NICWA NEWS Quarterly Newsletter • Winter 2016
Inside This Issue
Member Survey Results Are In NICWA Releases First Podcast Research Division Update
And Much More
Message from the Executive Director Dear NICWA Members, Sponsors, Donors, and Friends, NICWA, our members, partners, and supporters are working for the healing of our tribal nations. As Theda New Breast says, we are facilitating the “re-membering,” literally the “putting back together,” of our families and communities. Our contribution to the world is literally that significant. The weight of the responsibility we feel on our shoulders and in our hearts matches the potential of that impact, and when we are working in partnership with tribal communities, tribal governments, and Indian families, we feel the hope and promise of this healing work. In my transition to the role of executive director of NICWA, I have given this a great deal of consideration. I take seriously the responsibility of leading NICWA, an organization intentionally founded as a spiritual organization. With significant responsibility comes the need to prepare and conduct ourselves for the long-term effort that this work requires. Coming from a place of healing in the midst of outrage and trauma requires a deep spiritual reservoir; it requires a spiritual inoculation and daily practices to keep us connected and grounded. While this will looks different for each person and organization, here are some of the ways that we prepare for and conduct our healing work in a good way at NICWA. • • • • •
•
•
Prayer—We open our all-staff meetings with a prayer. Staff volunteer to take turns offering a prayer in their own way. This helps us to start our week connected to each other and focused on our work. Honor individual spiritual practices—Our staff, Native and non-Native, come from many different places and have different faiths and practices. Staff use and share their own practices with one another. Sacred objects—NICWA is fortunate to have been gifted with tools to help us. Together with our board members, we use our drum, pipe, and eagle staff in ways that connect us to the Creator, to each other, and, at our conferences, to the people we serve. NICWA as community—We see ourselves as a supportive, learning community. We work hard together, and we see each other as a source of support. At least once a month we eat together (potlucks!) or spend time together on a craft or activity. Connection to local community—While we are a national organization, we live and work in an urban Indian community. Our connection to our local community is important to us. From time to time we have funded projects to work with our local community. We also have a NICWA local community engagement team that plans for local events we can be involved in. Relationship with board—Our relationship with our board of directors is important to how we do our work. NICWA’s board is an all-Indian board with diverse geographic representation and content expertise. They provide direction and guidance as well as spiritual support. One member specifically plays the role of spiritual advisor and pipe carrier for NICWA. Appreciation of staff—In many ways and forums, we acknowledge and appreciate our staff who are carrying out and supporting this healing work. We recognize that not everyone is comfortable being in the spotlight and that different people value different things. We appreciate staff for their service and contributions publicly and privately, depending on their preferences, and with a variety of compliments, expressions of gratitude, and gifts.
As you carry out this healing work, NICWA would appreciate hearing your practices and strategies to prepare for and conduct this long-term effort in ways that are sustainable and supported by spiritual grounding. Quyanaa, Sarah Kastelic NICWA News is published by the 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
CONTENTS
Letter from Executive Director 2. Meyer Memorial Investment Benefits NICWA Staff 3. Upcoming Events 3. Kresge Convening in Albuquerque 4. Training on New ICWA Regs in High Demand 5. Research Division Update 6. NICWA Releases First Podcast 7. Member Survey Results Are In! 8. Honor the Tradition of Strong Indian Families 10. NICWA Assists in Canoe Journey 11. New and Returning NICWA Members 11.
Meyer Memorial Investment Gives NICWA Staff Professional Development Opportunity
I
n just the last year, NICWA has grown exceptionally in terms of both our reach throughout Indian Country and our strength as a nonprofit organization. We have welcomed a full team of qualified and passionate program staff who eagerly began work at NICWA with the benefit of our workforce capacity building project supported by the Meyer Memorial Trust. Program staff have had the opportunity to be trained, coached, and mentored by senior professionals working across a wide variety of human service areas in Indian Country. They have also had the opportunity to travel and shadow senior staff and consultants in providing training and technical assistance in tribal communities, learning by example and having the opportunity to co-train with mentors. All NICWA staff, regardless of their position in the organization, work with their supervisor to complete bi-annual performance appraisals and individual development plans. NICWA annually budgets $600 per staff for professional development aligned with their professional development plan. With support from their supervisor, staff may choose to use their professional development allowance to travel to conferences, participate in a workshop, or take a course. The workforce development initiative also includes major updates to NICWA products, including our online ICWA course which will debut in November, and key NICWA curricula and materials used for training and technical assistance. We are also strengthening our internal evaluation measures and processes as well as planning for NICWA’s library to be a go-to resource for knowledge management, supporting staff in developing community resources. As we enter into the final year of this project, we are dedicated to seeing NICWA established as the premier setting for organizational, community, and systems change career development in Indian Country. Through this project, NICWA has not only initially dealt with its own most pressing workforce issue through piloting and adapting our capacity-building model, but we are also developing plans and pursuing additional resources to intentionally train community development professionals to serve Indian tribes and other Native nonprofits. Leadership development has been an invaluable result of this initiative that involves investing in developing robust, highlevel, cross-trained technical assistance providers as members of our own staff as well as preparing managers, directors, and consultants for the field. Individuals with this skill set and experience will be equipped to serve as change agents at NICWA and in tribal communities locally and across the country. With a more robust skill set across the NICWA program department, workloads across grants and contracts have been better distributed and managed with more opportunity for staff work-life balance and self-care.
Upcoming Events Portland, Oregon Training Institutes
December 6–8, 2016 • Positive Indian Parenting • ICWA Basics with Regulations Update • Advanced ICWA
In our funding proposal to the Meyer Memorial Trust, we wrote, “Our long-term goal is to create a workforce development model that simultaneously meets NICWA’s workforce needs, facilitates capacity-building of community development and systems change professionals through Indian Country, and offers Terry Cross, NICWA’s founder and senior advisor, the opportunity to transition into a role of coach and mentor to the next generation of Native leaders.” There is no doubt that this professional development project has already begun to equip NICWA to be of better service to tribal communities. NICWA is thankful for the ongoing support of the Meyer Memorial Trust and for the opportunity to grow into a prominent setting for organizational, community, and professional development in Indian Country. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
35th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference San Diego, California
April 2–5, 2016
Visit www.nicwa.org/news or email training@nicwa.org for more information or to request a training for your community. Winter 2016 | Page 3
Succession Planning Learning Community Meets Outside Albuquerque
I
n August, NICWA convened 10 partner organizations from across the country for the second of three planned convenings to explore the process of leadership development and succession planning in culturally based human service nonprofits. Partners from Black Administrators in Child Welfare, Child Welfare League of America, Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Denver Indian Family Resource Center, First Alaskans Institute, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc., New York Council on Adoptable Children, and A Second Chance, Inc., spent three days questioning, sharing, and planning together at the Tamaya Resort at Santa Ana Pueblo. When NICWA’s Founder and Senior Advisor, Terry Cross, began to consider the path he wanted his own transition out of the executive director role to take several years ago, he worked with then-Deputy Director Sarah Kastelic to secure funding from the Kresge Foundation to convene a group of partner organizations facing similar transitions to investigate how these executive transitions might be unique in culturally based organizations. Representatives from the 10 organizations listed above and NICWA met in Detroit, Michigan, in August 2013 to discuss the scope of what we wanted to work on and how we wanted to work together. In August 2015, thanks to the generous support of the Kresge Foundation, the learning community held its first of three planned convenings outside Portland, Oregon.
Where We’ve Been
Every year, NICWA provides onsite training and technical assistance to dozens of communities in the U.S. and Canada. Here is where we’ve been in 2016.
This summer’s second convening continued the learning community’s work to explore what it means to be a culturally based nonprofit experiencing an executive transition. The 10 partner organizations and NICWA brought outgoing executives, executives newly in their positions, senior staff, and board members together to discuss how our nonprofits can engage in successful leadership development and succession planning to maintain stability and build organizational resilience in the face of a change of leadership. Our organizations are engaged with and accountable to diverse communities, and each year we have delved deeper into how the differences and similarities in our heritage cultures and organizational cultures are shaping our experiences of transition. Continued on next page...
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 4
T
ogether, the learning community discussed the individual projects organizations are pursuing related to succession planning and organizational capacity building between convenings; how our cultural values have shaped and continue to inform our organizational values; and how we can integrate our values into organizational leadership development and transitions. Additionally, organizations provided each other with peer-to-peer technical assistance around a variety of issues that relate to succession planning. “The strategies, tools, and lessons learned were invaluable,” said NICWA’s operations director Matt Scott. “It was so great to have the opportunity to consult and share resources with other culturally based nonprofits going through similar transitions.” Senior staff members like Scott made up a larger proportion of the learning community’s convening participants at this meeting than in previous years, confirming NICWA’s realization as we began our transition process that an executive transition works best when responsibility for a successful transition is shared across an organization. While we have all returned home to our communities, the energy generated through this opportunity to connect and learn together continues to inform our work to ensure successful, stable executive transitions and succession planning in our organizations. “Against the backdrop of the Sandia Mountains, our leadership staff connected with our peers in a way that is often difficult without years of relationship building,” shared Sarah Nelson, project supervisor at the Denver Indian Family Resource Center. “Though we’ve been back in the office for several weeks, we are still weaving the knowledge that we’ve gained into many of our topics as we strengthen our succession planning. We are delighted to be a part of this project and can’t wait to see what the third year brings.”
T
he energy generated through this opportunity to connect and learn together continues to inform our work to ensure successful, stable executive transitions and succession planning in our organizations.
Training on New ICWA Regulations in High Demand
W
ith the release of the new Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) regulations on June 14, 2016, NICWA immediately jumped into action, producing new resource materials and conducting training for state and tribal child welfare professionals. First, NICWA partnered with the Native American Rights Fund to develop an easy-to-read summary of the new ICWA regulations, which is posted on our website homepage. Soon after, NICWA offered the first training on the new regulations for a nationwide audience with a webinar on June 23. From July to the third week of September, NICWA has conducted five trainings on the new regulations, with several more scheduled before the end of the year when the regulations go into effect on December 12, 2016. The trainings include information on how the new regulations will affect agency practice and court proceedings as well as practice tips for implementation. The trainings have included state and tribal child welfare administrators, tribal leadership, court judges, attorneys, guardians ad litem, court appointed special advocates, and foster parents. The trainings have been located onsite and through webinar. If your tribe or organization is interested in receiving training, please contact Lauren Shapiro, NICWA director of events and training, at lauren@nicwa.org.
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 5
Research Update
A
lthough research has been a key part of NICWA’s work since the organization was founded, the research division has been reinvigorated in recent months with efforts to broaden our support of the organization’s broader mission. The research division is housed within the program division of NICWA, and the goal of the division is that research should be in service to communities and to our members. Tribal communities increasingly are looking for data to help guide their services and to help secure funding for child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice programs. Many funders require data before they will provide financial resources to support community services. Yet, research and data collection need to be done in a way that honors the culture of tribal communities and acknowledges historical trauma. NICWA research division staff strive to do research in partnership with communities in ways that are sensitive to historical trauma and are respectful of community needs, values, cultures, and traditions. Research at NICWA means “gathering of data and information to support the well-being of Native children and families.” We aim to gather the best available knowledge about current developments in child welfare and children’s mental health. We have a focus on cultural factors and strengths-based approaches to supporting Native children, youth, and families. We believe in the wisdom and power of community-centered and culturally based healing approaches, and we are working to help build an evidence base to support them. We also consult with organizations, federal agencies, universities, and others on research or data that already is available to help answer questions on child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice. Finally, we work to defend the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) through conducting research to gather data showing how ICWA benefits Native youth, children, and families. In our research projects, communities are treated as full partners in all that we do. Community-based participatory research is the main method used by our research department because we believe communities should be able to decide what research is helpful to them. In participatory research, we work with communities to help them decide what topics they would like to get more information about, how to get that information, and what to do with it to improve services and outcomes for youth and families. We support communities in keeping sensitive data confidential and also figuring out how best to use data they already have about their services. Participatory research involves communities at every stage of a research projects, including defining the research question, designing the study, collecting data, analyzing data, and writing up and presenting research results. For NICWA, participatory research also means inviting Native youth to participate as collaborators in our research, as partners in designing research studies, collecting data, and interpreting results. The research department is growing and has a bright future as an integral part of NICWA. We look forward to sharing our new projects with you in the coming months and years ahead. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
ICWA Myths and Realities Myth The new regulations are the same as the 2015 guidelines Reality This is false. The regulations differ from the guidelines in several respects. First, the regulations are binding law. The guidelines are, well, guidelines. If you have ever seen the movie Pirates of the Caribbean you can compare the guidelines to Captain Barbossa’s description of the Pirate Code: “the code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” In the same way, the ICWA guidelines are meant to suggest tips for implementing ICWA to the state agency and court, but a court can choose not to follow them. Not so with the regulations. The regulations went through a formal legal process to be developed, and state courts and agencies must follow them starting on December 12, 2016. The regulations also have some different content. They: • add new definitions; • provide more ways of sending notice and require sending notice to the BIA; and • have several different requirements, including for qualified expert witnesses. Myth ICWA does not apply to emergency proceedings Reality The new regulations clarify that ICWA does apply to emergency proceedings. They also say that a state’s petition or court order for an emergency placement should include steps taken to provide notice to the parents or Indian custodian and the tribe, the child’s tribal affiliations, the child’s place of residence, and so on. The regulations also prevent the state from keeping a child in an emergency placement for longer than 30 days except under a narrow set of circumstances. Myth A tribe’s petition to transfer to tribal court must be made early in the case Reality This is not true. Neither the ICWA law nor the regulations put any time limit on when a parent, Indian custodian, or tribe can petition to transfer the case to tribal court. The regulations even forbid a court from considering whether a tribe could ask for a transfer earlier in the case. However, the regulations are unclear about a request for transfer when the case is at an ‘advanced stage,’ by which it probably means later in the termination of parental rights stage. The regulations only forbid a court from considering the advanced stage of a case if the tribe or parents or Indian custodian just received notice in the advanced stage. This wording creates a problem for tribes who receive notice early on, but ask for a transfer late in the case.
Winter 2016 | Page 6
New AFCARS Regulations Expected with First Ever ICWA Data Elements
O
M
easuring compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) has never been easy, especially without state data that measures state efforts to implement the various provisions. Anecdotal data based upon individual experiences and related, more general data, has been the best advocates for Indian children could hope for in the past. However, in 2015, the Obama Administration proposed new Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) regulations requiring the collection of new data elements, which gave tribal advocates an opportunity to advocate for additional data elements that would specifically address ICWA requirements. In 2016, after receiving numerous comments from tribes, Indian organizations, mainstream child advocacy groups, states, and NICWA, the Administration proposed adding ICWA data elements. The ICWA data elements are expected to be included in the larger set of new data elements for AFCARS, which are expected to be released in fall 2016. The new regulations will require states to report on the new data elements twice a year, with data accessible by the public. In combination with the new ICWA regulations, these proposed data elements have the potential to change and improve advocacy for ICWA implementation significantly and target resources more effectively. NICWA will send out an alert as soon as the AFCARS regulations are published. For more information, please contact David Simmons, NICWA director of government affairs and advocacy, at desimmons@nicwa.org.
NICWA Releases First Podcast
n July 27, 2016, NICWA launched its first podcast, “Learning from Youth with Lived Experience.” The podcast was recorded at the 2016 annual NICWA conference in Minneapolis last April. The conference plenary session, which captured stories from youth with experiences in the foster care system and being adopted by a nonNative family, was among the most highly rated sessions in conference evaluations. The panelists were Alecia McConnell, a youth advocate and foster care youth, and Jackie Malstrom, a Native adoptee. In this podcast episode, Alecia and Jackie discuss the realities of Native youth in foster care and being adopted, the importance of advocating for Native youth on a local and national level, and suggestions for how to improve the way we serve and support Native youth. The podcast was recently released on NICWA’s new Soundcloud account called “Native Children,” which you can find on our website under “Systems of Care in Tribal Communities.”
The second episode will be released in webinar form in the next few weeks and is also a featured plenary panel from the annual conference, entitled “Connecting Traditional Child Rearing with Early Childhood Programs.” Moderating the discussion is Terry Cross, founder and senior advisor to NICWA. The panelists will discuss adapting and modifying early intervention models to include traditional child rearing practices and share examples from their communities. Presenters include Mildred Manuel, the senior management analyst/young child expert with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Ili Uusim Hiapsi (Project LAUNCH) program; Juli Skinner, the project director for the HERO (Helping Everyone Out) Project with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma; and Suzie Kuerschner, a child development specialist, behavioral health consultant, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder educator. NICWA is excited to offer this glimpse into our annual conference as we begin to explore the wide world of podcasting. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 7
T
Our Strength is Our Members!
What Do Our Members Want? The 2016 Member Survey Results Are In!
hanks to member participation in our annual membership survey this summer, NICWA was able to gather valuable feedback on how we’re doing. We want to stay informed of our members’ needs as we plan programs and services for the coming year. NICWA’s membership comprises an amazingly diverse range of professions including social workers, Indian child welfare (ICW) directors, judges, attorneys, legal advocates and expert witnesses, university academics and students, mental health professionals, tribal leaders and administrators, youth development providers, foster parents, community members, and adult adoptees. Each of these groups is using their amazing gifts, working hard to improve the lives of Native children and families. It is quite apparent that we have amazing members—and we appreciate all that your do! You shared with us your most pressing professional concerns: • improve workforce recruitment, retention, development, and training across the Indian Child Welfare sector; • improve collaboration between tribal and state departments; • increase the number of Indian foster homes for Native children; • increase funding for ICW-related programs and staff; • decrease high case workloads; • provide supports to help better manage the work: time and case management, reporting, and communication/ negotiation. You also told us your wish list of continued training and tools. In response, we are excited to launch a new NICWA member webinar series:
Technical Tools and Tips from Indian Country When
Webinar Title
Presenter
September 28, 2016
How to Evaluate Child Welfare Reporting and Case Management Software
Cindy Wright (Cherokee), Eaglesun Systems Products
October 26, 2016
Innovative Examples from Indian Country: Improvising Service Delivery Using Software and Technology
Casey Bader, Handel Information Technologies
November 23, 2016
Mind, Body, Medicine, Technology: Successes from Minnesota and South Dakota
Linda EagleSpeaker, elder in residence at the Minnesota Indian Women Resource
December 14, 2016
Successful Grant Development: Managing the Grant Process
Kim Chirstensen, NICWA development director, and Brenda Hernandez, NICWA’s development associate Continued on next page...
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 8
T
his technical training webinar series is FREE to NICWA members.
Please contact our Member Relations Manager, Tristan TippsWebster, at tristan@nicwa.org to register for these webinars now. If you are not yet a member, but want to access this series of webinars, go to our website at www.nicwa.org/ membership to become a member. NICWA provides great benefits to our members every month! Over the coming year, NICWA will continue to work hard to deliver what our members expect from us, to: • promote safe, healthy, and culturally strong environments for Indian children; • promote the spiritual strength of Indian children and a positive cultural identity; • be a strong voice for the needs of Indian children and ICW programs nationwide; • advocate for and facilitate the proper implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA); • promote the provision of effective services to Indian children by child welfare workers; • provide technical assistance for and information sharing among ICW programs; and • provide education and leadership opportunities for ICW workers. Thank you again, NICWA members, for your valuable feedback—you are our strength and help us to be better at what we do! * These webinars are intended to provide you with information and options available. NICWA does not endorse or recommend any particular commercial products, processes, or services. However, we do endorse tips and ideas to allow you to provide better services to Indian children and families!
Our Strength is Our Members!
S
New Member Profile
tephanie Gutierrez (Oglala Lakota) is a new NICWA member who joined at our annual conference in April 2016. She is a recent graduate from Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) with a master of social work degree. She is soon to be a Native social worker, and hopes to work with youth and do community development and capacity building with tribes and Native organizations.
Stephanie feels that one of the greatest needs facing Native youth today is the lack of safe supervision for kids and not having enough to do. She would like to see more after school and weekend programs in local communities that have cultural activities, support positive Native identity, and improve children’s mental health. Stephanie’s community innovation story comes from the practicum work she did on the Pine Ridge Reservation with the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, where they created a workforce development program to support youth, aged 18–26, learn new construction trades as they build new homes. She believes the key innovation is that the program is supported with mental health and community developers to make it a whole, circular, wraparound program model, for and by the people.
“
NICWA is doing an excellent job on education to tribes to save our children. I love the work we all do to keep families in crisis intact.
Stephanie says that she had always known about NICWA in her previous field of higher education, but is excited to finally join NICWA as a member and attend conferences and our webinars. Welcome to the NICWA family, Stephanie, and hooray for having another Native social worker amongst the ranks! We hope you receive lots of support from other NICWA members as you embark on this exciting career move.
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 9
”
This Holiday Season, Honor the Tradition of Strong Indian Families!
F
or NICWA, the holiday season is a special time of year. Similar to many communities across Indian Country, we are thankful for our families, the opportunity to honor traditions, and the chance to share them with the next generation. There is no other time of year that amplifies the importance of our work like the holiday season. This December also marks an important policy victory for Native children. After four decades of NICWA advocacy efforts, the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) legally binding Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) regulations will go into effect. The result will be increased compliance with this important law that keeps families together. While this is cause for celebration, we also anticipate attacks from ICWA opposition comprised of special interest groups who seek to undermine tribes’ capacity to protect and care for their member children and families. NICWA is already responding. We’ve incorporated the regulations into our ICWA training institutes and are updating our online ICWA course for policymakers and practitioners who need an accessible overview of the regulations, for a November launch. ICWA defense and compliance is also at the core of programming during our three-day annual conference in San Diego, California, on April 2–5, 2017. We continue to play an essential role in national efforts to defend ICWA by continuously updating and rallying Indian Country; providing information to Native parents who are involved in state child welfare systems; engaging in social media campaigns; organizing ICWA experts in crafting a unified public education strategy; and providing materials and support to numerous tribes, organizations, and individuals. A tradition of strong Indian families. NICWA honors and recognizes that tribal communities each have a tradition of strong Indian families and that children thrive when they are connected to this cultural heritage. We hope that you will incorporate NICWA into your family plans and make us part of your holiday traditions. There are many ways that you and your entire family can support our efforts in defending ICWA, such as organizing a holiday bazaar, coordinating a raffle, holding a bake sale, launching a Facebook fundraising page, or hosting a house party. There are also everyday activities you could consider, like GoodSearch.com, Amazon Smile, or workplace match donations. Each of these examples is the opportunity to pass along the tradition of advocacy and generosity to the next generation. To check out more fundraising ideas for your family, go to www.nicwa.org/help/how or contact Kim Christensen, development director, at (503) 222-4044 or kchristensen@nicwa.org for a tool kit. Thank you for your ongoing support and contributions; without you, our work would not be possible. National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Winter 2016 | Page 10
T
NICWA Assists his past month, the NICWA Local Community Engagement Team had the opportunity to be involved with the Pacific Northwest tradition of Canoe Journey in a unique way. A local Canoe Canoe Family in Journeyannual team planned its inaugural launch this year as the Portland-based American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) Canoe Family. They Inaugural Launch Native reached out to NICWA’s Local Community Engagement Team to assist in
sponsoring their team of pullers on their week-long journey throughout various Washington state waterways that paid tribute to traditional canoe routes used by Northwest tribes since time immemorial. The team, along with numerous other tribes, traveled over 200 miles through the heat and rough waters to create a stronger bond that can only be forged through a transformational experience like tribal journeys. Canoe Journey families, tribes, and groups come together to strengthen their culture, community, and families through this ceremony. The NAYA Canoe Family worked together for over a year planning, practicing, and training for Paddle to Nisqually 2016 and frequently spent up to two hours on the water every other weekend in anticipation of the event. The drums resounded and families cheered at the Port of Olympia as canoes made their way to the shore. After all canoes returned to the shore, one by one, each canoe, in their own language and following protocol, asked permission to enter the shore. It was a time of celebration, and the extension of hospitality by the local tribes was felt by all.
Adam Becenti, NICWA community development specialist and a member of the NAYA Canoe Family, accounts that “the Paddle to Nisqually Tribal Canoe Journey was a spiritual awakening that is unlike any other cultural experience I’ve ever been a part of. What was clearly visible was the love and enthusiasm to help one another. The gift I will cherish the most during this experience is all the tribal songs, dances, and gifts shared through the journey.” By investing in our local community and making meaningful partnerships with individuals committed to supporting Native children, youth, and families, we strive to make a lasting impact to support programs like these.
New and Renewing Members July 1, 2016–September 20, 2016
Coral Membership Tier Individual
Leola McKenzie Heather Capistrant Tamera C. Shanker
Individual
Karen Kallen-Brown Jeri Museth Laura L. Bentle
Associate Membership Tier Individual
Turquoise Membership Tier Organization Tribe
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska Quinault Indian Nation Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Kialegee Tribal Town
Vertis C. Belcher
Sylvia Rodriguez Andrew David M. Juarez Carmen Juarez Anne McLaughlin Robert Downen Casey Groat Kathryn Manness Sarah McConnell Douglas Emerson Kathy Walters
Cheryl A. Byers Dorothy M. Rundles Rose M. Orrantia Deborah Murphy John R. Harris Khia Grinnell Stephanie DeCoteau Janelle Simon Bonnie Clift Stacey Lara
Abalone Membership Tier Individual Cassandra H. Carroll Rebecca Larsen Jana L. Heyd Stan Wolfe Mary Tigertail Luann Fuentes Silvia Obregon Tina Osceola Moses Osceola Willie Johns
National Indian Child Welfare Association | NICWA News
Denver Indian Family Resource Center, Inc. Eckerd Kids American Indian Child Resource Center Quinault Family Services Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association Four Feathers Counseling American Indian Health & Family Services New York Council on Adoptable Children
Moses Jumper Lisa Greif Carol Gooday-Mithlo Valerie Rucker Brian Wahnee Ottoria Dean Joyce Frye Shawnee Inez Rochelle Ettawageshik Donalyn Sarracino
Marsha Vallo Alisa Lee Kyli Antone Pamela Satepauhoodle Joni Williams Billy Miller Paul Minehart Darlene E. Jenkins Joy Anderson Wendy Harris Winter 2016 | Page 11
NICWA News National Indian Child Welfare Association 5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97239 PHONE: (503) 222-4044 FAX: (503) 222-4007 WEB: www.nicwa.org
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 567