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“Lost birds” – a term for Native children adopted out of their tribal communities. Right after the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 became the law of the land, Kendra Mylnechuk Potter was adopted into a white family and raised with no knowledge of her Native parentage. This beautiful and intimate film follows Kendra on her journey to find her birth mother April, also a Native adoptee, and return to her Lummi homelands in Washington State. With a sensitive yet unflinching lens, director Brooke Swaney (Blackfeet/Salish) documents Kendra and April as they connect with relatives and navigate what it means to be Native, and to belong to a tribe from the outside looking in. Along the way, Kendra uncovers generations of emotional and spiritual beauty and pain and comes to the startling realization that she is a living legacy of U. S. assimilationist policy. By sharing a deeply personal experience of inherited cultural trauma, the film opens the door to broader and more complicated conversations about the erasure of Native culture and questions of identity surrounding adoption.
Meet the people involved in the making of Daughter of a Lost Bird. The panel will include the director, Brooke Swaney, and star Kendra Mylnechuk to discuss the film’s impact.
Tuesday, Nov. 8 | Daughter of a Lost Bird Panel Discussion | 3 – 3:45 p.m. | Launch Meeting - Zoom
Learning Stories to Dismantle White Supremacy
We’re living in an age where the eradication of our people, our stories, and our voices are happening in broad daylight and behind closed doors. As educators, politicians, social workers, and early learning professionals, we have the chance to use our stories to tell our children about our resilience. We have the chance to revamp our system, to illuminate children’s thinking and to tear down the structures that seeks to destroy our souls. This multi-session discussion is about Learning Stories. The power of it. How we can take back control of how we document. What’s important to us in documentation. And how we can use that to disrupt white supremacist values that are prevalent in many of our curricula. Join Nick (he/him), Jane (she/her), and Mike (he/him), three educators of color, as they reflect and share experiences, ideas, curiosities, and knowledge on ways we can use Learning Stories to Dismantle White Supremacy over a 3 part series. Educators Bios.
Miro Board link: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVPQ6jxLY=/?share_link_id=261383739614. If you are unable to post a response, contact Kelly Pelland.
Part 1 - Listening Only - https://youtu.be/VSjpMuTFDFs Available all of October
We're excited to be in community with you this upcoming session. As you can see from the title, we'll be talking about topics that engender strong emotional reactions for some. Our time together is about advancing new personal and organizational anti-racist and healing practices in our work. Thus, we'll be asking you to do the same thing that many of us ask our young children and families we partner with to do... and that's to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is not a weakness but a source of strength. It's capital. It's a resource we can harness to grow, live, and humanize each other. For 90 minutes, we'll center that along with the curiosity, inquiry, wonder and awe that you'll bring to the sessions. If you haven't had a chance to (re)listen to Part 1 - https://youtu.be/VSjpMuTFDFs - which sets the scene and foundation for our time together, then please do so.
When you listen to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) stories, are you simply listening to our words or are you truly hearing our souls and spirits? In Part 1 of our 3-part series, we’ll spend some time talking about storytelling, the power of it, how it helps sustains communities of color, and ways stories can be told through a strength-based lens to support our work with young children and families. We’ll take our perspectives as two male educators of color and help build a collective foundation and understanding of what changes we may need to consider in order to advance racial and social justice in our work moving forward. Join us as we laugh, challenge, conversate, and give food for thought on the intersections of culture, identity, storytelling and strengthening families locally.
Part 2 – Tuesday, November 1, 2022 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Join Workshop
In this virtual workshop, Mike (he/him) is joined by his colleague Jane (she/her), to chat about how storytelling can be shifted, transformed, and used to advocate for families, children, and their caregivers. Using her previous experience as a social worker, Jane will show examples of how you can write strength-based stories, narratives, and documentations that engages families and mitigates trauma for those experiencing high levels of ACEs. Mike will explore how he uses Learning Stories, a form of storytelling, in his program, to demonstrate the brilliance of the children in ways that traditional methods of documentation does not allow for. Join us for a 90-minute session as we explore how the power of our voice and words can change the trajectory of a family’s life.
Part 3 – Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Join Workshop
In this final chapter of our time together, Mike (he/him) is rejoined by Nick (he/him), to walk through how we can deepen our capacity to tell stories. We’ll ask you to bring in stories and pieces of documentation to share so we can work in real time to see how we can tweak and shift it from a deficit lens to a positive. We’ll also share with you our process for working with communities of color and share additional insight on how communities of color view organizations such as yours. Join us for a 90-minute session where we’ll actively work to find our own voice as storytellers.
We have additional activities planned for November, so stay tuned and check back in our next edition!
From the National Museum of the American Indian
Join us to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. This year we are featuring the procession and dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial honoring American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian veterans. Visitors can learn about and enjoy the diversity and contributions of these Native cultures with a variety of free public events in Washington, D.C., New York City, and online. Programs include performances, talks and family activities.
Tuesday, Nov. 1 | Youth in Action: Reclaiming the Stage | 10 – 11 a.m.
Can changing theater mean changing the world? Join in a conversation with young Indigenous actors and playwrights who are reimagining Native representation on the stage. DeLanna Studi (Cherokee) will moderate the discussion between panelists Tara Moses (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), Emily Preis (Citizen of the Osage Nation) and Isabella Madrigal (Cahuilla and Turtle Mountain Chippewa). This program is free, but advance registration is required. A direct link will be emailed to registrants 24-48 hours in advance. A recording will be available on demand following the premiere.
Friday, Nov. 4 | Cooking Up History: Nourish Your Body, Nourish Your Spirit with Ancestral Foods | 9 – 10:15 a.m.
Mother-daughter duo Elena Terry and Zoe Fess address the health and well-being of their community, the Ho-Chunk Nation, by reviving and sustaining ancestral foods. During this program, guest chefs Terry and Fess will speak about the work of their non-profit Wild Bearies, a seed to table organization, that shares Indigenous food cultures and traditions within the Ho-Chunk Nation and beyond. This program is produced in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s North American Office.
Friday, Nov. 11 | Native Veterans Procession and Dedication| Washington, D.C. | 11 a.m.
All are welcome to join as the museum honors the military service of Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native veterans, Friday, Nov. 11. The Native veteran’s procession and dedication ceremony will take place beginning at 2 p.m. (ET) on the National Mall as part of a three-day celebration featuring hands-on activities, films, performances, and a veterans hospitality suite. The procession and dedication will be livestreamed.
Nov. 18 – 25 | 2022 Native Cinema Showcase
The National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase is an annual celebration of the best in Indigenous film. Embracing their communities’ oral histories, knowledge and ancestral lands, Indigenous filmmakers are seeking guidance from the past and envisioning new paths for the future. The online program includes a total of 35 films (six features and 30 shorts) representing 30 Native nations in eight different countries.
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Film Screening Imagining The Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting | 11 a.m.
Imagining the Indian (USA, 2022, 95 Min.) is a comprehensive examination of the movement to eradicate demeaning and offensive words, images, and gestures in the world of sports. The film takes a deep dive into the issues through archival footage and interviews with those involved in the fight. The psychological research is clear: the use of Native American mascots is detrimental, not only to Native people, but to marginalized groups everywhere.
Friday, Nov. 25 | Native American Heritage Program with Tony Duncan | multiple time options listed on website
Learn about the meaning and history of hoop dancing in Native culture and enjoy demonstrations by five-time world champion hoop dancer Tony Duncan (San Carlos Apache/Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara).
Friday, Nov. 25 | Native American Heritage Program with Joseph Secody | multiple time options listed on website
Learn about the meaning and history of hoop dancing in Native culture and enjoy demonstrations by top-ranking hoop dancer Joseph Secody (Navajo), who has performed at the Dubai World Expo and World Champion Hoop Dance Contest in Phoenix.
Opened Friday, Oct. 28 |Where We Belong | The Public Theater, New York City
Mohegan theatre-maker Madeline Sayet brings her solo piece, WHERE WE BELONG, to The Public Theater on Friday, October 28. More info at publictheater.org/WWB.
Native American Heritage Month Keynote Lecture
The John Hopkins Center for American Indian Health is excited to invite you to a Native American Heritage Month Program on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022 at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, featuring speakers Dr. Donald Warne and Dr. Melissa Walls, Co-Directors of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health.
Additional Native American Heritage Month activities
By Simon Moya-Smith
Natives have been so cancelled out of the American conversation that people don’t even know where to begin to include us. “What do we call you? … American Indian? Native American? Do you guys still live in tipis?” These questions are still asked today—and they will continue to be asked unless we put together some kind of list, a collection of do’s and don’ts, and share it widely… Wait. Hang on a tick. What do we have here?
November is Native American Heritage Month, when the U.S. is supposed to celebrate Natives and our contributions to the world. In recognition of the season, let’s start with 100 ways you and yours can be allies toward the Indigenous peoples of this continent—our ancestral land.
Read full article
By Mike Tulee, Ph. D., Executive Director United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Folks, let’s start this conversation by yelling “All hands on deck!” On November 9, of this year, deep pocketed special interest groups will be seeking to dismantle what is known as the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 through the Supreme Court. Beginning in 2018, ICWA has been litigated on multiple federal court levels. A federal district court in Texas held that ICWA violated the U.S. Constitution in an unprecedented decision. In August of 2019, this case was successfully appealed and reversed by a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit. Then, in November 2019, the Fifth Circuit agreed to conduct what is known as an “en banc” review of the three-judge panel’s decision. In an en banc review, complex cases of broad legal significance are reconsidered by the entire circuit court. In April 2021, the en banc panel found certain sections of ICWA to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court granted petitions to hear the case in February 2022. It must be pointed out that recently, the US Supreme Court has become more conservative and has shown no hesitation toward activist rulings.
The primary intent of ICWA is to protect Native kids by ensuring that they are not removed from their families unless doing so is necessary for the child's safety. Historically and tragically, unjustified removals of Indian children from their families prompted US Congress to enact the ICWA into law by reducing risks to Indian children nation-wide needlessly being separated from their families. ICWA’s design was to best serve Indian children by preserving and strengthening their family and community relationships to the fullest extent of the law. ICWA has protected American Indian and Alaska Native kids by keeping them in the care of extended family or tribes whenever possible. Familial and tribal relationships, ranging from children's closest ties of birth parents and siblings to extended family, radiating out to the child’s broader community and culture, are tantamount in maximizing Indian child welfare.
When ICWA’s standards are closely adhered to, they work. Statistical data shows that ICWA compliance achieves successful outcomes. Medical, scientific, and social science research all show that ICWA's placement preferences promote and protect the best interests of Native children. Indian children are reunified with their families more often than not and are placed with extended family members. Indian children in need of a loving adoptive family are more likely to be placed in one.
This case has huge implication for Native children and their families. If the protections of ICWA are reversed, additional serious challenges to tribal nations can and will be on the horizon. Tribal sovereignty of tribal nations will be at stake. Not only will Indian children be more readily and permanently removed from their families, (let alone tribal homes in general) tribal economic engines and land rights may be at stake. We invite families, leaders, traditional practitioners, elders, knowledge keepers, youth, and allies to respectfully demonstrate support for the Indian Child Welfare Act.
OSPI appoints Bernie Thomas as Interim Executive Director of the Office of Native Education (ONE)
Chris Reykdal, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, has announced that Bernie Thomas has been appointed as the Interim Executive Director of the Office of Native Education (ONE). ONE serves as a liaison between OSPI and school districts, tribal governments, State-Tribal Education Compact schools (STECs), tribal schools, Native communities, parents/guardians of Native children, and other groups and individuals.
Bernie brings decades of dedication, passion, and success to issues facing Native American Indigenous people. He is a highly respected Washington State tribal elder/leader of the Lummi Nation and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience both nationally and within the state on tribal affairs, tribal sovereignty, and tribal education. He was instrumental in the creation of the Lummi Nation K–8 School, a member of the Tribal Leaders Congress on Education, serves on College Spark Washington Board of Directors, and most recently Lummi Nation Education Director. He had a critical role in the founding the Tribal Leaders Early Learning Committee of Tribal Leaders Congress of Education. Bernie is the type of leader who centers his work through student voice, community and tribal engagement, and data.
Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) Program
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to post Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for two separate grant programs for the Fiscal Year 2023 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) Program: Development and Implementation Grants & Implementation Expansion Grants.
Please note that the release of these NOFOs is contingent on reauthorization of the MIECHV program. The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 has been introduced in Congress.
Development and Implementation Grant
The Development and Implementation Grant NOFO is intended for tribal entities that do not have prior experience with implementing evidence-based home visiting models, performance measurement systems, and evaluation activities. Funds will support 63-month grants (cooperative agreements) between ACF and federally-recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations to: conduct community needs assessments; develop the infrastructure needed for widespread planning and implementing of evidence-based maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs; and provide high-quality evidence-based home visiting services to pregnant women and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten entry.
More information, including estimated post, application, and award dates, is available in the Grant Opportunity Forecast: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343942
Implementation Expansion Grants
The Implementation and Expansion Grant NOFO is intended for tribal entities that have an established history of implementation of high-quality, culturally grounded, evidence-based home visiting services to AI/AN families and children and are currently operating these services. Applicants may include existing grant recipients under the Tribal MIECHV program that are proposing to sustain or expand services, as well as other tribal entities that can demonstrate past and current experience with conducting such activities and are proposing to expand services. Funds will support 5-year grants (cooperative agreements) between ACF and federally recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations that are currently operating an evidence-based home visiting program serving expectant families and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten entry, and propose to sustain or expand their established infrastructure for home visiting services in tribal communities. Grants will support implementation of high-quality, culturally grounded, evidence-based home visiting services to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) families and children; implementation of performance measurement and continuous quality improvement systems; development of early childhood systems; and participation in research and evaluation activities to build evidence around home visiting, particularly in tribal communities.
More information, including estimated post, application, and award dates, is available in the Grant Opportunity Forecast: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343943
- Thursday, Nov. 3 | Embedding Equity-focused Family and Parent Leadership Webinar | 10 – 11 a.m. | Register
- Thursday, Nov. 10 | Tribal Early Childhood Webinar: Native American Heritage Month Celebration with Creators of Molly of Denali! | 1 - 2:30 p.m. | Register Here
You Have a Voice. Use it and get paid!
Are you a young person between the age of 17 and 26 who has experience in the child welfare system in Washington State?
If so, share your experience with child welfare programs in our state--what helped, what didn't help and most importantly, what we could be doing better. Your experience will help DCYF create better services and programming that meet the needs of youth in these programs.
Participants will be paid $50 per session!
DCYF is contracting with SDM Consulting for some co-designing. Co-design means creating with people who are closest to the work and most impacted rather than creating for them. It is crucial that we have lived experience to conduct this work. We want to include Tribal young people in this endeavor. If you know of young people who might be interested to make great changes to Extended Foster Care (EFC) please have them register to be part of the team.
You may direct any questions to programs@sdmartinconsulting.com.
Fill out the EFC form.
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Help Me Grow Washington Strategic Planning Process Kicks Off
While Help Me Grow Washington (HMG WA) has been in place since 2010, more recently the system has experienced rapid growth, thanks in part to the Preschool Development Grant received in 2019. With Help Me Grow identified as a strategic initiative, the grant invested in the HMG WA system as a whole – in both the state affiliate’s capacity as well as in community capacity to develop local Help Me Grow systems. As the HMG WA system deepens and strengthens throughout the state, we are embarking on a 6-month strategic planning process to examine and co-design strategy and structure while articulating a shared vision for the network’s growth for the next five years.
Learn more by visiting their website: Help Me Grow WA
Native Wellness Institute
The Native Wellness Institute exists to promote the well-being of Native people through programs and trainings that embrace the teachings and traditions of our ancestors. November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples across North America. While the month celebrates Native communities, it's also a time for raising awareness about the systemic issues Indigenous communities continue to face. It’s a good time to look for creative ways to learn more about the people that we share the land with, but also to support Native Americans through their businesses or through their other ventures.
Social Security Establishing the National Native American Office
The new Office of Native American Partnerships will be within the Office of the Commissioner to elevate and centralize efforts to administer comprehensive programs and policies related to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
To learn more, visit the blog
New Resources for Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health (IEMCH) Providers
The Health Care Authority has launched a new webpage dedicated providing Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health resources and supports for mental health providers serving children birth through age five.
Visit the website
Wild Foods and Medicines: Free Resources
Plant Teachings toolkit is available for mental health workers, educators, and community members. Tend, Gather and Grow is a K-12 curriculum that focuses on native and naturalized plants of the Pacific Northwest region. Northwest Native American plant knowledge and stories are a part of the curriculum. Separate plant and tree guides are also available for download, including a PDF on immune and respiratory herbs.
Visit the website: Wild Foods and Medicine (goodgrub.org)
Changing the World Through Storytelling
Indigenous Performance Productions is an artist service agency that specializes in tour and original productions. Our organization fills a role that no other nonprofit on Turtle Island (North America) does- we create opportunities in the performing arts world for Native and Indigenous artists. Through our focus on relationship building with performance venues and their surrounding communities, we are able to provide new opportunities for emerging and mid-career Indigenous artists, effectively removing social, cultural, and socioeconomic barriers. We are taking on issues of misrepresentations and institutional barriers and by doing so we uplift Indigenous people.
Check out the below link for several opportunities to be inspired or entertained by indigenous artists and performers: https://www.indigenousperformance.org/.
Some Stars of Native American Comedy (aka Some Stars) features four Native American Comedy Storytellers carrying on the Native American Trickster tradition sharing their comedic take on life as filmmakers, script writers, directors, and comedians. They make up part of a growing group of Native storytellers creating a new wave of Native comedy productions across Turtle Island. Some Stars of Native Comedy, Presented by: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts.
POWWOW Sweat
Native American tribes share their sacred dances down by the various movements to learn a new dance while getting a workout too:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2flOGWRc8bh1UbG6G_r0lkpq07qh1UuN
The Center for Indigenous Midwifery
Center for Indigenous Midwifery was founded by Rhonda Lee Grantham, an Indigenous Midwife and Herbalist from the Cowlitz Nation. Cowlitz people are a Salish-Sahaptian tribe of SW Washington that translates to “Seeker of the Medicine Spirit.” For over two decades, Rhonda has been actively catching babies and supporting programs within tribal communities, both at home and globally.
https://www.indigenous-midwifery.org/podcast
Canoe Journey Herbalists
Canoe Journey Herbalists is an Indigenous-centered, community supported project consisting of herbalists, healers, and dedicated volunteers. Throughout the year, we grow, gather, and craft thousands of herbal remedies by creating collaborations with Coastal Salish communities and ally organizations. These medicines are then offered as part of a free, decolonized herbal and Indigenous
healing space for the largest gathering of Coastal Salish communities in the Pacific Northwest, the Intertribal Canoe Journey. Learn more about Intertribal Canoe Journey here.
Visit: https://www.canoejourneyherbalists.org/
Make No Bones About It and View from the Shore
KAOS 89.3 FM has two Native focused shows:
- Make No Bones About It | Sunday from 4 – 5 p.m. | Hosted by DCYF’s own Brian Frisina
- View from the Shore | Sunday from 6 – 8 p.m. | Hosted by GW Galbreath
Daybreak Star Radio brings you REEL NATIVES!
REEL NATIVES! | Thursdays at 7 p.m. repeats on Sundays
Daybreak Star Radio brings you REEL NATIVES! Radio Host RONN!E, the Blue Eyed Native is a Two-Spirit artist and designer from the (Sƛ̕púlmx) Cowlitz Tribe of Washington. Check them out, airing Thursdays at 7p.m. and repeats on Sundays.
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