Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session (5/7/2021)
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session (5/7/2021) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Contents Circle Legacy Center…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Seattle Indian Health Board…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………3
Operation Lady Justice Statement from Circle Legacy Center, Pennsylvania
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Committee on Native American Ministries, UMC
My name is Sandra Cianciulli and I am a mixed blood Oglala Lakota born and raised in the
Philadelphia area. I proudly serve on the Board of Directors of the Circle Legacy Center, one of
two Indian organizations in Pennsylvania. I also serve as Co-Chair of the Eastern Conference
Committee of Native American Ministries of the United Methodist Churches.
On behalf of both organizations I am proud to represent, we are honored to add our statement
to the many profound testimonies submitted to OLJ from organizations throughout the
country. We are equally honored to work hand in hand with like organizations as we all
attempt to contribute to a solution for the years of anguish and pain suffered by countless
MMIW families.
Pennsylvania has no Federally or State recognized tribes. Our small, scattered Indian
population consists of remnants of fully assimilated groups of local tribes and transplants
with various tribal backgrounds. However, living in high population areas gives us
opportunities to educate and mobilize our communities so that we can effectively address
issues Native Americans face today. Besides our work with the Methodists, we work closely
with the Quakers whose Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Indian Committee recently celebrated
their 325th anniversary. Circle Legacy holds their meetings at the Community Mennonite
Church. We have celebrated our treaty status with the Amish of Lancaster County and
celebrated a modern-day peace treaty between the Presbyterians and Circle Legacy. We have
found with all our events or meetings where we hang the red dresses, people are curious,
attentive, and genuinely express a desire to “help any way they can”. The benefit of working
with faith-based organizations, gives us clout with local, state, and Federal levels of
government.
Further west to the center of the state sits the original campus of the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School on the grounds of the Army War College Barracks. Several members of our community
are descendants of our “greatest generation” who made history when faced with forced
assimilation yet maintained slivers of their Native culture so that future generations would
know who they are. Circle Legacy takes our responsibility as a custodian of the Indian student
cemetery very seriously. Since 1973, every Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, rain or shine,
Circle Legacy members and guests teach our children and grandchildren to carry on the
ceremonial tradition of lovingly caring for the graves of the children who never went home. A
few years ago when Circle Legacy established the Carlisle Indian School Project non-profit, we
became more involved in the activities of the Barracks personnel. One particular event, Jim
Thorpe Sports Days, features the trainers of the East Coast War Colleges who compete against
each other in several sporting events. Since the average age is 40, nobody takes it too
seriously and it is fun. We felt our veterans would love the opportunity to be honored as a
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 1“special guest” with accommodations in the Jim Thorpe bedroom. Until Covid closed down
the barracks, we were able to participate for seven years. The last event featured our very
own, VERY special guest Rep. Deb Haaland, now Interior Secretary Haaland!
Pennsylvania also has a former Senator, Rick Santorum, who knows absolutely nothing about
Native Americans and doesn’t seem to care and never did. Mr. Santorum’s website blocks
messages with a big sign: “THERE IS NO CONTACT INFORMATION AVAILABLE”. Anyone who
wishes to contact him regarding his misleading and false comments about the lack of Native
American contributions to America, American culture and society can reach him through CNN.
The CNN corporate office phone number is 404-827-1700 or you can fax them at 404-827-
2600. The customer service number for CNN's Washington D.C. bureau is 202-898-7900. Other
customer service numbers for CNN in Atlanta are 404-878-2276 and the fax number is 404-
827-1995.
In closing, we are hoping there is up-to-date data that we all can access. A few years ago, one
of our committee members found a woman in Washington State who documented the names
and ages of victims. We would also like to have a list of contact information or social media
information for the organizations participating in OLJ. This information will help us vary our
narratives and help us direct potential advocates to donate their time and resources where it
will do the most good.
Our combined organizations are grateful to the Secretary’s staff who put this project together.
We are also grateful to each individual and organization that endeavors to share their passion
to better protect our communities and honor the memory of our lost sisters and brothers.
Pilamaya!
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 2Seattle Indian Health Board
For the Love of Native People
611 12th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 324-9360
www.sihb.org
May 7, 2021
Esther Lucero
Chief Executive Officer
Seattle Indian Health Board
Operation Lady Justice
Deb Haaland, Co-Chair
Merrick Garland, Co-Chair
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 7th Street NW, Room 6336
Washington DC 20531
Re: Operation Lady Justice Listening Session/Roundtable Discussion: Grassroots Organizations
Working in the Areas of Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives
Submitted electronically via e-mail to OperationLadyJustice@usdoj.gov
Dear Co-Chair Haaland and Co-Chair Garland,
We appreciate the opportunity to submit the following comments for the Operation Lady Justice
(OLJ) Listening Session and Roundtable Discussion comments on behalf of the Seattle Indian
Health Board (SIHB).
SIHB and our research division, the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), continue to bring
nationwide attention to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crises.
In May 2021, UIHI released Supporting the Sacred: Community Resources for Native Survivors
of Sexual Violence, which captures the experience of 121 Native femme-identifying survivors of
sexual assault representing 79 tribal affiliations. Results from the study identify needs caused by
COVID-19, available resources for survivors in urban areas, and recommendations to increase
culturally attuned gender-based resources. UIHI’s report recommends increased access to
culturally attuned services for survivors, promoting health and wellness through cultural events
and educational materials, training care providers, and other client-centered solutions to better
serve American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of sexual violence.
Supporting the Sacred builds off UIHI’s national work to address violence perpetuated against
Native people. In November of 2018, UIHI released a first of its kind data report titled Missing
and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Report. The report details the results from a study of
71 urban cities in 29 states across the United States and highlights the institutional barriers to
obtaining data needed to properly assess and address the MMIWG crisis. UIHI continues to
report on MMIWG through the Our Bodies, Our Stories series that further details the scope of
violence inflicted on Native women and girls across the nation.
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 3Background on Seattle Indian Health Board
SIHB is one of 41 IHS-designated Urban Indian Health Programs (UIHP), as defined by Section 4
of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and a HRSA 330 Federally Qualified Health Center,
which serves nearly 5,000 American Indian and Alaska Native people living in the greater
Seattle, Washington area. As a culturally attuned service provider, we offer direct medical,
dental, traditional health, behavioral health services, and a variety of social support services on
issues of gender-based violence, elders services, and homelessness.
Our research division, UIHI, is an IHS designated Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC) and public
health authority which conducts data, research, and evaluation services for over 62 urban Indian
organizations nationwide which provide culturally attuned health services to urban Indian
communities. Of the twelve TECs, UIHI is the only one with a national purview, the other eleven
operate regionally, serving tribal nations.
We are part of the IHS continuum of care, which is comprised of IHS Direct, Tribal 638, UIHP
(I/T/U system of care). We honor our responsibilities to work with our tribal partners and to serve
all tribal people. Our role is to address the community and health needs of the over 71% of
American Indian and Alaska Native people that live in urban areas.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) and COVID-19
After the release of the initial MMIWG report, SIHB utilized the tremendous amount of media
coverage and community support to advocate for our relatives. This attention pressured
legislators and mobilized communities to demand changes in policy, law enforcement, and
government response to the MMIWG crisis. However, disconnect between federal agencies
response and grassroots efforts continues. Grassroot organizations are at the forefront of
response for gender-based violence offering culturally informed healing services, advocacy,
mentorships, and safety planning. To expand on grassroot efforts, federal agencies must utilize
client and community centered tactics to address the MMIWG crisis.
Over the course of the pandemic, there has been horrific murders and growing numbers of
Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing. In April 2020, the National Alliance to End
Sexual Violence released Responding to COVID-19: Rape Crisis Centers & Survivor Needs.
Results from the survey found 40% of local rape crisis centers have seen an increase in
demand for services during COVID-19, with over 534 of these local organizations
requesting $100 million in emergency stimulus funding to provide support and emergency
assistance to survivors.
In January 2021, UIHI released COVID-19 Impact on Urban Indians in Washington State: An
assessment of Washington Urban Native Direct-Service Organizations. The report revealed a
demand in health and human services including gender-based violence services. Results found,
of the surveyed urban Indian organizations, sustainable funding was the largest concern. The
trickle down of federal resources for tribal and urban Indian organizations takes a long time,
often with restrictions of how funds can be used. Across the country, hundreds of urban Indian
organizations, Indian Health Care Providers, and TECs continue to provide culturally
attuned gender-based violence prevention and response efforts for tribal and urban Indian
communities despite being chronically underfunded by the federal government.
In the UIHI report, Supporting the Sacred, researchers assessed the availability of culturally
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 4appropriate services and resources outside of law enforcement for American Indian and Alaska
Native survivors on gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual
assault, human trafficking, and MMIWG. UIHI found that 20% of the respondents were
experiencing an increased lack of physical safety due primarily to domestic violence and 90% of
respondents asked for culturally specific services, citing their struggles with accessing and
resonating with non-Indigenous methodologies for healing. When asked what resources would
benefit them as survivors, many respondents wanted cultural safety in care. Cultural safety
provides a framework that empowers the client to assert power in their healing. For providers,
cultural safety is implementing services based on the client’s background and experiences
including physical, mental, social, spiritual, and cultural components of the patient. Combined,
cultural safety provides a framework for Indigenous health that creates a shared power
relationship between provider and client to improve the health status of a client.
MMIWG Advocacy with Local and State Government
In 2018, SIHB collaborated with the City of Seattle’s first Native councilmember, Councilmember
Debora Juarez, to co-author Resolution 31900 solidifying the City’s intent to address the
MMIWG crisis. This is the first local legislation on MMIWG that we know of. To ensure this
resolution was backed with resources, we successfully advocated for a Missing and Murdered
Indigenous People (MMIP) Strategic Data Advisor position within the Seattle Police Department
and contract funds to ensure cultural attuned researchers can collaborate on systemic oversight
to data reforms within local law enforcement. This effort is a first of its kind attempt for a local
law enforcement agency to address the data challenges of MMIWG while coordinating with
tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, state agencies, and non-government
agencies to assist with local response to MMIWG in a major city.
In 2019, UIHI began working with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO)
Criminal Division on essential changes to their collection of race and ethnicity data. This effort
strives to improve how data on American Indian and Alaska Native people is collected and
analyzed to produce accurate data on the violence perpetrated against American Indian and
Alaska Native people in King County. From its inception, this was an unfunded project for UIHI,
but represented an urgent need nationwide to address the MMIWG data challenges. UIHI has
led this unfunded work because we could no longer wait for a government response to trickle
down to our community.
To ensure this effort appropriately engages local tribal nations, UIHI is in the process of
coordinating a conversation between a local tribe and KCPAO to support the development of a
Data Sharing Agreement that honor Indigenous Data Sovereignty. In Summer 2021, UIHI will
disperse a training series toolkit to KCPAO to teach agency staff and law enforcement how to
utilize updated demographic data fields to appropriately document race and ethnicity and
updated encounter data fields to better track where violent crime occurs. This toolkit aims to
improve current data collection practices to address the inconsistent, incomplete, and racial
misclassification of American Indian and Alaska Native people is addressed.
In 2020, SIHB worked with Representative Debra Lekanoff (WA-40), Senator Dhingra (WA-45),
state agencies, tribal partners, and community leaders to develop a Missing and Murdered
Indigenous People (MMIP) Statewide Task Force. The taskforce is unique in that it is guided by
the voices of American Indian and Alaska Native people, including survivors, families, tribes,
urban Indian organizations, tribal organizations, TECs, and state agencies. The taskforce will
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 5provide community defined solutions ranging from best practices for data collection and
reporting practices to increasing culturally attuned gender-based violence prevention and
response services. The taskforce is a critical step to addressing gender-based violence targeted
at American Indian and Alaska Native people in Washington State.
Grassroots Organizations Commitment to MMIWG
We know innovative and collaborative movements amongst culturally attuned grassroot
providers have carried the needs of survivors, families, tribes, and other communities impacted
by gender-based violence for generations. Long before governments acknowledged the
violence against American Indian and Alaska Native people, grassroot organizations provided
accessible culturally responsive services for our Native relatives experiencing intimate partner
violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and MMIWG and supported
prevention efforts using culturally responsive models of care. These movements and
organizations demonstrate the resilience of our tribal and urban Indian communities to prevent
and heal from violence.
As an urban Indian organization, SIHB strives to engage and amplify the work of grassroots
organizations to address MMIWG. SIHB is part of the Cedar Rising Coalition, a group of Native-
led organizations that are working to end gender-based violence in tribal and urban Indian
communities in Western Washington. The coalition’s goal is to address violence against
American Indian and Alaska Native people by engaging Native and non-Native partners to
advance innovative and culturally response solutions, with a focus on the interconnected areas
of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, suicide,
and systematic failures in child welfare and criminal justice systems. We also work closely with
and amplify the work of Mother Nation, a grassroots urban Indian organization offering culturally
informed healing services, advocacy, mentorship and homeless prevention in the State of
Washington. The Seattle-based organization’s culturally informed healing services are custom
designed and provided by credentialed Native American Elders who apply traditional knowledge
to clinical practice. Mother Nation's healing sessions, groups, and workshops are specialized for
adult survivors of sexual assault, women’s healing, and domestic violence recovery and
response. These are only a few of the groups and organizations that we work with that are
grounding violence prevention and response in a grassroots approach that centers culture,
community, and intergenerational healing.
UIHI’s report, Supporting the Sacred, documents the trust our relatives have in local culturally
attuned services. As one of these culturally attuned service providers, we work strategically
work with tribal and urban Indian service providers, government agencies, and systems partners
to identify out how we can begin to address the underlying issues that have caused our missing
and murdered loved ones to go unprotected under a flawed institutional system. However, the
MMIWG epidemic cannot end with localized efforts alone. A federal multi-jurisdictional and multi-
disciplinary approach can begin to address the institutional systems and chronic underfunding
of trust and treaty obligations that perpetuate violence towards American Indian and Alaska
Native people.
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 6Recommendations to Support Grassroot Organizations
To build upon the efforts of grassroot organizations, we recommend the Office of Justice
Programs:
Include tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, Tribal Epidemiology
Centers (TEC), including grassroot organizations in the decision-making process
Tribal and urban Indian organizations are at the forefront of providing health and human services
to survivors alongside many grassroots organizations and groups. Collectively, as experts
providing community-based and culturally attuned solutions to the MMIWG crisis, these
organizations and groups are a critical partner to the decision-making process for OLJ and all
the federal efforts to address MMIWG.
For several years, SIHB has advocated alongside tribal partners for a more comprehensive
representation from tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and grassroot
organizations in the OLJ Taskforce. The OLJ Taskforce lacks engagement with survivors, tribes,
tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and TECs who hold the relationships and
expertise to guide policy and systems changes that are culturally attuned and community-
defined. Consequently, past OLJ efforts have been largely ineffective in holistically addressing
the MMIWG epidemic.
We have also observed that the implementation of Savanna’s Act (PL 116-165) lacks community
engagement required under the legislation and lacks integration with United States Attorney
General’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Initiative and OLJ’s effort to create
a national strategy on MMIP. These two federal efforts outline similar objectives, raising
concerns that federal efforts are not being coordinated appropriately. When Savanna’s Act
passed, Indian Country was expecting a collaborative development of guidelines on MMIWG
cases, including a tribal consultation and urban confer to identify best practices for accurately
capturing MMIWG data and developing regional guidelines for MMIP cases. Notice of these
consultation and confers has only recently been released by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Across these federal efforts, we seek robust and sustained engagement of survivors, tribes,
tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, TECs, and grassroot organizations in the
decision-making process. We ask that DOJ uphold legislative intent to convene tribal
consultations and urban confers where appropriate and engage American Indian and Alaska
Native partners in meaningful dialogue and collaboration to reach common objectives.
Incorporate culturally attuned protective factors
In UIHI’s report, Supporting the Sacred: Womxn of Resilience, revealed the importance of
access to cultural safety for survivors seeking healing services. It is essential for survivors to
have access to therapy, counseling, survivor support groups, and a sense of community.
Grassroot organizations that incorporate tradition and culture to these services create a
protective factor against negative health outcomes, including individual and inter-generational
trauma from sexual violence experiences. Grassroot organizations are able to provide space for
survivors to connect with other survivors and staff members to support them during transition,
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 7planning, and recovery from gender-based violence.
We recommend OLJ encourage the incorporation of culturally attuned protective factors in all
systems responding to the MMIWG crises including law enforcement, criminal legal systems,
outreach and education campaigns, and other social support services that prevent or respond to
MMIWG. As the OLJ develops education/outreach campaigns and a public awareness
campaigns, culturally attuned protective factors will be essential to reaching tribal and urban
Indian communities through a cultural foundation that responds to the needs of survivors and
families.
Engage tribal and urban Indian communities in the development of best practices
The Executive Order outlines a series of activities OLJ to accomplish over the course of the
Taskforce, including developing model protocols and procedures to apply to new and unsolved
cases of missing or murdered persons in American Indian and Alaska Native communities,
including a variety of best practices. These best practices will be shared throughout Indian
Country and in non-tribal communities, yet it is unclear how much of the best practices have
been co-developed or informed by tribal and urban Indian communities that most impacted. The
lack of input from Native communities is two-fold including input from community voices and
input from a data-driven perspective.
We encourage the participation of community voices including survivors, tribes, tribal
organizations, urban Indian organizations, TECs, and other grassroot organizations to give input
on best practices developed by OLJ. Local Native-led organizations are stakeholders and
experts in their field to advise on MMIWG issues that affect the lives of our community. Native-
led organizations provide services and programs to address gender-based violence including
offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy
development that can serve as valuable information for OLJ’s best practices. By amplifying
community voices, OLJ can develop culturally attuned best practices to address gender-based
violence crises.
To strengthen the data-driven perspective, we encourage the participation of TECs in OLJ’s
Data Group and Best Practices Group. TECs utilize a multi-pronged approach to collect data and
information on the MMIWG crisis while engaging with a variety of stakeholders including tribes,
tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, government agencies, academic institutions,
and grassroot organizations. TECs also already provide multiple resources on the MMIWG issue
including reports, factsheets, and other public health resources. Without a data driven
perspective, the OLJ best practice threatens to erase the stories and data on Native people
affected by gender-based violence. The input of our knowledge holders from multiple disciplines
offers a culturally aware and culturally attuned perspective necessary to produce MMIWG best
practices that address the needs of Indian Country.
Identify federal funding and resources for grassroot organizations
While the Executive Order does not explicitly require the OLJ Taskforce to identify resources to
support MMIWG prevention and response at the grassroots level, we know that the Taskforce’s
effectiveness on outreach and educations campaigns will hinge on support, collaboration, and
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 8alignment with tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and grassroots
organizations.
The lack of federal funding to grassroot organizations limits the accessibility of services provided
to our relatives impacted by gender-based violence. It is not uncommon for grassroot
organizations to experience gaps in sustainable resource to adequately staff and develop a
robust and expansive set of services and programs for our tribal and urban Indian communities.
The underfunding of local MMIWG efforts perpetuates co-occurring health disparities and
violence experienced by survivors and families. We ask OLJ identify and analyze federal funding
streams that could support local prevention and response services lead by grassroots MMIWG
organizations and groups.
Federal funding must reach the frontlines of the MMIWG crisis provided by tribes, tribal
organizations, urban Indian organizations, including grassroot organizations. OLJ is uniquely
positioned to increase national awareness, visibility, and mobilization across federal partner
agencies and Congress. OLJ should advocate for MMIWG funding support from Congress and
other federal agencies to financially support MMIWG work through braided funding strategies
that bring flexible and robust funds to tribal and urban Indian communities. By working across
federal systems, the OLJ Taskforce can catalyze national awareness and visibility that will usher
in a new era of policy and systems changes that can address the root causes of the MMIWG
crisis. With this approach, OLJ and federal partners can reflect a united and multiagency front to
address past system failure and evoke a multipronged approach in eradicating MMIWG.
We thank you for your consideration of these comments and recommendations.
Sincerely,
Esther Lucero (Dinè), MPP Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), MA
President & CEO Executive Vice President
206-324-9360 Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute
EstherL@sihb.org 206-812-3030
AbigailE@uihi.org
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Written Comments Received for the Grassroots Organizations Listening Session 2021 | 9You can also read
