Breastfeeding & Chestfeeding Awareness Month August 2023 Newsletter August is National Breastfeeding & Chestfeeding Month. This month, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW), & other organizations will center the healthy relationships that begin in the womb and continue to grow at birth between parent and infant. Honoring this important bond ensures a healthy home and community for our younger generations that will last a lifetime. Our theme “Nourishing our Future & Homes: Rooted in Community & Land” is a call to connect with our lands, communities, and cultural teachings that normalize all the efforts and ways we have nurtured and provide for our little ones since time immemorial. As we continue to support each other we encourage all our relatives to nourish and protect our future at all times! We are showing up for our communities in many ways to keep them safe and healthy. Our Indigenous children are valuable, sacred, & critical to our future. Join us in supporting and honoring healthy relationships that begin at birth by following us on social media and engaging with our posts. Together we must nourish and protect our future! #NBAM23 Baby Formula Drive Starting August 7th - 31st, 2023 August is National Breastfeeding & Chestfeeding Month, CSVANW recognizes breastfeeding may not always be accessible due to many factors, and this may be difficult for families. To respond to our communities & families that may be lacking alternative resources to provide milk for their babies, CSVANW is hosting a Baby Formula Drive during the month of August and has partnered with our relatives at Indigenous Women Rising & Changing Woman Initiative to help distribute formula to our communities in need. More information coming soon! Join us in Nourishing our Communities! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ CSVANW in the Community July 4 - On July 4th, 2023 CSVANW was invited to attend Department of the Interior’s 4th of July Fireworks Viewing in Washington, DC. CSVANW staff had the opportunity to meet Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland. Secretary Haaland made history as she is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. Secretary Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th generation New Mexican. Secretary Haaland hosted many DOI staff, families, youth groups and many other pronounced organizations providing an opportunity for CSVANW staff to socially interact in meaningful conversation and networking. July 5 - CSVANW held the 3rd MMIWR Storytelling workshop, Intersections of Storytelling: Share with Care; Social Media Safety. Presenters included CJ Abeyta from Santo Domingo pueblo who presented on keeping youth safe on social media. Jamie Allbach from Strong in Nature presented on using your social media platform to expand your reach to bring awareness to MMIWR including tips and tricks for photo sharing and information. July 5 - CSVANW was invited to the 25th Navajo Nation Legislative Branch Tribal Law & Order Committee meeting on July 5, 2023 at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce to share the history of the Violence Against Women Act and the new provisions under VAWA 2022. The conversation led to what tribal leaders from the Navajo Nation should include during testimony in the upcoming 18th Annual OVW Government to Government Tribal Consultation. CSVANW was happy to provide resources, upcoming important dates, and support to amending laws that keep our Diné relatives safer. Solutions to Violence Exist in Our Communities July 12 - The Housing Our Relatives For Trafficking Prevention & Aftercare in-person training took place at UNM continuing education conference hall. Advocates, social workers, and community organizers came out to learn about the intersections between housing instability and trafficking vulnerability, and the colonial history that led to their emergence as modes of violence. Many participants were incredibly engaged with the material and showed exceptional passion for the need for permanently affordable housing for unhoused relatives and victims of trafficking in the state of New Mexico and beyond. Our presenters included Sex Trafficking Prevention Coordinator Pat Gallegos, Lifelink victim advocates Maureen Lomaheptewa, Lorraine Acuna, and Silver Van Fleet, and First Nations housing & trafficking case managers Cindy Charley and Chastity Watchman. KOAT 7 also joined to run a story on the training, the local reporter having particular interest in our identification of housing as a significant issue in Indigenous communities and as a major indicator of trafficking vulnerability. We are grateful they took the time to do a story on us and uplift the experiences of survivors! July 13 - CSVANW participated in the KUNM Let’s Talk NM radio show to share the experiences of impacted family members of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives when navigating this new life searching for their loved ones and the solutions we’d like to see for them. The Not Invisible Act Commission made its 6th stop in Albuquerque at the end of the month of June 2023. Many of the commissioners are survivors of family members who are impacted by MMIWR. The testimonies of the impacted family members are still heavy on our minds and in our prayers. CSVANW thanks the commissioners and the Department of Interior for their time and commitment to this very painful issue. Thank you KUNM for highlighting this issue with today's show. You can listen to the show by clicking the link below: Listen July 19 to 20 - CSVANW held the 11th Annual Native Youth Summit in person at Santa Fe Indian School. The Native Youth Summit is a powerful leadership development event connecting and empowering Native Youth ranging from 13 to 17 years old from across New Mexico. During the Summit, Youth engaged in presentations around topics of healthy practices for sexual health and tips for a safe online presence. They learned about Community Organizing and how to get involved in policy work on a state and federal level. CSVANW was honored to share space with this group of Native Youth over the past two days and are looking forward to watching them grow and the contributions they will make to their own communities in the future! July 17 to 20 - CSVANW was in attendance at the Annual Safety Net’s Technology Summit in San Francisco, CA. This unique 3-day training summit focused on the intersection of technology and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking. July 28 - Service providers and community members gathered at the annual World Day Against Trafficking Resource Fair to discuss and share information about the trafficking crisis in New Mexico and across the nation. CSVANW collaborated with LifeLink to put on the event, getting our lived experience survivors lodging and honorariums for their presentations and wonderful MCing. CSVANW also presented on the Intersections of Land-Body Violence and Trafficking as well, and although was unfortunately cut short due to the very fast-pace agenda, absolutely knocked it out of the park! CSVANW Introduces Engaging All Relatives Program Area What is it? A program area within the CSVANW Training & Education Team; cultivating community solidarity among Native men and boys & LGBTQ2S+ relatives. Who is it for? For CSVANW members, service providers, educators, and community organizers that provide services to/engage with Native men and boys & LGBTQ2S+ relatives. Why does this program exist? We understand the balance that existed in our communities pre-colonization; a balance rooted in community roles and responsibilities rather than individualized gender and power. In order to achieve this, CSVANW believes we must meet our community with love at their varying levels of trust and understanding of patriarchal structures, paternal systems of governance, & gender identity. How will this be done? Intentionally addressing patriarchy in our communities. Challenging western gender/gender-binary systems. Developing more gender-expansive initiatives, trainings, and advocacy. Uphold Indigenous matriarchy, knowledge, and wellness. Addressing and affirming healthy masculinities. Who is leading this program area? Our Engaging All Relatives Coordinator Kaylene Loretto! She joined the Coalition last year in October and has been working on developing the foundation for this program. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Follow us on social media to stay updated when CSVANW is in the community. New Mexico has highest rate of missing, murdered... Families from here in New Mexico and from out of state banded together to nail the importance of locating their missing family members. Read more www.koat.com Advocates gather to speak about missing Indigenous... The US Department of Justice announced it is sending five attorneys and coordinators to nine states, including New Mexico, to help with the investigations into unsolved cases. Read more www.krqe.com Federal commissioners come to Albuquerque to hear from... Native people are at disproportionate risk of experiencing violence, being murdered or going missing. In 2020, Congress passed a law called the Not Invisible Act to try to stop this. It was written by Deb Haaland, then a representative and now... Read more www.kunm.org Families rack up hefty expenses as they search for info... Building more family resources is an obvious solution that advocates say is required right now, and the need was represented in more than words by the presence of Mona Vallo's large family. Read more sourcenm.com A set of hearings about missing and murdered Indigenous... A federal commission to reduce the number of missing persons in Indian Country is wrapping up hearings across the country. The U.S. Department of Justice is committing new resources. Read more www.npr.org Reward doubled in case of Yakama woman killed in New Mexico The FBI recently doubled the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Mona Renee Vallo's death. Read more www.seattletimes.com Let's Talk more about missing and murdered Indigenous... Native American women in New Mexico have the highest rate of homicide among all racial and ethnic groups, and Albuquerque and Gallup are among the top ten cities in the United States for missing and murdered cases. The federal Not Invisible Act... Read more www.kunm.org Organizations raise awareness on sex trafficking in... The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women say sex trafficking in their native communities is an issue in need of necessary attention. Read more www.koat.com General contributions and donations from individual supporters and organizational partners are essential for CSVANW's sustainability and effectiveness. Your donation helps make it possible for us to cultivate and strengthen our ability to advocate for Native women and children and breaking of cycles of violence. Donate today I Will Run for Her 5K October 21, 2023 We are proud to share with you all our annual I Will Run for Them 5K Run/Walk & 1K Kid awareness run SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, October 21, 2023. Our annual I Will Run For Them 5K honors the resilience, strength, and spirit of our Native relatives impacted by domestic violence. MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON! Learn More We are seeking participation from Indigenous men to engage in our first Cultivating Healthy Masculinities With & For Native Men Workshop! Purpose: The purpose of this 2-day workshop is to engage Native men who are educators/teachers, community organizers, community members and/or service providers in learning the importance of cultivating healthy masculinities, healthy relationships and centering traditional knowledge in their own lives to better support the communities they serve. Participants will receive a $150 stipend & certificate of completion*** Kayaking experience with Tewa Roots Society Catered cultural food provided Lodging provided When: August 25th & August 26th Where: Poeh Cultural Center 78 Cities of Gold Road Santa Fe, NM 87506 Apply Today ***IMPORTANT: Participation and completion of 2-day workshop is required to receive the $150 stipend & certificate of completion. Limited space, 20 spots available. The 18th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation August 8th - 10th, 2023 The Office on Violence Against Women is a grant-making agency in the U.S. Department of Justice. Under §903 of Title IX of the United States Department of Justice Reauthorization and Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005), OVW is responsible for conducting annual government-to-government consultations with the leaders of all Federally recognized Indian tribal governments on behalf of the United States Attorney General. Learn More The purpose of each consultation is to solicit recommendations from tribal government leaders on the following topics: Administering tribal funds and programs; Enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking; Strengthening the federal response to such crimes; and, Improving access to local, regional, state, and federal crime information databases and criminal justice information systems. Register Building Indigenous Communities of Hope Fellowship The Building Indigenous Communities of Hope Fellowship at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute is designed for Native American youth (ages 18-24) who have lived experience in the child well-being system. Fellows will receive a series of intensive training, speaking opportunities, and engagements that enhance their advocacy skills. In recognition of the importance of the Indian Child Welfare Act, fellows will expand leadership skills and integrate resiliency as a means of transformation. This collaborative initiative will equip fellows to advocate for changes in state, national, and tribal policies, and practices.The six-month fellowship is in partnership with Casey Family Programs, NMCAN, and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Law Center. Eligibility – Youth must: -Self-identify as Indigenous; -Be between the ages of 18 and 24 years old; -Have lived experience in child well-being system or have been displaced from birth parents; and -Must be able to travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 22-25. Deadline: August 25, 2023 Apply Today Membership Coordinator View job postings View job postings Keep checking back for more opportunities here. 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