NICWA NEWS Quarterly Newsletter • Summer/Fall 2018
The
LATEST INSIDE
40 Years of the Indian Child Welfare Act
National Indian Child Welfare Association 5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, Oregon 97239 P (503) 222-4044 F (503) 222-4007 www.nicwa.org
The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a private, nonprofit, membership-based organization dedicated to the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children and families. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, NICWA serves tribes, individuals, and private organizations throughout the United States and Canada by serving as the most comprehensive source of information on American Indian child welfare and acting as the only national Native organization focused on building tribal capacity to prevent child abuse and neglect.
Our Mission
The National Indian Child Welfare Association is dedicated to the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.
Board of Directors
President Gil Vigil (Tesuque Pueblo) Vice President Rochelle Ettawageshik (Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians) Secretary W. Alex Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) Treasurer Gary Peterson, MSW (Skokomish) Members Teressa Baldwin (Inupiaq) Luke Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians) Patricia Carter-Goodheart (Nez Perce) Angela Connor (Choctaw) Aurene Martin (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) Cassondra Church (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) Robert McGhee (Poarch Band of Creek Indians) Paul Day (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) Mary Tenorio, PhD, RN (Santo Domingo) Jocelyn Formsma (Swampy Cree) Debra Foxcroft (Tseshaht)
Board of Trustees
John Shagonaby (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians) Brad Earl (Nez Perce descent) Sherry Salway Black (Oglala Lakota) Allard Teeple (Bay Mills Indian Community) Victor Rocha (Pechanga Band of LuiseĂąo Indians) Derek Valdo (Acoma Pueblo)
Founder and Senior Advisor Terry Cross (Seneca)
Executive Director
Sarah Kastelic (Alutiiq)
NICWA News is the quarterly newsletter for members and donors of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Membership is available in multiple levels starting at $35. For reprint requests, additional copies, or other information, contact us at info@nicwa.org
Message from the Executive Director Dear NICWA Members, Sponsors, Donors, and Friends, I can hardly believe summer is almost over. It seems like we were just together at NICWA’s annual conference, but we held our annual staff and family end-of-summer picnic this week. I hope you have spent time with family and friends and taken part in the cultural activities that sustain you, like canoe journey, Sundance, or fish camp. I hope summer has involved traditional foods and the passing on of culture, community, and family history. Two important experiences this summer have sustained me. My 12-year-old niece Maya traveled to visit me, letting me exercise my auntie responsibilities. I lived near Maya until she was six, and we spent a lot of time together. Once I moved to Portland for my job with NICWA, I saw Maya a lot less. Distance and less time together changed the quality of our relationship. But this trip was different: Maya and I revisited the children’s books we used to read together, went through her old baby toys, made crafts and art projects, assembled the gooiest grilled cheese sandwiches imaginable, and more. Since she flew home, I’ve been thinking about how else I can strengthen this important relationship from a distance. Additionally, this summer I was invited to write an essay as part of a series on the future of civil society— the nonprofit and foundation sector. I serve on the board of directors for the Independent Sector, a national membership organization of nonprofits and private and corporate foundations. Organizations like the American Indian College Fund, the Native American Rights Fund, and NICWA are members. I wrote about the collective good in our society in an article titled, “Who defines the good in ‘common good’?” You can find the article linked in the Latest News on NICWA’s website. I’ve done a lot of writing over the years about Native communities, governments, and families in an aggregate, generalized way—the things our communities have in common, and what that means for policy, practice, and funding. With this essay, I found myself trying to write with a focus on my own culture, worldview, and values for the first time. I was excited—and nervous. I didn’t grow up in my community, so I contacted April Laktonen Councellor, director of the Alutiiq Museum, to ask for a cultural review of my essay—to make sure my interpretation of our values and how they informed my thinking were aligned with how our community more broadly understands them. The opportunity to translate something personal into the larger context of collective good allowed me to share how our Native ways of being and knowing offer wisdom that our society sorely needs. We have a lot to teach the world! I hope your summer has been as rewarding as mine has been. Sincerely,
Sarah Kastelic, PhD
CONTENTS
Message from the Executive Director ..1 Policy Updates ....................................2 New Faces ...........................................3 Reclaiming Native Truth Research .....3 Q & A with Terry Cross .......................4 History of ICWA .................................5 Grandfamilies convene in DC .............6 The Village of Eyak ..............................6 Tribal Systems of Care Gathering ........7 Champion for Native Children ............7 Upcoming Events ................................8 Membership .....................................8-9
Policy
Implementation of Family First Prevention Services Act Moves Forward
Opponents of ICWA Continue to Mount Challenges in Federal Courts
After the Family First Prevention Services Act was signed into law, the Administration for Children and Families moved quickly to begin implementation. The act contains prevention services funding for states and tribes that operate the Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program. It also has implications for American Indian and Alaska Native children who are in state care and are eligible for the protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
While tribes have been successful in defending against several lawsuits challenging ICWA, opponents of ICWA, such as the Goldwater Institute and the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, continue to file lawsuits in federal court. At this time, four different federal lawsuits challenging ICWA have been filed, and a fifth lawsuit was filed by ICWA advocates in an attempt to uphold ICWA’s requirements (Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Fleming).
The act’s funding is available to support prevention services such as parent training and education, individual and family counseling, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. This new law is important because it presents opportunities for tribes to work with state child welfare agencies to help them develop culturally appropriate prevention services for Native children in their custody. We know that Native children are most effectively served by culturally competent service providers. Many states are expected to take the option to provide prevention services under the new law. Working with tribes could help states better meet active efforts requirements under ICWA and draw down more federal funds that could help strengthen Native families and reduce the need for child removals. Stay tuned. NICWA is developing a separate analysis of the child welfare provisions contained within the new law.
• • • • •
Texas v. Zinke—Northern District of Texas Federal District Court A.D. v. Washburn (Goldwater Litigation)—on appeal to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Watso v. Piper—on appeal to Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Americans for Tribal Court Equality v. Piper D.—Minnesota Federal District Court (stayed pending appeal in Watso v. Piper) Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Fleming (Van Hunnik)—on appeal to Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (tribal challenge to ICWA and due process failures in South Dakota District Court)
Texas v. Zinke, originally filed by the State of Texas, was amended to include Louisiana and Indiana.
Texas is the first time since ICWA’s passage that a state has sued the federal government challenging ICWA.
The Texas lawsuit is the most active, with recent hearings in July and August. All the lawsuits filed by opponents of ICWA are alleging violations of the United States Constitution. These constitutional claims are varied but include allegations that ICWA is a race-based law and deprives American Indian and Alaska Native children of constitutional protections while in state child welfare court proceedings. These constitutional claims have very serious implications for tribal sovereign authority beyond ICWA and federal acknowledgment of tribes as governments. The ICWA Defense Project (Native American Rights Fund, National Congress of American Indians, Michigan State University Indian Law Clinic’s ICWA Appellate Project, and NICWA) are working with tribes and allies to defend Native children’s rights in these cases. For descriptions and case materials, visit the Turtle Talk website under the ICWA Appellate page. To read the full NICWA Child and Family Policy Update, visit NICWA’s website. To learn how you can get involved with the ICWA Defense Project, contact NICWA government affairs director, David Simmons, at desimmons@nicwa.org. Your advocacy and support are vital in the preservation of Indian families.
2 | Summer/Fall 2018
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Inside NIC WA
New Faces Lindsay Early Deputy Director
Lindsay Early joined the NICWA team as deputy director in August 2018. She is a member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. Lindsay is a Gates Millennium Scholar and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She graduated from the Americans for Indian Opportunity Ambassadors leadership program. Before joining NICWA, Lindsay worked as an educator through Teach for America and taught history and American Indian studies at a tribal college. Lindsay is passionate about social justice, Indigenous rights, education, and advocating for children. She is excited about her new role here at NICWA.
Amory Zschach Strategic Communications Manager
Brenda Nelson Development Associate
Amory Zschach is a Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma descendent and joined NICWA’s staff as strategic communications manager in June 2018. Amory comes to NICWA with a range of nonprofit communication experience with focused efforts in earned media and grassroots advocacy. She is active in culturally specific leadership development with the Native American Youth & Family Center’s LEAD program and in supporting women candidates as the Women’s Caucus Communications Chair for the Democratic Party of Oregon. Amory is passionate about health equity, intergenerational healing, and tribal sovereignty.
Brenda Nelson officially joined NICWA as the development associate in February 2018. She received her AA from Santa Rosa JC in 2012 and her BA in rhetoric from Lewis & Clark College in 2014. Before joining NICWA, she worked in communications at a scuba diving company where she helped advocate for ocean conservation and marine life protection. She has also previously taught Spanish and debate to K-12 students and is excited to continue serving children through her role at NICWA. Brenda is passionate about social justice, storytelling, and playing roller derby.
Reclaiming Native Truth Research Narrative is the broadly accepted story that reinforces ideas, norms, issues, and expectations in society. Dominant narrative is the lens through which history is told from the perspective of the dominant culture. In the Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl case, we learned hard lessons about what happens when the news media reinforces stereotypes and when too many people believe the dominant narrative about Native Americans. The stories told in the media were not created by us, told by us, or true to our reality as Native people. When non-Native people start making the leap to understand the multiple court cases involving ICWA, we need to work together across Native nations, with all Native people and our allies, to tell our story for our children, our peoples, and our cultures. Reclaiming Native Truth is the largest research study ever done about how to change the dominant narrative about Native peoples and communities and increase support for issues like the Indian Child Welfare Act. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Values History Visibility Call to Action All children deserve to be raised by loving families in supportive communities, surrounded by the culture and heritage they know best.
The Importance of Upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act
In Native cultures, family is defined very broadly. Everyone plays an active role in raising a child and is ready to help in times of crisis. But when the U.S. child welfare system was created, it was biased against raising a child in this way — as a community. As a result, the U.S. government removed Native children from their families — not because of abuse or neglect, but because of this communal way of being. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 to prevent Native American children from being unjustly taken away and adopted outside their culture. Today, however, ICWA is not consistently respected. We need to uphold and improve the law to make sure we are doing what is best for Native children.
Summer/Fall 2018 | 3
40
ye a r s
of the Indian Child Welfare Act
In honor of the anniversary of the passage of ICWA, Terry Cross, founder and senior advisor of NICWA, sheds light on the implementation of ICWA, its values, and the needs of children and families moving forward. Q: A:
What is one of your most memorable stories about the early implementation of ICWA? As a young social worker, I had worked on my reservation and there really weren’t child welfare services conducted by the tribe. There were situations that really needed attention where kids’ families weren’t getting the help they needed. As soon as ICWA passed, I got called on to facilitate trainings across the state of Oregon as a direct service provider. Alongside leaders in the Northwest, we began creating culturally based curriculum and networking, training, and advocating. The Northwest Indian Child Welfare Institute (which eventually became NICWA) emerged as an organization by supporting tribes who wanted to assert their own jurisdiction. There was this parallel development process going on. It wasn’t just watching and trying to get states to do something differently. It was a process of tribes asserting their authority over the civil regulatory jurisdiction to protect children. While we must advocate for states and counties to do it right, and we always will, the more that our own tribes can provide the services themselves, the better services our kids will get. It just doesn’t work for other people to come in to do it.
Q:
A:
In what ways is ICWA fundamentally about Native culture?
4 | Summer/Fall 2018
Culture is as much about the institutions that hold a society together as it is about the physical manifestations of culture in terms of language, art, or dance. One of the cultural structures of Indigenous societies is extended families, which can be kinship structures, clan structures, and tribal structures. While tribes are governments, they are governments only because they are families that came together who share a common way of interbeing in the world and decided to act jointly to form a government. ICWA is fundamentally about culture because it recognizes the importance of that kinship structure. It recognizes tribal ways of making decisions about relationships and the inherent right of tribal people to act through tribal government. The fact that adoption can be conducted in a ceremonial process that is thousands of years old, codified in tribal law, and recognized in state and federal law is amazing. There aren’t very many federal laws that fundamentally recognize culture, and ICWA is one of them.
Q: After 40 years, what are some of the major successes of ICWA?
A:
There are many successes of ICWA, but I can name a few that stand out. First, many thousands of children in our communities and in our families are productive members of tribal societies and making wonderful contributions
and changes because ICWA kept them in their homes. We know a lot of these people, and many of them have worked right here at NICWA. Another is the growth of tribal services and tribal codes involving children and families. One provision of ICWA is that states and tribes can enter into agreements. This has opened funding streams for tribes and for organizations like NICWA to advocate for Native families. Because ICWA is one of the few places in federal legislation that recognizes tribal sovereignty in law, it legitimized tribal courts, and that would have taken much longer if it hadn’t been codified in ICWA. That is a tremendous change.
Q:
How can we continue to take action for ICWA?
A:
If you are working in the field, implement it at every opportunity, take advantage of its provisions, and remember the good practice of ICWA. All children deserve a diligent search for their relatives and to stay home with their families. Stay informed. Above all else, be a champion. There are too many people in opposition of ICWA. Tell people about the good things ICWA accomplishes and what it does for your communities and the young people in your life.
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
A Histor y of the Indian Child Welfare Act 1979
1978 Congress enacts the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978 to address policies and practices that resulted in the “wholesale separation of Indian children from their families.” 25-35% of all Indian children were being placed in out-ofhome care with 85% of those children being placed in non-Indian homes or institutions.
1996
Guidelines for Indian child custody proceedings in state courts are issued. First tribal and offreservation grants are awarded under Title II of ICWA. Less than 50% of federally recognized tribes receive grants. Offreservation grants support urban Indian organizations that assist Indian families involved in child welfare proceedings and help tribes and states implement ICWA’s requirements.
1989 United State Supreme Court in Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 rules that domicile was defined by federal common law, not state law, because it creates uniformity and prevents states from defeating the purpose of ICWA in keeping children connected with their families, tribes, and cultures.
1996
The House of Representatives passes H.R. 1448 as an amendment to another bill, but it stalls in the Senate.
Tribal advocates work with Senator McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Inouye (D-HI) to introduce legislation in the Senate (S. 1962) that addresses several ICWA implementation concerns. The legislation passes the Senate, but stalls in the House of Representatives.
1992 ICWA, Title II grant awards jump from a high of 116 to 299 tribes while the funding remains around the same level ($18.1 million) causing funding reductions for many tribes.
1997 The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) discontinues requesting funding for ICWA, Title II off-reservation grant programs and Congress fails to restore funding in the appropriations process.
2013
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
1995
Awarded process for ICWA, Title II tribal grants shifts to a non-competitive process allowing all federally recognized tribes an opportunity to receive these funds.
2015
The United States Supreme Court issues a decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl 570 U.S. that narrows application of certain ICWA protections for non-custodial Indian fathers in termination of parental rights and adoption proceedings.
y r o t s OUR ICWA
1995
Congresswoman Pryce (R-OH) introduces legislation (H.R. 1448) that would repeal or modify several sections of ICWA. The legislation would allow state courts to make decisions regarding who is an Indian child for purposes of ICWA eligibility and decrease tribal involvement in state child custody proceedings.
2017
Draft ICWA regulations and revised guidelines proposed by BIA trigger backlash from anti-ICWA and anti-tribal groups in the form of federal lawsuits challenging ICWA’s constitutionality that continues through present day.
The BIA issues first ever substantive ICWA regulations that have the force of law (25 CFR Part 23). Following this, BIA also issues revised ICWA guidelines. The regulations incorporate a variety of state law provisions supporting ICWA that have been very successful.
When ICWA is followed, Native children and families are awarded a life that can be filled with hope, love, culture, tradition, and togetherness. — Angela Kennedy, Fort Peck Tribes
Summer/Fall 2018 | 5
Programs
Grandfamilies Convene in Washington, DC At NICWA, we believe two things: First, culture is organized around family relationships. Second, child welfare services must be family focused. These are tenets of our guiding values that we share with Generations United and A Second Chance, Inc. in the Grand Voices Racial Equity Initiative. This initiative is a project to elevate and strengthen African American and Native American family caregivers as part of the larger GrAND (Grandfamilies Advocacy Network Demonstration) Voices network, a group of family caregiver advocates who educate, represent, and testify about their grandfamily situation. “Grandfamilies,” or kinship families, are families who are raising their relative children. This year, 24 GrAND Voices members, representing
13 states across the country, came together in Washington, DC, to educate members of Congress on issues affecting grandfamilies and the need for culturally appropriate services. The GrAND members are a lively and dedicated group of individuals who are all raising, or have raised, their relative children when their parents were not able to. This gathering in DC was the first time the group met in person. They formed relationships of support and shared their stories with one another.
for improved policies and services that support grandfamilies and kinship care to staffers of their Congress members. After being well received at their Hill visits, the group left feeling energized to continue to share their voice in support of kinship families.
Not only were strong bonds formed, but GrAND members also participated in advocacy, including strategic sharing training and role-playing Capitol Hill visits before taking to the Hill with their new skills. GrAND members teamed up to share their powerful stories and express the need
The Village of Eyak Back in April, NICWA opened our 36th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference with a plenary panel on the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact. Now, we are seeing the early stages of implementation of this important development in Native communities. Terry Cross, NICWA’s founder and senior advisor, recently traveled to Cordova, Alaska at the request of the Native Village of Eyak to help them write policies and procedures for new compact related services. As a signatory to the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact, the Native Village of Eyak will be providing Diligent Search Services for relatives for tribal member children as well as for all non-Native children needing placement in Cordova. This is a monumental change. The Native Village of Eyak is bringing greater use of kinship care to Cordova, improving 6 | Summer/Fall 2018
the capacity of child welfare services for all. The early stages of policy and procedure development involve a lot of sifting through documents, interviews, and data collection to provide an analysis of the policy environment and how practice protocols are currently performed or how services that are planned will be performed. Supporting this project has been exciting because of the strength of their Indian child welfare staff’s connection to the culture. In the Native Village of Eyak, at least three cultural groups are represented. Here, it is essential to know family lineage to do the work well. The Eyak ICWA worker had a wealth of information about current practice. She was well-grounded in culture and knowledgeable about the families of the community. Her knowledge of the generations of the Native Village of Eyak people and
her contacts will allow her to provide Diligent Search Services through a culturally informed lens. Good policies and procedures will help new staff learn the service quickly and preform it consistently. The support of management and tribal leadership have provided a strong foundation to move forward. The work in Eyak is a good example of insight paired with experience, training, leadership, and cultural knowledge. These are major strengths when tribes assert their own jurisdiction. The child welfare work being done by the Native Village of Eyak is critical to affirming the right that tribes have always had to protect the sacredness of their children and the integrity of their own families.
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Tribal Systems of Care Gathering Every year, NICWA organizes a gathering for Tribal Systems of Care (SOC) grantees to share best practices from their children’s mental health systems of care. This summer’s gathering happened during the University of Maryland’s Training Institutes on Systems of Care in Washington, DC. Leading up to the gathering, NICWA partnered with tribal grantees such as the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in planning an experience to spur interaction and peer-to-peer learning. On July 24, the SOC grantee convening commenced with the Lummi Nation Youth Canoe Family providing a blessing to over 100 youth, elders, and Tribal SOC staff. After opening remarks, Captain Andy Hunt, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration government project officer, set the stage by facilitating
an activity where tribal elders offered positive affirmations to tribal youth in attendance. The activity reminded everyone in the room of the purpose of the gathering—to raise the level of health and well-being of tribal youth. Grantees worked in small cohorts split into family/youth engagement staff, natural helpers, and leadership. Each cohort discussed some prepared prompts focused on strengthening and sustaining family/youth involvement in systems of care. At the end of the meeting, each cohort shared their discussion outcomes and highlighted effective practices happening in their tribal communities. The gathering highpoint was honoring tribal SOC grantees whose four-year grants are coming to an end this year. NICWA honored graduating tribal
Champion for Native Children Do you know an incredible leader, social worker, case manager, or foster parent in your community who is doing awesome work to benefit Native children? If so, nominate them for the 2019 Champion for Native Children award. This award honors an individual or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the well-being of Indigenous children, families, and communities in the United States or Canada. The awardee will be honored at NICWA’s 2019 Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 31–April 3, 2019. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
grantees with custom-made elk hide hand drums. Each tribal grantee also recognized the graduating tribes by song, gifts, and kind words. By the end, the air was thick with cultural expression and support for one another. Everyone in attendance was ready to return to their communities with new relationships built, new strategies to try, and renewed energy to continue improving their children’s mental health systems of care.
Having the opportunity to provide experiences on the topics was a great way to share and help one another explore ideas and ignite new ones. — Mildred D. Manuel, MA Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Summer/Fall 2018 | 7
Members
Fuel Local Action to Improve Child Welfare Over the last several years, our members have asked about how they can be more involved in strengthening Indian child welfare—nationally and at home. Beyond staying informed by reading publications or attending trainings, our members want to take action to effect change locally for their member children and families. We want to help our members do just that. We are excited to launch the Improving Child Outcomes for Oregon Tribes—Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Implementation Project.
We believe in community-based services, designed and delivered by and for local people. In order to start this important work, we need the support of our member network. Help us empower families, programs, and tribes! Consultations start right now. We want to know from our members:
We know tribes are working hard to improve their child welfare systems, often doing so on limited funding and within the wider state-controlled systems. That’s why we asked the Oregon Community Foundation to fund a project for NICWA to consult, research, develop, and pilot a Member Activation Indian Child Welfare Toolkit in our home state of Oregon to help improve local county ICWA compliance. The products and outcomes of the joint work will be rolled out to members in communities across the nation in early 2019.
What are tribes or communities doing locally to bring about change for Indian child welfare? Email your examples of successful community activism, relationship building, and making positive change by October 15 to membership@nicwa.org.
Want to get more involved? We’ve seen an explosion of support online through Facebook fundraisers this year. So far, 20 fundraisers were hosted in our honor, which have raised enough funds to get our voice heard in Congress, produce a webinar on Indian child welfare, and train hundreds of tribal community members to better serve Native children and families. Thanks to individuals like you, this critical work is made possible. Here’s a list of ways to carry forward the good work: Host your own Facebook fundraiser. These online events help spread NICWA’s message to your friends and family while making a huge impact on our ability to do this 8 | Summer/Fall 2018
work. To those that have already supported us in this way, thank you. Host a house party. House parties are a great way to share NICWA’s work while getting to spend time with the people you care about. NICWA can help plan, provide resources, and sometimes even find a speaker for your event. Register NICWA as your charity of choice on AmazonSmile. With AmazonSmile, a portion of all your Amazon shopping goes to NICWA at no additional cost to you. These are just some of the many ways to get more involved. Visit NICWA’s website for a long list of ideas and resources to get started.
Host a bake sale, raffle, or car wash. Have an idea but need some support to make it work? For questions about hosting your own fundraiser, both online and in-person, reach out to NICWA’s development associate Brenda Nelson at bnelson@nicwa.org.
Upcoming Trainings December 4–6, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana February 5–7,2019 Palm Springs, California April 3–5, 2019 Albuquerque, New Mexico
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
New and Renewing Members Individuals
Tribes
Abalone
Cedar
Sylvia Andrew Sara Axtell Melissa Beecher Tileah Begay Delphina Benallie Stephanie Benally Sara Bissen Kerry Blackwood Lindsay Bothe Chris Brewer Angi Cavaliere Kim K. Christensen Marilyn Christensen Angela Connor Alexis R. Contreras Gwendalle Cooper Casey Copeland Casie Cultee Delores Cunejo Julie Davis Amber Deal Lucille A. Echohawk Adirian Emery Frank Ettawageshik Kathleen C. Faller Susann Feliz Samantha Fernando Eric Gale Myrna Gooden Jessica Grant Claudette L. Grinnell-Davis Emily Hancock Electa Hare-RedCorn Jennifer Harrison Monica Hawley Sonni Heminger Shirley M. Holmberg Lou Johnson Becky Lamb Jonelle LaPiere Frances A. Lawrence Brigette Manson Linda M. Meanus Wayne Modrell Amanda Oliver Anthony Pico Beverly Riley Neil Sanders Matthew J. Scott Lauren Shapiro
Tania Silva-Johnson Janelle Simon Emily Smith Goering Steven Sochay Carmin Tecumseh-Williams Buffy Via Charlotte Watters Craig White Brandelle Whitworth Shannon Wisener Julia Wood Wilfred Yazzie
Turquoise Erin Binneboese Robyn Black Feather Mark Crawford Janet Draper Deborah Guerrero Julia E. Jaakola Francine E. Jones Sarah Kastelic Jennifer S. Keith Laura Lein Lupe Luna Cori Matthew Kristy Matye Amanda McAdoo Allison Miller Debra Strongman Kristin Thaler Christine Wilmont
Coral Kelly Bradley Carole Butzke Dione C. Carroll Sylvia Deporto Diana Franco Sonya Garrett Denise Goodman Trina Hofbauer Nanookasi Matanakiwan Sarah McConnell
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Citizen Potawatomi Nation Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Greenville Rancheria Native Village of Port Lions Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Pueblo of Pojoaque Pueblo of San Felipe Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska Skokomish Indian Tribe Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation
Sage Comanche Nation of Oklahoma Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians Osage Nation Social Services Seminole Tribe of Florida
Organizations Cedar Alaska Mental Health Trust Bering Straits Native Corporation Child Welfare Academy Council on Accreditation First Alaskans Institute Mat-Su Health Foundation Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman, LLP Spirit Rock Consulting
Sage Association of Village Council Presidents West Region Child and Family Services Inc.
Summer/Fall 2018 | 9
NICWA News National Indian Child Welfare Association 5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97239
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 567
PHONE: (503) 222-4044 FAX: (503) 222-4007 WEB: www.nicwa.org
Call for Presentations Now Open • Apply Today!
Photo Credit: Ron Behrmann
Share your work at NICWA’s 37th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference We invite presenters working in all areas including tribal and state child welfare, advocacy, grassroots initiatives, and research. The work you share will create positive lasting impacts in the field of Indian child welfare. This year’s topics include: • Children’s Mental Health • Judicial and Legal Affairs • Child Welfare, Foster Care, and Adoption Services • Youth and Family Involvement
Submissions due by Thursday, November 15, 2018
www.nicwa.org/call-for-presentations