-Wolfshadow
Abalone Membership Tier Pamela Adair Nicole Adams Shirlene Ade Lola Adedokun Shannon Ahtone Cynthia Alexander Caroline Archibald Barbara Arvi Julie Atkins Elizabeth Avelar Ilona Avery Linda Ayagarak-Daney Ronelle Baker Dode Barnett Christine Baron Ivonne Barrios LouAnn Benson Erin Binneboese Sara Bissen Kathy Black Bear John Bradley Jr. Nadia Brigham Stephanie Brown Shannon Brown Nicole Brun Barbie Buchanan Penthea Burns Kelly Bushey Terri Capoeman Ralph Coker Kimi Coker Rita Coosewoon Tsali Cross Jason Cross Jackie Crow Shoe Vera Dawsey Verlin Deerinwater Brandi Dobson Jesus Donacio Caitlin Donald Jan Donald Karla Eisen Jennifer Elliott Adirian Emery Rochelle Ettawageshik Judy Fernandez Donne Fleagle Jocelyn Formsma Kathy Foy Debra Francis Raquel Franklin
Annette Gachupin Karen Geerken-Ottertail Danielle Glenn-Rivera Edwin Gonzalez-Santin Myrna Gooden Olivia Gray Morningstar Green Robert Griffy Michael Guilfoyle Zahra Hadi Tami Haley Josephine Halfhide Christine Harbour Lise Hayden Maureen Heffernan Cora Hinton Barbara Hitchcock Thelma Houle Kelly Hubbell Sarah Huesmann Gloria Huffman Jessica Hughes Irene Hunter Thomasine Iron Yvonne Ito Denise Jefferson Foran Jill Peggy Jourdain Nora Jourdain Iris Jourdain Dixie Kamimura Sharron Kane Cornelia Karty Andrea Konik Sonya LaCoute-Dana Candace LaGou Kathy LaPlante Robert Lindecamp Leah Lujan Rebekah Main Jolene Martin Andrew Masiel Linda McNall Harmon Meldrim Natalie Meyring Jennifer Misegan Sandra Mithlo Mallory Moon Summer Morgan Jeffrey Olson Lorraine Orosco
Corporate Associate Membership Joseph Holloway
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Hankie Ortiz Lisa Otipoby Tracy Ottertail Jodi Michele Owings Elizabeth Paez Yvonne Page Tricia Palacios Rena Parisien DeAnna Parker Robert Paulson Jay Pedro Amy Perron Lacey Peterson Pearl Pickett Phyllis Pierson Shannon Porter Misty Powell Rick Rabenort Carlette Randall Sharon Randle Tammy Red Owl Terry Roe Lund Sonia Ruedas Yonevea Sapcut Pete Small Bear Robert Smith Shannon Soop Amanda Sprague Robyn Stevenson Nadine Swartout Sheridan Terbasket Senora Thompson Paige Thorson Leoda Tommie Pam Wadsworth Christine Waquie Deanna Warren Marcel Weasel Head Nethia White Joni Williams Jackie Wilson Karen Wolf Tasha Yatchmeneff
Wisdom Circle Scholarship for NICWA Members Announced
NICWA Board of Directors
Greetings from your membership department! We are so pleased to welcome the more than 100 new members over the winter quarter, and of course, thank you to all of our renewing members who continue to demonstrate commitment to the work NICWA does building tribal capacity to provide culturally competent Indian child welfare (ICW) services in their communities. Our membership is now more than 450 strong, and we hope to see all of you at our upcoming conference in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Stop by our membership booth to say hello and for your chance to win some membersonly goodies. We’d love to hear from you!
Officers
NICWA recognizes that our members are dedicated professionals, from a wide array of career fields, who have committed themselves to learning and implementing best practices and fostering innovative, solutions-focused ways of Ava Hansen working in Indian child welfare. To honor the diligence of our members in staying apprised of advancements in the Indian child welfare field, NICWA is very happy to offer our new member benefit, the Wisdom Circle Scholarship, which will be rolled out at the membership reception at our 32nd Annual Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Members
The Wisdom Circle Scholarships are four merit-based scholarships that will be awarded on an annual basis, in varying amounts not to exceed $125 per person, to individuals who work in or with the ICW field and who demonstrate significant motivation in advancing their education or their professional skills in ICW. The awards may be used for tuition, study materials and curricula, conferences, workshops, or training fees for ICW-related educational or professional opportunities. To be eligible, you must be a current member (individual member or working for a tribal/organizational member) and you must be doing ICW work in one of the following fields: • Education • Social Work • Policy • Law • Research • Tribal Sovereignty The award year is May 1 through April 30. The application and required materials will be available on May 1 on the NICWA website and through the NICWA membership department. To inquire about this new benefit, or provide feedback on this or other membership services, please contact Member Relations Manager Ava Hansen at ava@nicwa.org. 9
Gil Vigil (Tesuque Pueblo) President Theodore Nelson, Sr. (Seminole Tribe of Florida) Vice President Rochelle Ettawageshik (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians) Secretary Gary Peterson (Skokomish) Treasurer
Patricia Carter-Goodheart (Nez Perce) Angela Connor (Choctaw) Paul Day (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) Jennifer Elliott (Sac and Fox) Donne Fleagle (Athabascan) Jocelyn Formsma (Swampy Cree) Debra Foxcroft (Tseshaht) Linda Logan (Oklahoma Choctaw) Aurene Martin (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) Robbie McGhee (Poarch Band of Creek Indians) Jaymee Moore (Colorado River Indian Tribes) Mary Tenorio (Santo Domingo Pueblo) Derek C. Valdo (Pueblo of Acoma) Alex Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) Jeffrey C. Whelan (Saint Regis Mohawk)
Board of Regents
Brad Earl (Nez Perce descendent) David Powless (Oneida) Sherry Salway Black (Oglala Lakota) Don Sampson (Walla Walla) John Shagonaby (Potawatomi) Mike Tiger (Seminole Tribe of Florida)
Council of Elders
Anita Chisholm (Absentee Shawnee) William Clark (Cherokee) Don Milligan (Métis: Cree/Assiniboine, Yakama, Kootenai) Lola Sohappy (Warm Springs)
Strategic Leadership Council Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw) Ernie Stevens, Jr. (Oneida)
NICWA Cares NICWA Ends 2013 with Community Service Every year, NICWA staff come together and work toward giving back to the local community and showing appreciation for organizations in the community doing good things for Native children and their families. In December 2013, NICWA staff decided to host a bake sale and dedicate the proceeds to buy presents for the children at the Siletz Tribal Head Start Program in Portland, Oregon.
The bake sale raised nearly $500.
The Siletz Tribal Head Start Program is an early childhood education program designed to foster the development of preschool-aged children and to promote school readiness. The program also works to ensure that children are up-todate on preventive medical and dental care. The classrooms provide cultural enrichment, connect families to resources in the community, and build community through parent and family involvement.
With the nearly $500 raised from the December 13 bake sale, NICWA staff were able to purchase presents to fulfill the children’s wish lists. “It was important for us to connect with the local Native American community,” said NICWA Project Support Alexis Contreras. “Giving back to Native families and children is a deeply held value by NICWA. The excitement and joy it brought the children reminded staff why we do what we do.”
Upcoming NICWA Events NICWA Training Institutes December 1–3, 2014 San Diego, California • Positive Indian Parenting • ICWA Basics • Advanced ICWA
32nd Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect April 13–16, 2014 Fort Lauderdale, Florida NICWA Training Institutes April 17–18, 2014 Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Positive Indian Parenting
33rd Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect April 19–22, 2015 Portland, Oregon
NW Native Art Show July 19–20, 2014 Portland, Oregon
NICWA Training Institutes April 23–24, 2015 San Diego, California • Positive Indian Parenting • ICWA Basics
A portion of the proceeds will go to NICWA.
NICWA Training Institutes September 8–10, 2014 Portland, Oregon • Positive Indian Parenting • ICWA Basics • Advanced ICWA
To learn more, visit www.nicwa.org 10
I Need Help, Now What Do I Do? A Guide to NICWA’s RFI Process NICWA receives well over one thousand requests for information (RFIs) each year by phone, email, mail, social media, and in-person walk-ins. Recognizing the oftencritical nature of many of these requests, staff make every effort to respond in a timely manner to each request.
to connect these requestors with information, resources, and referrals to those who may be able to further help the requestor.
NICWA is not a direct service provider nor a legal services provider to individuals. We work with tribes, Native organizations, policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and the legal community to strengthen tribal child welfare and improve policies for Native children. This has created a deep network of relationships that we call on to help our constituents directly.
Other times, callers seek consultation. Many RFIs require a particular area of expertise—how certain federal or state legislation could affect them, knowledge of or tribally or geographically specific policies, familiarity with certain data or statistics, for example. Still others seek assistance with other general resource questions—adult adoptees seeking help in tracing lineage and researchers needing data, for example.
A great deal of calls we receive concern the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). More specifically, NICWA’s ICWA Specialist Mary Renville responds to many requests each month from NICWA added Renville to its staff, with support from parents or other relatives who seek relief from ICWA the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. in child custody disputes. Sometimes, we can respond over The provisions of the law are very the phone in just a few minutes. specific. Unfortunately, there is still Other requests require more a great deal of confusion about research and more time. Each when ICWA applies and when it RFI is unique and requires staff to does not. collect some basic information for our records like the requestor’s When we cannot help directly, name, contact information, reaNICWA makes every effort to son for calling, and tribal affiliconnect a requestor to someone ation. Intake staff will ask if the who can. When those options are reason for calling is an emergenexhausted, we encourage people cy or time-sensitive matter. For to call us again to develop another example, staff will determine if the plan. When there is no further matter involves an imminent teravenue to pursue, we make every mination of parental rights, pendattempt to explain directly and thoring adoption, or caller in crisis? oughly why this is. Again, NICWA makes every effort 11
There are instances when NICWA staff must explain that ICWA does not apply to a specific custody case, or tell callers that NICWA does not provide direct legal advice or intervene in specific cases. These are especially difficult conversations to have. NICWA staff understand that people reach out in times of crisis and that, by contacting us, they seek to resolve very critical issues involving their families. NICWA is not a direct service provider nor a legal services provider to individuals. We work with tribes, Native organizations, policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and the legal community to strengthen tribal child welfare and improve policies for Native children. This has created a deep network of relationships that we call on to help our constituents directly. RFIs ebb and flow. Currently, we are experiencing a higher-than-ever volume of requests. NICWA staff recognize that each RFI represents a family in need, and we take this responsibility very seriously.
NICWA News National Indian Child Welfare Association 5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97239
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