April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time to focus the attention to the prevalence of sexual assault and educate communities, individuals and relatives about how to prevent it. Join CSVANW, local, state and national SAAM campaigns to honor the voices and experiences of victims and survivors.

Sexual Violence is not our tradition but has overwhelmingly existed in our tribal communities since colonization. Sexual violence is any non-consensual sexual act and can refer to rape, attempted rape, incest, molestation, or other acts of sexual intrusion, including non-physical, verbal, and technology-facilitated (online) acts of violence. At CSVANW, we support tribal communities who are doing the difficult work of advocating for survivors, advocating for funding, and advocating for the end of sexual violence against all Native men, women, and children.

CSVANW takes ownership and responsibility for the future of Native women and children. In order to promote healthy families and healthy communities we can provide support, education, and advocacy using our strengths, power and unity to create violence-free communities. 

CSVANW 2024’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month theme is, “Creating Safer Futures.” Our goal is not only to create safer futures for our communities by utilizing evidence-based prevention approaches but also by providing healing opportunities for our relatives to move through traumatic experiences in a way that promotes culture, tradition, community support and wellness overall.

We ask those in support of survivors to join us as we bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault in tribal communities in New Mexico.

#SAAM #SAAM2024 #BelieveSurvivors #SaferNativeFutures

April is also recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time for our community to come together to celebrate the small actions each of us can take that make a big impact on the well-being of our children. And a time for building strong, supportive communities is essential for preventing child abuse and supporting victims and survivors.

Preventing child abuse and building strong, safe, and healthy children and families will benefit the entire community — setting up future generations to succeed! So join us in advocating for happy homes as the foundation for a brighter tomorrow. Together, we can create safer futures.

March - CSVANW Executive Deputy Director Jolene Holgate was appointed to the Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Commission for the city of Albuquerque. CSVANW is representing the interests and advocacy of Native populations in the city and how to best serve survivors of violence. Commission meetings are open to the public. Folks may join meetings either in person at City Hall or virtually via Zoom. For more information on DV/SA Commission meetings, please visit the City of Albuquerque website. Congratulations Jolene.

March - CSVANW hosted the Spring Virtual 40-hour Core Advocacy Training for New Advocates within New Mexico Tribal Communities on March 5, 6, & 12th. 33 NEW Advocates were certified by CSVANW and received their 40-Hour training hours. The 40-Hour training provides new domestic violence & sexual violence assault advocates with state certification in New Mexico and the Four Corners region. CSVANW is one of two organizations that provide state certification to new advocates in New Mexico. All participants were a part of engaging and thoughtful conversations around domestic and sexual violence in New Mexico tribal communities, impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities, safety planning for survivors, LGBTQ2S+ topics, trauma-informed best practices and more. Thank you to our Advocates for your hard work and dedication!

March - CSVANW hosted the state's first MMIP tribal law enforcement training yesterday, March 20th, in Zia Pueblo. We had officers from Zia Police Department, victim advocates from Zia social services, and advocates from Five Sandoval Indian Pueblo attend the training, each of which brought their unique expertise and was open and intentional about receiving new knowledge from a packed agenda! We had Sex Trafficking Coordinator Patrick Gallegos and Land and Body Violence Coordinator Deiandra Reid open the day with a presentation on the origins of MMIP and how Tribal Law Enforcement can collaborate with families and victim advocates to effectively respond to MMIP cases. Attorney-at-law David Adams and Judge Peggy Bird gave a presentation on tribal jurisdiction in Indian Country and facilitated a great workshop in which participants determined how to identify jurisdictional response within Zia Pueblo. Pojoaque Police made an appearance and gave an excellent rundown of how they implemented their MMIP Tribal Community Response Plan, as well as their process with expanding their tribal court system to accommodate full implementation of VAWA. We ended the day with a presentation from Executive Deputy Director Jolene Holgate and Patrick Gallegos on how trauma affects the body, how intergenerational and historical trauma intersects with the MMIP crisis, and how tribal law enforcement can improve their understanding of systems to better respond to MMIP.

March - CSVANW Community Advocacy Meeting held on March 11th, 2024, was in honor of Women's History Month. Presentation was in recognizing Acoma's own matriarch, Bonnie "Tsishtiituwitsa" Leno, who is known to many in Akuu (Acoma Pueblo) for teaching the Keres language, to all ages, as well as passing on Acoma matrilineal practices. Bonnie is seen as quite valuable to their Acoma People, as she works with Acoma Pueblo's Historic Preservation in retaining what's rightfully Acoma Lands and ensuring it's kept safe and protected. "Tsishtiituwitsa" was also recognized by NM Magazine for the True Hero Award in 2021. "True Heroes 2021: The Acoma Pueblo elder and language instructor preserves a culture, word by word." https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/true-heroes-2021-bonnie-leno/

March - CSVANW welcomed our Co-Creator, Peggy Bird, of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, to our bi-monthly Community Advocacy Meeting to share a presentation with 15 of our advocates. In honor of Women's History Month, Peggy Bird of Kewa Pueblo, NM has played a vital role in Tribal communities through work she has done as a mother, grandmother, advocate/attorney/consultant/human rights activist and works to enhance the sovereignty of indigenous women by ending violence against native women, both nationally and internationally. Peggy's presentation shared aspects of her dissertation in law school that related the meaning of culture, language and an understanding of where we come from as Indigenous people, in decolonizing to do advocacy work in tribal communities. She emphasized words as "Matriarchy" and "roles" and "values" as indigenous women work to advocate for their tribal communities.

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.

The 10th Annual Tribal Leaders Summit – Tribal Leaders Summit is a free briefing for tribal, state and federal officials and those who work with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. An annual briefing that focuses on providing policy and legislative updates, share best practices directly from our communities and provide a current state of affairs in the movement to end violence. The summit highlights the unique tribal, state and federal perspectives and challenges that our New Mexico tribal communities face in regards to addressing and responding to violence against our Native women and children.

CSVANW is implementing mandatory mask-wearing during the 2-day event.

Registration is limited. Due to the high amount of interest in this year’s Tribal Leaders Summit, if you are registering, we kindly ask you to stay committed to it and make your attendance. Please email us if you cannot attend the summit so we can add from the waiting list. Thank you.



More information coming soon! Thank you for your patience.

Writing to Heal: A Workshop for Native Survivors of Sexual Assault with Tanaya Winder 

April 06, 2024 | 10: 00 AM - 02: 00 PM (MST)

Join us on April 6th for a Survivors Writing Workshop, Writing to Heal! This survivor focused day offers trauma informed/culturally inclusive healing and prevention workshops. We will hold space for discussing sexual assault prevention and a 1-2 hour "Writing to Heal" workshop that will incorporate creative / reflective writing prompts, time to write, and some time for breathwork and meditation. Our goal is to provide opportunities for survivors to engage in tools to practice and take home to continue their lifelong healing journey.  

Cyber Tips for Parents

April 11, 2024 | 6:00PM (MST)

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), CSVANW is collaborating with the Native Community Health Network of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains to provide a presentation to Native parents/caretakers of children on online safety and best practices to help protect their children while they are using the Internet and social media. This virtual presentation will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel.

Sexual Assault Tribal Advocate Institute (SATI) Registration.

Sexual Assault Tribal Advocate Institute (SATI) provides 40 hours of training to build the critical framework for Tribal Sexual Assault Advocates to effectively and appropriately respond to sexual assault survivors in their communities. Event dates: April 15-19th, 2024.

Location: Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Registration fee: $650.00LINK FOR REGISTRATION & INFORMATION: https://airtable.com/appmDBRuRYIYquLT2/shrY0RAm5E2RmMp3d

Funding Opportunities

Now Hiring!

NM Statewide Helpline Responders

We're looking for multiple Responders to provide referrals and support to survivors across the state on the new NM Statewide Sexual Assault Helpline. 

The NM Statewide Sexual Assault Helpline seeks to connect survivors to local programs and enhance access to rural and isolated survivors.

Responders will answer calls to the Helpline, stay up to date on best practices, and support the quality and integrity of the 24/7 services. They will work with peers and supervisor to identify and address any issues with the helpline implementation on behalf of survivors across NM.

Benefits include potential for remote work, pay differential for bilingual staff, generous PTO, health insurance, positive working environment, and more!

Learn More & Apply Here!

https://nmcsap.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=cc4281762635b57d08af98359&id=21d0fefc90&e=a7248729a0

Please forward to anyone who may be interested!

Be sure to follow us on our social media!

Thank you for your continued support! 

#SAAM #SAAM2024 #BelieveSurvivors #SaferNativeFutures