CSVANW September 2017 Newsletter

September 2017 Newsletter

SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and CSVANW is sharing several ways to prevent suicide in our tribal communities from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center encourages the use of culturally relevant, contextually driven, comprehensive approach that includes these key components:

Promote culturally competent practices that increase protective factors and reduce risk.
Connect the community's resources to create a shared vision of wellness.
Gather information from Elders and community members to gain knowledge and understand the issue of suicide in the community where you are working.

We also acknowledge that prevention comes in many forms and in this knowledge we encourage you to read our blog submissions that originate and emulate support, cultural competency and resiliency.

STRONGHEARTS NATIVE HELPLINE CREATES NEW HOPE FOR NATIVE SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

By The StongHearts Team

In May, the StrongHearts team visited with representatives of DV service providers and shelters in New Mexico during CSVANW's Board Meeting in Albuquerque. The conversation centered around collaborating with Native-specific domestic violence services to better support Native survivors who often face barriers to justice and safety, especially in remote areas.

While still early, calls to the helpline are beginning to paint a picture of the diverse experiences of those facing domestic violence and abuse in our communities. Situations where children, substance abuse and poverty, as well as issues with culture and identity, are involved, mapping a complex web of survivor needs that the helpline aims to address in a culturally rooted way... Read More.

DINE YOUTH WEAVES INTO THE FUTURE

By Naomi Glasses

When I'm at home, I can easily collect my thoughts and focus on my weaving with almost no distractions except for maybe when my dogs start barking at rabbits.

Other than that, it's quiet and it's expansive out here, I feel like I can breathe easier than if I were somewhere a little more congested.

I love to be around my horses because they bring me comfort; I've been around horses all my life because my uncles, cousins, dad and brother all have been a part of rodeos. It's amazing to me that there's this enormous animal and that instead of wanting to trample me, it's completely fine with me riding on it's back and not only that but it's willing to work with me. Also, it's just super relaxing to ride a horse and get a panoramic view of my surroundings.

No windows, just seeing everything right there in front of me. Read More.

TRANSITIONING FROM COLONIZATION

By Alexandria Trujillo

Upon meeting me, people assumed I was a girl.

By the time I was in 7th grade, I had long beautiful hair that flowed down my back. I started to experiment with makeup in this grade. By 8th grade I was wearing makeup on a daily basis, plus I had long hair, soft facial features, and a strong feminine presence.

I didn't understand why I felt pure bliss when people called me "she."Although I had identified as a gay boy for years at this point I still felt incomplete.

Near the end of 9th grade, I learned about transgender people. This newfound knowledge was the key to the chest that held the piece that completed me.

A week after, I realized I was transgender I told my mother. If it wasn't for her love and complete acceptance, I couldn't even have begun this journey. Read More.

CSVANW NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR 2ND ANNUAL AWARDS GALA AND AUCTION RECEPTION

Help us spotlight and honor the invaluable contributions of our advocates, service providers, law enforcement and all those who have made significant contributions in the movement to end violence against Native women and children. Let us know who you would like to nominate! Nominate someone today by clicking the link below!

NOMINATION FORM

JOIN US IN WELCOMING OUR NEWEST CSVANW BOARD MEMBER!

Lorraine Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock, recently retired from the US Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) where she had worked for 10 years as Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs, a position that was established under the 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. While at OVW Lorraine provided supervision to the Tribal Division and was responsible for management of four national grant programs serving American Indian and Alaska Native women. This included the Grants to Tribal Governments Program, the Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program, the Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Program and the Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction Program. She was also responsible for overseeing the annual Tribal Consultation on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native women.

Lorraine's Federal career also included management positions at the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Interior's Office of Indian Education. She worked at the Administration for Native Americans as well. Before joining the Federal government, Ms. Edmo directed the National Indian Education Association in Alexandria, VA; the American Indian Graduate Center in Albuquerque, NM and worked as a corporate officer for the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, CO. She began her career in Idaho in 1970 as the founding editor of her tribal newspaper, The Sho-Ban News, which is still published on her reservation.

Lorraine has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from UNM, Albuquerque and BA Degree in Journalism with a second major in Political Science from the University of Montana, Missoula. Ms. Edmo is married to Jerry Cordova of Taos Pueblo. They have three children. Lorraine is currently semi-retired and resides with her husband in NM.

Please join us in welcoming Lorraine when you see her at our events!

CSVANW HIRES NEW PROGRAM ASSISTANT!

Curtison Badonie (he/him/his) is Diné from Blue Gap & Chinle, Arizona. He is Tsi'naajinii (Black-streaked-wood people clan), and raised by To'tsohnii (Big Water clan). He received his BA in Communication with a focus in Intercultural and a minor in Sociology from the University of New Mexico. Curtison's focus with the CSVANW is providing assistance and support to the CSVANW's mission in stopping violence against Native Womxn and children through advocating for social change in our communities.

What brought Curtison to the CSVANW and to join the team was the support, education, and advocacy that the CSVANW brings to create a better future for Native Womxn and children. Therefore, having worked with the LGBTQ Two-Spirit community at the UNM LGBTQ Resource Center, Curtison hopes to bring support, education, and advocacy for Native LGBTQ Two-Spirit people with the CSVANW.

Curtison is an alumni of Diné College where he received his Associates's in Health Occupation. He is currently in the process of applying for graduate school at the University of New Mexico. He hopes to get into UNM's Communication Masters Program where he plans to further his BA focus in Intercultural Communication and pursues another focus in Health & Culture Communication.

NATIONAL CENTER NAMES CSVANW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
40 UNDER 40

TULALIP, WA

Deleana OtherBull, Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW) Executive Director, has been named one of the recipients of the Native American 40 Under 40 awards by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's (NCAIED).

The prestigious award was created in 2008 to acknowledge emerging Native American, Alaska Native and First Nation members between the ages of 18 and 39 who demonstrate leadership, initiative, dedication and achieved significant contributions in business and Native communities throughout North America.

Click here to learn more!

NNEDV SAFETY NET'S 5TH ANNUAL TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) held their 5th Annual National Summit in San Francisco, CA beginning on July 31, 2017. This summit aimed to explore technology in the context of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and violence against women.

CSVANW sent our Native Youth Coordinator, Keioshiah Peter, this year who is eager to share the information with our Native Youth throughout the upcoming year!

Click here to learn more!

NEW MEXICO HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRIBAL TASKFORCE MEETING

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

CSVANW's Cheyenne Antonio, Program Coordinator for Sex Trafficking, has taken a major lead in the efforts of the Taskforce bringing together other local non profits, community health sources, national resource centers, several tribal social services as well as invested individuals who hold expertise in the areas of victim services and advocacy.

The New Mexico Human Trafficking Tribal Task Force was was established to support and encourage partnership among tribal governments, tribal enterprises, tribal community programs and tribal non-profits to establish a strategic plan of action that will foster an inclusive response to eradicate (sexual slavery) human trafficking of Native Americans throughout the state.

ANAV 2ND ANNUAL BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSING

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

The Association of Native Voices (ANAV) kicked off this back-to-school season by hosting their 2nd Annual Back to School Blessing on August 5, 2017 at RFK Charter School and CSVANW was there to show our support!

CSVANW team members Keioshiah Peter and Angel Charley dropped off donations and volunteered in this great community event that handed out ba ckpacks and school supplies to youth from across the city!

Click here to learn more!

WORKING WITH OFFENDERS TRAINING

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

CSVANW held our much anticipated "Working with Offenders" Training on August 10, 2017 at the Nusenda Training Center in Albuquerque, NM.

This one day training focused on examining best practices and strategies being implemented in tribal communities with cooperation from social service programs, domestic violence programs, behavioral health, law enforcement, tribal courts and tribal leadership.

CSVANW BOARD AND MEMBER QUARTERLY MEETING

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

Our board and members convened the second week in August for our Quarterly Board and Member Meeting held at our offices in Albuquerque, NM.

Our half day meeting was filled with great member highlights, CSVANW Director and Staff reporting, focus group updates, and Tribal Consultation Recommendation strategizing. Thank you to our amazing community who attended- your continued support and investment are so crucial to the movement to end violence against Native women.

SWAIA SANTA FE INDIAN MARKET

SANTA FE, NM

Our team was in Santa Fe for the 96th Annual Santa Fe Indian Market. We hosted a booth in the non-profit area to spread awareness about our programming and initiatives.

One such initiative is our 2nd Annual Gala and Auction coming up in May and we were honored to receive several donations during SWAIA from amazing artists who have chosen to partner with CSVANW to raise awareness and change the conversation about domestic and sexual violence.

We would like to extend our deep thanks to everyone who stopped by to show their support and especially the artists who donated their beautiful pieces to our auction inventory.

Click here to learn more!

SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN NEW MEXICO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

Devona Bradford, Sexual Assault Coordinator with CSVANW, facilitated our 2nd annual S exual Violence in New Mexico Tribal Communities training on August 22-23, 2017.

This two day seminar was geared toward nearly 40 advocates and service providers who were trained to recognize signs of suspected child sexual abuse. After the training, CSVANW facilitated the first committee meeting for a new statewide tribal sexual assault response team with advocates and service providers throughout the state working with Native victims of sexual violence. To find out more about this statewide collective please email dbradford@csvanw.org.

MENDING THE SACRED HOOP: 2ND ANNUAL TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS PROGRAM SUMMIT

ST PAUL, MN

Our Native Youth Program Coordinator, Keioshah Peter, was invited to present at this year's Tribal Governments Program Summit on our Native Youth Summit.

Keioshiah's workshop entitled,

"#WeAreTheMovement: Creating Spaces for Native Youth Engagement and Violence Prevention" provided attendees an outline of the planning process, an overview of the creation of the youth centered agenda, and risk management considerations for hosting a youth summit.

Click here to learn more!

CSVANW CAPACITY BUILDING WITH ALBUQUERQUE S.A.N.E COLLABORATIVE

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

CSVANW is dedicated to growing our capacity from within to better serve our communities. This past month we held a training for our staff to better learn more about our service providers.

Albuquerque Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) Collaborative came to the CSVANW offices to train our team on the services they provide so that when we refer survivors of domestic and sexual assault we may do so confidently knowing they will receive prompt and appropriate care.

Click here to learn more!

ROCK AND A HARD PLACE; CSVANW TEAM BUILDING

JEMEZ MOUNTAINS, NM

CSVANW staff ended the month of August by partnering with Santa Fe Mountain Center for some intense team building exercises. We challenged ourselves, encouraged one another and reinforced trust by rock climbing in the Jemez Mountains. The afternoon was ended with self reflection in the work we do.

We know that in the movement to end violence, we must first start with ourselves. Strengthening ours team and building trust from within is our challenge. This strength is essential to sustain our team to continue our pursuit of violence free communities.

Click here to learn more!