Conference Presenters

Hon. Abby Abinanti (Yurok) is currently a Superior Court Commissioner in California for the City and County of San Francisco assigned to the Unified Family Court. She graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1973. Among her tribal court experience, Abby served as Chief Magistrate, Court of Indian Offenses for the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation from 1983-1986, as an Appellate Court Judge by appointment for Colorado River Indian Tribe in 1994, as a Judge by special appointment with the Hopi Tribal Court 1986, and a Judge by special appointment with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Court in 1985.

Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson is a family physician and co-founder of The Children’s Place, a Child Advocacy Center in Wasilla, Alaska. She serves as the Medical Director for both the Children’s Place and Alaska CARES, the child advocacy center in Anchorage, and oversees the SCAN (Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect) Teams for the Children’s Hospital at Providence in Anchorage and MatSu Regional Medical Center in Palmer. She is also the Chair of the Alaska Children’s Justice Act Task Force. Cathy has 25 years experience as a family doctor in a small Alaskan community, with 12 years experience in child abuse work. She provides medical consultations and training on child abuse throughout Alaska. Her most recent project is an Alaskan Child Abuse Medical Evaluation Resource Kit with electronic specialized medical exam forms, guidelines, and other resources to assist health care providers who do this work.

Dianne Barker Harrold (Cherokee) has practiced law for 21 years, been a tribal judge for 13 tribes, was a District Attorney for eight years in Oklahoma and for the past four years she has served as Attorney General, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Assistance for Victims for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee, Oklahoma. She is advisor to the Chief; Associate Tribal Judge for the Pawnee Nation and has served as adjunct professor at Bacone (Muscogee Creek Nation) College teaching Native American Studies. Dianne assisted in creating a domestic violence shelter in Tahlequah, OK. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, independent consultant, and frequent speaker around the country in the areas of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, report writing and related topics. She serves as an Independent Consultant for the US Department of Justice Office OVC/TTAC, and peer reviewer for OVC grants. Dianne has three grown daughters, six grandchildren and husband, Dale a semi-retired police officer-Muscogee Creek Nation.

Talibah Begay (Navajo) is 15 years old and is a Navajo recording artist. She lives in Shiprock, New Mexico. Her parents are Ricky and Ethelene, her Grandma is Ethel, and her paternal Grandparents are Jimmy and Lucy. She started singing when she was a little girl with her Grandma Ethel. She is the one who taught Talibah how to sing and since then she has been singing. She feels it is an honor to represent her people.

Arlana Bettelyoun (Oglala Lakota) is the director of the Oglala Lakota Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She is also a single parent of five children. Her past experience includes work as a special-needs teacher’s assistant; a counselor with Oglala Lakota College; a juvenile officer with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court; and a social worker who conducted interviews and investigations of child-abuse cases. Arlana currently is the chair of the National CASA Tribal Court Advisory Committee, a board member of the South Dakota CASA Association, and an advocate for Native children.

Deputy Chief John Beyer was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, which he earned while working for the Duluth Police Department. John has been a law enforcement officer for over 27 years. As a Duluth police officer he worked as a Patrol Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Police Training Officer, Narcotics Investigator, D.A.R.E Program Instructor, and Hostage Negotiator. John was promoted to Police Sergeant in 1983. John was promoted to Lieutenant in 2004 and was assigned to supervise the delivery of all police services in the West Policing District. In 2006 John was promoted to Deputy Chief of Police. As Deputy Chief, John is currently in charge of the Investigative and Administrative Division of the Duluth Police Department. In addition, John has been the police liaison to the City of Duluth Human Rights Commission for the last two years.

Milton Bianas (Oglala Sioux) is currently the Captain of Police for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Department of Public Safety, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He began his career in Law Enforcement in 1995, and attended the Indian Police Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. Soon after, he was appointed as the Lieutenant temporarily and later was selected as the Sergeant of Police. During this time Milton attended training sponsored by FBI, BIA, and state agencies, regarding child abuse. In 2005, he began work with Oglala Sioux Tribes Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) as a Child Abuse Investigator. In 2007, Milton was selected as the Captain of Police and during this time he worked with the Tribal CASA program to identify an officer who would begin training to do forensic interviewing of children, and to begin work to establish a tribal center to do interviewing.

Philmer Bluehouse (Navajo) has been a lifelong resident of the Navajo Nation. His profession is in the area of criminal justice where he spent 19 years of his adult life serving communities of the Navajo Nation. He is a graduate of the Navajo Police Academy, Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy, The FBI National Academy and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Criminal Investigation Training Division. Mr. Bluehouse is currently involved in the practice of Navajo healing. He involves himself with the original Dineh protocols and his lifelong effort is to protect, promote and perpetuate the original Dineh way. His current employment is with the Navajo Nation Department of Child Support Enforcement with the objective of integrating culture and traditions into the program.

Nancy Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota) currently directs a domestic violence/sexual assault transitional housing resource program out of the Minneapolis American Indian Center. Nancy's background is in the Indian Child Welfare Act and domestic violence. Nancy is a certified Wilderness First Responder and lead groups in canoeing, portaging and hiking in the Northern Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Nancy currently facilitates quarterly values workshops with an indigenous perspective for Hennepin and Ramsey County Child Protection Professionals and Community Service Providers.

The Boyz is a traditional Native singing group within the Northern contemporary style singing category. There are 15 members representing several tribal nations including HoChunk, Lakota, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Cree, Potawatomi, Warm Springs, Yakima, Otoe, Kickapoo, Ponca, Hopi, Shinnecock, Oneida, Menomonie and Navajo. The group was formed nearly 20 years ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a way to keep these young boys off the streets. They have evolved into a highly accomplished singing group, winning many top honors such as Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Award for Best Contemporary Drum Group in 2007, Gathering of Nations World Champion 2007, and Schemitzun Connecticut World Class Champion Singers in 2008.

Roe Bubar, J.D., is a national trainer and nationally recognized expert in interviewing Native children in child sexual abuse cases. Roe is an associate professor at Colorado State University joint appointed in the School of Social Work and Ethnic Studies. Roe is also a partner in a Native owned consulting firm, Bubar & Hall Consultants and she is a trained mediator. In addition, she brings her expertise as a lawyer in the area of American Indian law and policy. Roe teaches courses in federal Indian law and policy, social welfare policy, indigenous women, children and tribal communities and conducts clinics on interviewing children in child abuse cases. Her primary area of scholarship is sexual violence of Native women and children in tribal communities.

Sandra Carlsgaard is the Victim Specialist for the FBI currently assigned to the Aberdeen Resident Agency in South Dakota. Sandra established the Victim Assistance Program for the Aberdeen office and has served victims of violent crime on the Standing Rock Reservation for the past six years. For 19 years, Sandra worked as Education Specialist for the BIA addressing the many treatment needs of child victims in the Great Plains Region and others throughout Indian Country. Sandra has initiated and participated in a variety of multi-disciplinary teams, including those addressing the needs of victims of crime, medical/treatment patients, children under the care and supervision of social services, and children with exceptional needs in education.

Duane Champagne (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) is Professor of Sociology and American Indian Studies, a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee for the UCLA Native Nations Law and Policy Center, and Senior Editor for Indian Country Today. Professor Champagne was Director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center from 1991 to 2002 and editor of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal from 1986 to 2003. He has written or edited over 125 publications including Social Change and Cultural Continuity among Native Nations; Native America: Portraits of the Peoples; and The Native North American Almanac. Champagne’s research focuses on issues of social and cultural change in both historical and contemporary Native American communities, the study of justice institutions in contemporary American Indian reservations, and policy analysis of cultural, economic, and political issues in contemporary Indian country.

Chris Chaney (Seneca-Cayuga) has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oklahoma (1984) and a Juris Doctor from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School (1992). From 1997 to 2003 he worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in Salt Lake City, Utah where he prosecuted violent crime from Indian reservations and served as liaison to the eight tribes located in Utah. He also served a detail assignment to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys' - Counsel to the Directors Office working on Indian country and other criminal law issues. From 2003 to 2008 Mr. Chaney served in the Department of the Interior as the Associate Solicitor for the Division of Indian Affairs, Deputy Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) - Office of Justice Services and Deputy Director for the BIA Office of Indian Services. In June 2008, Chris returned to the Department of Justice as the Deputy Director for the Office of Tribal Justice where he handles Indian country criminal justice issues.

Bonnie Clairmont (HoChunk) citizen of the HoChunk Nation of Wisconsin and member of the Bear Clan, resides in St. Paul, Minnesota where she is employed with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) as the Victim Advocacy Program Specialist. Prior to her employment with the TLPI, Bonnie was Outreach/Client Services Coordinator for Sexual Offense Services of Ramsey County, a rape crisis center. She’s worked for more than 20 years advocating for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, providing multidisciplinary training/collaboration on the needs of women and children who are raped and battered. She has dedicated much of her work to providing and improving services for victim/survivors of sexual assault, battering and child sexual abuse, particularly those from American Indian communities. For 4 years she coordinated the Strengthening the Circle of Trust conference, focusing on sexual assault and exploitation perpetrated by American Indian "spiritual leaders/medicine men." Bonnie co-edited a recently published book, "Sharing Our Stories of Survival" an anthology of writing by Native women who’ve experienced violence. Bonnie provided technical assistance to research conducted by Amnesty International USA and the report, "Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA." Bonnie, and her partner Jim, have two children, Lakota Hoksila and April Rainbow and 5 grandchildren.

Jim Clairmont (Sicangu Lakota) provides spiritual guidance and support to those in need such as victims of crime and abuse throughout the Twin City area and statewide. He serves on the Elders Council at the University of Minnesota offering guidance and spiritual support to Native students. He provides spiritual support to patients in hospitals as an "on-call" volunteer Native spiritual advocate. Prior to his retirement, Jim was a teacher for over 20 years in Minneapolis and St Paul schools where he taught Indian Studies and Chemical Health. He enjoys emceeing pow-wows and lecturing on Indian history and culture.

Coleen Clark (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux) has been employed with the tribes for over 30 years with 20 of those in the field of advocacy for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. As a survivor she dedicates her work to helping victims recover and heal from abuse. Coleen is the recipient of awards from tribal and federal agencies to reduce violence in reservation communities. She is a lifelong practitioner and teacher of culture and traditions focusing on women. She completed her field study for NAES College on Traditional Approaches to Reverse Harmful Behaviors in Our Village.

Christine Crossland is a Senior Social Science Analyst with the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Crossland is responsible for planning, implementing, testing, evaluating, managing, and reporting on criminal justice grants, contracts, and studies. She is currently working with other government agencies to coordinate the establishment of a broad and enhanced research agenda in the area of violence and victimization, drugs and crime, and American Indian and Alaska Native crime and justice issues.

Sarah Curtiss works for the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) and is the Coordinator for the Giiwe Project, an inter-agency collaboration that works with long term homeless persons with a focus on American Indian families in the Duluth, Minnesota urban area. She is a member of the Indian Women’s Safety Audit Team, which looks at systems responses to sexual assault of Native American women and is a member of the Fond du Lac Women’s Hand Drum Group. She is a traditional dancer and has facilitated workshops on the use of song in the healing process for women who have experienced trauma.

Cristine Davidson (White Earth Anishinaabe) is the Business and Development Specialist for the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Network on Abuse in Later Life. As a survivor of child sexual abuse by a self proclaimed medicine man, Cristine now challenges the devastating effects that sexual violence has on our spirituality and our communities. She feels strongly about seeking healthy resources and having access to safe traditional teachings and life-ways.

Betty Davis (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) is an administrator with Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan and has been employed since January, 1996. Betty grew up on Turtle Mountain Reservation and experienced domestic violence within her home. Betty's sister Sheri, a police officer, was almost beaten to death in December of 2005 by her police officer husband, who is now serving 7 1/2 years in prison. Betty has promised to herself and the Creator that she will do whatever it takes to educate people that work with victims to try to be a little more supportive of the victim and their family when there are police officers involved. Betty also works on educating the youth on healthy relationships. Betty's husband is an AUSA and has supported her through some tough presentations that have left the audience in tears.

Kim Day has over 28 years experience as an emergency/critical care nurse. She has also been working as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since 1998, in Maryland, realizing that if she or one of her family members were sexually assaulted, they would not have the personalized, comprehensive care that is offered by a Forensic Nurse. This prompted her to become involved in organizing efforts to begin a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Program at a local hospital in Maryland. From 1998 until beginning her current position with the IAFN, she served as the coordinator of that program, and the county wide Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). Kim is certified by the International Association of Forensic Nurses as a SANE-A. She also is a Certified Forensic Nurse by the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute. Kim is now working as the SAFE Technical Assistance Coordinator for the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN).

Judge Montie Deer (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) has served as a state court judge, a tribal court judge, and an appellate justice of several tribal courts. Currently, he sits on the Victims Advisory Group of the United States Sentencing Commission. He has presided over hundreds of criminal cases over the last 20 years. Most recently, he worked as Attorney General for his own tribe, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and recently retired as District Court Judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. His highest profile position came in 1998 when he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission. From 1994-1998, Judge Deer was Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Kansas. Judge Deer has also served as Director of Legal Services for the North Topeka Indian Center, Member of the Board of Directors for the Mid American All-Indian Center and Member of the Wichita Warrior Society.

Sarah Deer (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) is currently a Visiting Professor at William Mitchell College of Law. She was recently employed as a Victim Advocacy Legal Specialist for the Tribal Law & Policy Institute in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is an online Instructor of Tribal Legal Studies at UCLA Extension and former Lecturer in Law at UCLA Law School. Formerly, Sarah worked as a Grant Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Office on Violence Against Women in Washington, D.C. Sarah received her J.D. with Tribal Lawyer Certificate from the University of Kansas School of Law and her B.A. in Women’s Studies and Philosophy from the University of Kansas. While a law student, Sarah was employed as Assistant Director of Douglas County Rape-Victim Survivor Service, Inc. Sarah serves on advisory boards for numerous anti-violence organizations and projects, including the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Sarah is a co-author of two textbooks published by Alta Mira Press: Introduction to Tribal Legal Studies and Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure and co-editor of the book, Sharing our Stories of Survival: Native Women Surviving Violence.

Joan Eliel is a native of Montana, was a former Justice of the Peace and is currently employed by the Montana Department of Justice as a Program Specialist for the Office of Consumer Protection and Victim Services.

Sam English (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) has been an artist all his life, working professionally for the last 24 years. He is a recovering alcoholic with 24 years of sobriety in active recovery. Sam advocates for the arts and recovery from alcohol. He was raised and continues to live in the southwest – Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado – and currently resides in Albuquerque, where he as lived for 38 years. Sam drank alcohol for 25 years, beginning at the age of 14 and quitting at 39 years of age. At that point, Sam was a captive of alcoholism, everything in his life destroyed, such as personal integrity, friends, political allies, jobs, education and finally a marriage with three children. On December 10, 1981 Sam had his last drink, went to a men's stag meeting associated with the National/International Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (he chooses to break his own anonymity) and has been sober for 25 years. Sam’s art career was always in his blood, it didn't come alive totally as a professional until he sobered up. It was at that point that a decision had to be made: to find a job or commit himself to the journey of being an artist. He chose the artist profession knowing that it would be a life of art and poverty and that it has been. Sam has been fortunate enough to have created approximately 80 poster print images for various American Indian programs of healing, environment, education, tobacco, and other. Sam has designed the images for seven of the Indian Nations: Justice for Victims of Crime conferences to date including this conference.

Christina Marie Entrekin, (Oneida) graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law Indian Program in 1998. Christina has served Tribes and Native persons as a civil lawyer, criminal defense attorney and tribal prosecutor. More specifically, she has practiced in the areas of tribal youth at risk proceedings, women and children's advocacy, and special education. Christina has provided expertise in the areas of domestic violence in Indian Country and the Indian Child Welfare Act on a national level. Christina also worked as a staff attorney with the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs working to end violence against Native women until the legal program ended in December 2007. Christina continues to work for justice for Native persons through education, training and outreach. Currently she is the Director of Programs for the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society, an urban organization whose mission is to provide holistic service delivery that culturally and spiritually strengthens Aboriginal children in care and their families.

Kimber Evensen (Iroquois [Haudenosaunee] Decent) is the mother of two young children and has been married for 15 years. Kimber is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Homer, Alaska where she specializes in the treatment of sexual abuse. Kimber frequently works as a consultant for TLPI, providing trainings and writing.

Ms. Eva Fallis (Blackfeet) has been working as a family victim advocate for seven years for Wiconi Wawokiya, Inc. Ms. Fallis loves working with children and provides children's support groups. Before Ms. Fallis came to work for Wiconi Wawokiya, Inc. she worked as a Headstart teacher for 10 years. Ms. Fallis is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, she is married, a mother of 4 daughters and has one grandson.

Renee L. Fasthorse-Iron Hawk (Lakota) Lakol iya, Tokahe Hi hunni Win emaciyapi. Translation: In Lakota they call me Arrives First Woman. I am from the Yanktonai band on my fathers’ side and the Two Kettle band on my mothers’ side. I have worked in the field of social work since graduating in May of 1990 from Dakota Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services, minor in Psychology. For three years my employment history entailed K-6 substance abuse counselor, two years as a home-based therapist with a mental health agency, then six years as a project site manager for epidemiology research on fetal alcohol syndrome. I have conducted presentations in communities on my reservation on recovery and healing. I feel honored to serve my people as the Director of the Tribal Victim's Assistance program.

Nikki Jo Finkbonner (Lummi Nation enrolled Member/Klamath Nation descendant) From November 12, 1996 to the present Nikki serves on the Lummi Nation Indian Business Council. Nikki has been with the Lummi Law Enforcement Department since November 12, 1996. Later she was hired under the Victims of Crime program, under the Lummi Police department as an Office Manager; she then became the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Advocate/Program Assistant to the Coordinator. Later, she became the Acting Coordinator until she was hired as the LVOC Coordinator on December 16, 2004. She is a single Mother of three and very proud grandmother of (21 months old) Gabriella; Miranda (daughter) age 23, Adrian (son) age 22, Anthony (son) age 13; in a two-family relationship with my significant other Terry Fast Horse and my (Step-son) Paul (15).

Teresa L. Foster, J.D., prosecutes sex and domestic violence offenses in Alaska through the State Office of Special Prosecutions. She is based in Fairbanks, AK, but covers cases statewide from Anchorage to Barrow to Bethel to Kodiak. In addition, she regularly provides training in this field to state and local law enforcement, medical professionals, social workers, victim advocates and other prosecutors. Ms. Foster holds a journalism degree from the University of Alaska/Fairbanks and a law degree from Willamette University in Oregon. She was hired by the Fairbanks district attorney’s office in 1981 to set up one of the first special assault units in Alaska for prosecution of adult and child sex crimes. After a time in private law practice and teaching at the University of Alaska, she returned to the Fairbanks district attorney’s office as a prosecutor and then district attorney before assuming her current statewide position in 2003.

Officer Sheri Frederick has been employed with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for 6 yrs as a patrol officer working within Indian Country throughout the nation. Sheri has completed both the North Dakota State Academy and the Indian Police Academy Federal Law Enforcement Training. She has dedicated her law enforcement career to helping Native Americans throughout Indian Country and educating the public on domestic violence issues. Officer Frederick provides training throughout the nation on domestic violence and also presents on Officer involved domestic violence.

Jerry Gardner, J.D. (Cherokee) is an attorney with more than 30 years of experience working with Indian tribes, tribal court systems, and victims of crime in Indian country. He is the Executive Director of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute - an Indian owned and operated non-profit corporation organized to design and deliver education, research, training, and technical assistance programs which promote the improvement of justice in Indian country and the health, well-being, and culture of Native peoples. He was an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) from 1995-2000 and Administrator for the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) from May 1998-December 2000. He served as the Senior Staff Attorney with the National Indian Justice Center (NIJC) from NIJC’s establishment in 1983 until December 1996. He has also worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the national office of the Legal Services Corporation, and the American Indian Lawyer Training Program.

Michelle Garcia joined the Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of Crime in April 2006 and has served as the Director of the Stalking Resource Center since October 2006. Prior to joining the National Center, Michelle was a Program Specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. She has over fifteen years experience working with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in both rural and urban settings and advocating for victims' rights on a local, state, and national level. Michelle is a former President of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault and a former President of the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Michelle has trained nationally on various topics, including stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and dismantling oppression. Michelle received her Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago.

John W. Gillis is the Director of the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime. Mr. Gillis has a long and distinguished career in victim advocacy and law enforcement. In 1991, President George Bush presented Mr. Gillis with the National Crime Victim Service Award for his work in helping crime victims. In 1993, former Attorney General William Barr recognized Mr. Gillis' crime victim service with a Special Commendation Award. Mr. Gillis is also a member of the American Police Hall of Fame. Following the 1979 murder of his daughter Lourana, Mr. Gillis helped found Justice for Homicide Victims and the Coalition of Victims Equal Rights, a statewide organization that works on behalf of the rights of victims and their families. He is also the founder of Victims & Friends United and an active member of Memory of Victims Everywhere and Parents of Murdered Children, a support group for families of homicide victims. From 1962 to his retirement in 1988, Mr. Gillis served with the Los Angeles Police Department, retiring with the rank of lieutenant, Assistant Commanding Officer. He also served as a Commissioner of the California Board of Prison Terms, acting as Chairman from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Gillis served four years as a member of the California State Bar Association's Crime Victims and Corrections Committee and four years on the American Legislative Exchange Council's Victim Committee. His efforts also helped secure passage of California's Crime Victims Initiative. He has acted as a technical advisor in the area of training videos for law enforcement, and is an active participant and advisor in the production of two training videos for law enforcement and crime victims. The videos are widely used throughout the United States and several foreign countries. Mr. Gillis received an undergraduate degree from California State University at Los Angeles and a graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

Frank Goes Behind (Nooksack) is culturally connected to his own tribe and the Lummi Nation through marriage. Frank has provided a cultural component to Native youth treatment centers, half-way houses, domestic violence shelters, adult treatment centers, presentations to youth and communities and cultural and wellness activates to many tribes. Frank is an experienced arena director and he and Kym are very active in pow wows: drumming, dancing and song and they lead the "Flicker Trail" drum group. Frank utilizes his cultural teaching though storytelling, drumming, songs, ceremony and traditional medicine.

Yitiatelwat, Kym Goes Behind (Lummi Nation) has degrees in Chemical Dependency, Technical Arts and Human Services and attended the Washington State Department of Child and Family Services Training Academy. She has 21 years experience in Indian country. Yitiatelwat has one granddaughter and two sons. She has devoted her life to helping people heal. She is a traditional dancer, drummer, singer, basket maker and artisan. Yitiatelwat says she gains her strength from her Native traditional and cultural teachings.

Carole Goldberg is Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Director of UCLA’s Joint Degree Program in Law and American Indian Studies. She is also faculty chair of UCLA’s Native Nations Law and Policy Center, and founder of UCLA’s Tribal Legal Development Clinic. In 2006, she was appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Hualapai Tribe. A 1971 graduate of Stanford Law School, she joined the UCLA law faculty in 1972. She is co-author of a teaching casebook in the field of Indian law, and is also co-editor and co-author for Felix Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. Professor Goldberg has published extensively on issues of jurisdiction in Indian country, Indian-based classifications, and tribal law. She is currently co-principal investigator (with Prof. Duane Champagne and Prof. Kevin Washburn) of a National Institute of Justice grant to study the administration of Indian country criminal justice nationwide.

Leslie Hagen is attorney in the Office of Justice Programs Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). The SMART Office was authorized in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which President Bush signed into law July 27, 2006. The responsibilities of the SMART Office include providing jurisdictions with guidance regarding the implementation of the Adam Walsh Act, and providing technical assistance to the states, territories, Indian tribes, local governments, and to public and private organizations. The SMART Office also tracks important legislative and legal developments related to sex offenders and administers grant programs related to the registration, notification, tracking, and monitoring of sex offenders.

Sterling Harris works for the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA) in Duluth, Minnesota. She has worked in the movement to eradicate sexual and domestic violence for the past five years. She is a facilitator of the first safety and accountability audit in the country to address the response to Native women who report sexual assault. Her work also includes providing social action workshops and community education for young men and women; direct advocacy to survivors; and creating institutional change within systems so they can better respond to victims of sexual assault. She received her BS in Communications and Mass Media with a minor in Women's Studies from the University of Wyoming in 2001.

Sarah Henry is a Staff Attorney for the National Center on Full Faith and Credit (NCFFC), a project of the Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP). The mission of the NCFFC is to promote and facilitate nationwide implementation of the full faith and credit provision of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and enforcement of the federal firearm prohibitions and the federal domestic violence/stalking criminal provisions. Prior to assuming the Staff Attorney position with NCFFC, Ms. Henry worked as a teacher. Ms. Henry is a graduate of the University of Colorado Law School.

Roi Holt is the Victim Assistance Program Coordinator for the Department of the Interior. She began her career in victim services in Oregon in 1976 as a Director of the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office Rape Victim Advocate (RVA) Program, which she developed and implemented. She later expanded the RVA Program to service victims of all crimes. Ms. Holt continued her work at a domestic violence shelter and then with abused children. She later started two additional prosecutor-based victim assistance programs and worked for the Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Victim Assistance Academy. She teaches on Victimology at Clackamas Community College in Oregon and is a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime, Technical Training and Assistance Center.

Diane J. Humetewa (Hopi) is the U.S. Attorney for Arizona. She received her J.D. in 1993 from Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University and B.Sc., in 1987 from Arizona State University. Humetewa started at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1986 as one of the first victim-witness advocates in the federal criminal justice system and helped develop a victim advocacy model. She left the office to attend law school at Arizona State University, graduating in 1993. Before rejoining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1996 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Humetewa was counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Tribal Justice, and deputy counsel for Senator John McCain, U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In 2001, Humetewa was promoted to Senior Litigation Counsel/Tribal Liaison and was responsible for relationships between the 21 Indian reservations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Victim/Witness. She has served as on the Hopi Tribal Appellate Court since 2002 as a judge pro-tem, and as an ad hoc member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Native American Subcommittee. Additionally, Humetewa is married and is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe. Humetewa, who for the past six years has been the office’s Tribal Liaison and Senior Litigation Counsel, now leads one of the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country. The office, which currently employs approximately 250 personnel, occupies four offices (Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma), and serves more than 6 million residents throughout the entire state of Arizona, including all 21 Indian reservations.

Lyz Jaakola (Anishinaabe, Fond du Lac, Ojibwe) has had a varied musical background, preparing her for a career in music education and American Indian studies at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Earning her Bachelor of music degree (1992) in vocal performance, Elizabeth chose teaching at a tribal school as a music specialist before embarking on a performance journey. Elizabeth’s past includes performances in the Rome Operafestival (Mezzo Soprano), Choral music at Carnegie Hall, Traditional ceremony singer, Jazz scat singer, Blues siren and Regional soloist in many venues of Northern Minnesota. Her Native-based compositions have been heard on radio stations, television, video, and many stages near to her home on the Fond du Lac reservation in Minnesota.

James and Ernie (Navajo) are James Junes and Ernest Tsosie III, Native American comedy duo from the Navajo Nation. James and Ernie are the first ever Navajo comedy duo. The duo’s comedy performance is a mixture of reservation humor, stand up comedy, sketch comedy, and musical parodies of life in the 70’s, 80’s, to the now. Along with their sidesplitting comedy, the pair delivers a positive message promoting healthy life style choices of wellness, fitness, and saying no to drugs, alcohol and domestic abuse. Being former substance abusers themselves James and Ernie are now proud sober, and drug free Native American men. And they share their uplifting positive message with Native communities and Native peoples in every show where ever they are performing. They use their own lives and stories as their weapon in this fight against destructive negative life styles that plague all Native peoples. Ernest Tsosie III and James Junes, were both born and raised on the Navajo Nation.

B. J. Jones, Esq. is the director of the Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Institute at the University of North Dakota School of Law and the Chief Judge for the Sisseton – Wahpeton Tribal Court. He also serves as an appellate judge or special judge for other tribes in North and South Dakota. B.J. received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1984. From 1984 to 1993, B.J. was the managing attorney for Dakota Plains Legal Services working with the Rosebud and Standing Rock Sioux Reservations, and was litigation director for Dakota Plains Legal Services on the Rosebud Reservation from 1993 to 1995. B.J. has been involved with Indian Child Welfare Act and issues related to child abuse for many years and is the author of several articles as well as the Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook: A Guide to the Custody and Adoption of Indian Children, published by the American Bar Association, Family Law Section in 1995.

Tatum Joseph (Crow Creek Dakota Nation) is a sophomore at Crow Creek High School. She has been a member of the Talented and Gifted program for 2 years with a grade point average of 3.52. She won all-tournament cheerleader during the 2005 "Lakota Nation Invitational" in Rapid City, South Dakota. In 1999 Tatum wrote a poem "South Dakota Sky," when she was just 9 years old. "South Dakota Sky" was submitted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame that same year. She is drug and alcohol free. She was a participant in a local program "Peers Helping Peers" and has become an advocate for her peers. In April 2006 she performed "The Purple Shawl" a skit about dating violence for Wiconi Wawokiya, Inc. Tatum is the big sister to one brother Hayden and one sister, Katie. They all live with their Mother in Fort Thompson, South Dakota.

Ms. Lori Jump (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa) is employed as the Director of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Advocacy Resource Center. She is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a Board of Director for Uniting Three Fires Against Violence Coalition and for the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She has over 20 years of experience working with victims of crime.

Doug George-Kanentiio (Mohawk) is a journalist, the former editor of Akwesasne Notes. He co-founded the Native American Journalists Association and was a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian. Kanentiio is also the author of the book "Iroquois on Fire."

Kathy Lacey, a life-long Alaskan, began her law enforcement career with the Anchorage Police Department (APD) in 1993. She is currently Sergeant of the Vice Unit in the Detective Division of APD. She also has served as Sergeant of APD’s Special Victims Unit, Burglary Unit, and Special Assignment Unit. Sgt. Lacey has spent the majority of her career at APD working drug and prostitution related crimes. She now heads a human trafficking task force called Alaska Coalition on Trafficking (ACT). This task force is a multi-disciplinary group aimed at identifying and prosecuting traffickers as well as restoring trafficking victims. Sgt. Lacey holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a Specialization in Human Services and is currently working on a Master’s Degree.

Joe LaPorte (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians) started in law enforcement in 1973, and has worked for a city police department, in the private sector, for the State of Michigan and now for his tribe. Joe has a BS Degree in behavioral psychology with a minor in justice studies. He is currently doing graduate work at Michigan State University in Intelligence. He sits on the following boards: Violence Against Women, Enhancing Services to Victims, Community Technology Working Group, Smaller Police Agencies Technical Assistance and is the Chair on International Association of Chiefs of Police representing Indian Country Law Enforcement.

Susan LeClaire (Rosebud Sioux) is currently the Property Manager of the Elder's Lodge, St. Paul, Minnesota. The Elder's Lodge is a 42-unit HUD housing for Native American Elders. Susan has also worked at the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center in Minneapolis, where she was the Co-Manager of the Healing Journey Program. She did case management, co-facilitated support groups/talking circles, planned fund raisers for group outings, assisted with traditional arts & crafts, did referrals to appropriate services, facilitated parenting groups, developed curriculum and implemented it into the parenting groups as well as doing individual mentorship of her clients.

Stacy Leeds (Cherokee) joined the Kansas University Law faculty in 2003 after serving as assistant professor and director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center at the University of North Dakota School of Law. Her law teaching career began at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where she received her LL.M. as a William H. Hastie Fellow. She received her bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her law degree from the University of Tulsa. Professor Leeds was named a 2006-2007 Senior Administrative Fellow and has served as Interim Director of Global Indigenous Nations Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Professor Leeds currently serves as Chair of the ABA Judicial Division's Tribal Courts Council and on the Advisory Board for the National Judicial College's Tribal Judicial Center. She is a former Justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, the only woman and youngest person ever to serve in that capacity. She currently serves as Chief Judge of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation District Court, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma and as an Associate Justice on the Kaw Nation Supreme Court. She has served as a judge and consultant for several other tribal governments.

Andrea LeStarge was hired by the United States Attorney's Office-Western District of Wisconsin as the Federal Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin Alliance for Drug Endangered Children (WIDEC) Program and Methamphetamine Initiative in September, 2007. She currently coordinates state and local WIDEC efforts, with extensive background in training. Andrea currently serves as a member on several working groups for the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children.

Linda Logan (Oklahoma Choctaw) has over twenty years experience working with Native American communities. Her professional experience includes work as a program director for mental health, children’s programs, health planner, and as a grant writer for several urban Indian programs located in Boston, Dallas, and Cleveland. She is the founder and president of Native American Pathways, Inc., and the author of Tribal Writes: The Correspondence Guide for Native Americans. Linda is currently the executive director of Native American Children’s Alliance, where she works with its board of directors to help tribes and urban Indian programs establish children-advocacy centers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master’s degree in social work from Boston College. She resides in northeast Ohio and is the mother of two children.

Guadalupe Lopez (Anishinaabe, Leech Lake Ojibwe) is the Membership and Outreach Coordinator for the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC). She is also a volunteer Sexual Assault Advocate for the Sexual Offense Services in Ramsey County as well as Okiciyapi Sexual Assault Program in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Prior to her employment with MIWSAC, she worked for Women of Nations in Saint Paul, Minnesota, advocating on behalf of battered women.

Pauline Lucero-Esquivel is a nationally-known trainer and consultant in cultural competency and Children’s Advocacy Centers. For over 17 years she has provided consultation to multi-disciplinary teams working on complex child abuse cases. She has worked with numerous Native American communities across the nation and trained on various issues such as providing culturally competent services, trauma in adults and children, developmental disabilities, Spanish speaking forensic interviews and wellness. In addition to training and consulting, Pauline currently works as a Behavior Support Consultant for clients with disabilities. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Rochester and a Masters in Counseling from the University of New Mexico. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband and three children.

Dr. Art Martinez became the Director of the Child and Family Institute in 2006. Dr. Martinez brought over 25 years experience in focused delivery of clinical and forensic services to children and families surviving the effects of child abuse and other forms of family trauma. Dr. Martinez has served as a member of the National Advisory Council for SAMHSA, the National Advisory group member for the Centers for Mental Health Services and the National technical experts group member for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Dr. Martinez has assisted tribal governments in implementation and management of IHS funded activities in a culturally and programmatically specific way, tailored to the needs of the community and tribe. Dr. Martinez has served as a trusted technical expert to administration for Native Americans, Nation Indian Child Welfare association, the Department of Health and Human Services, tribal governments and various national consultant organizations.

Nicole Matthews (White Earth) is the Executive Director for the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition, a statewide coalition for American Indian Sexual Assault Advocates in Minnesota. Prior to her employment with the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition, she worked in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota as the Sexual Assault Services Coordinator for Pearl Crisis Center. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from St. Cloud State University in Applied Psychology including a minor in Human Relations and Multicultural Education. Nicole is also the proud mother of three beautiful children; ages 15, 4, and 3. They give her the strength and motivation to continue working to end violence perpetrated against women and children.

Patty McGeshick (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux) has been the director of the Family Violence Resource Center for the last 21 years. The Center provides assistance and advocacy to domestic violence victims, child victims of abuse, neglect and child sexual abuse. She is the dedicated chairwomen of the Child Protection Team. Patty is the recipient of many awards from tribal, state, federal and national organizations for her work on projects beneficial to victims of crime. Patty is known in Fort Peck Reservation Communities as a practitioner of native traditions. She received a B.A. from Native American Educational Services, (NAES) in the field of community study.

Chairman Richard Milanovich (Cahuilla) is the chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Southern California. His service on the Tribal Council started as a member in 1978. He then served as secretary from 1981 until 1984 when he was elected as Tribal Council Chairman. In addition to his duties as Tribal Chairman, Milanovich has been active in a number of community organizations. Milanovich also serves on the Department of Interior’s Advisory Committee to the Office of Special Trustee; and represents the tribe as their voting member on the Coachella Valley Association of Governments Executive Committee. Milanovich served in the United States Army from 1960 to 1963. In 1994, He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business and Management from the University of Redlands.

Jim Miller (Alutiiq) is a village based alcohol program coordinator and counselor with twenty years experience. He has designed and directs a residential family treatment program for Indigenous Alaskans. He is active in Alaska as a men's advocate and is known for his work as a traditional woodcarving instructor.

Angela Moore is chief of the Violence and Victimization Research Division, Office of Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice. She oversees cooperative agreements, grants, contracts, demonstration projects, and intramural research in the areas of domestic and sexual violence, child maltreatment, elder abuse, situational-crime prevention, victimization, and crime and justice regarding American Indians and Alaska Natives. Dr. Moore also directs NIJ’s Violence against Women and Family Violence Research and Evaluation Program. In addition to her supervisory functions, Dr. Moore conducts research in the areas of domestic/intimate partner violence, intimate-partner homicide, and police response to domestic violence. She is also an adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland, University College.

Pam Moore has 32 years experience with program planning and proposal writing, non-profit administration, community organizing, and special events fund-raising. She served 10 years as founding Executive Director of Help In Crisis, Inc. Has extensive skill and experience with volunteer recruitment and training, interpersonal and communication skills training, and facilitating survivor's support groups. She served at the state level with the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She currently serves as the Director of the Institute for Native Justice for the American Indian Resource Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma that addresses the inequities of justice for Native American women and children.

Tracy G. Mullins is a Senior Research Associate for the Council of State Governments (CSG)/American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) in Lexington, Kentucky. She has been with CSG/APPA for fifteen years where she has worked on a variety of federally funded projects focusing on victim services, tribal justice, juvenile justice, and offender issues. One of the projects on which Tracy currently works is a project funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that focuses on enhancing community supervision practices in tribal justice agencies. She also works on a project funded by OVC on improving the management of restitution in community corrections agencies. Among her many responsibilities are researching justice issues, writing curricula and other publications, and delivering training and technical assistance.

Elton Naswood (Navajo) is of the Near to the Water People Clan born for the Edge Water People Clan. His maternal grandfather’s clan is of the Mexican People, his paternal grandfather’s clan is of the Tangle People. This is how he is Navajo Diné. He is originally from Whitehorse Lake, New Mexico, and grew up in Window Rock, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. Naswood is the project coordinator for the Red Circle Project, a Native American HIV prevention program at AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and served as a member of the advisory board for the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center. He also is a consultant for Advancing HIV/ AIDS Prevention in Native Communities at Colorado State University. He previously worked as program manager for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute on projects such as the Healing to Wellness (Drug) Court Initiative, the Hualapai Nation Child Abuse and Neglect Program Review, and the Tribal Legal Studies editorial review board. Naswood received his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and American Indian justice studies from Arizona State University and is a candidate for a master’s degree in American Indian studies at UCLA.

The Oshkii Giizhik (New Day) Singers (Anishinaabe and Hochunk) are a group of Anishinaabe and Hochunk women from Northern Minnesota. The group has an evolving membership that sings for tribal ceremonies, gatherings, celebrations, and performances across Minnesota since Spring of 2006. Coming to California are 11 of the associated 20+ members of Oshkii Giizhik Singers. Their mission is to empower by encouraging women to use their voices singing traditional and contemporary Native hand drum songs.

Diane Payne has extensive experience as a trainer, community organizer and advocate for Native children and families. Before joining the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Diane was project director for the Children’s Justice Act (CJA) and STOP Violence Against Indian Women (VAWA) grants for the seven Chugach Region Tribes in Alaska for several years. These projects involved development of coordinated community response, child protection teams and multi-disciplinary teams to reduce trauma to child sexual abuse victims and to reduce violence against Native women. Diane is the current chairperson of the Alaska State Court Improvement Project’s ICWA Subcommittee, a member of the State Department of Corrections’ Victim Advisory Committee and a member of the Alaska Maternal Infant Mortality Review Committee under the Division of Public Health. Diane has provided training to tribes, state agencies and a variety of professions toward development of culturally competent services to Native victims. In addition, Diane has served as a tribal court presenting officer on child abuse for the Spokane Tribe, and has represented tribes in Washington and Alaska in both state and tribal court Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) cases. She has primary responsibility for the training and technical assistance provided to tribes nationwide for their Children’s Justice Act (CJA) grants under the Institute’s grant from OVC. She also works with Tribal CASA (Court Appointed Advocates for Children) programs through a grant from the National CASA Association, and provides training for the Alaska State CASA program on Indian Child Welfare and working with Native families and tribes.

Ada Pecos Melton (Jemez Pueblo) is President/Owner of American Indian Development Associates, a 100% Indian-owned training and technical assistance, research and evaluation firm since 1989. Ms. Melton has over 30 years experience working on Indian crime, delinquency, violence, and victimization issues. Her work has particularly focused on advancing the use of indigenous justice philosophy, methods, and traditions to address the aforementioned issues. She has a Masters of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.

David D. Raasch (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans) is the former Chief Judge of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans Tribal Court in Bowler, Wisconsin. He resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was sworn in to the bench on August 11, 1995 and served 10 years as Chief Judge. As the first Chief Judge, Judge Raasch was responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the Mohican Nation Tribal Court. Dave began his career in the area of justice as a police officer, serving 6 years with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Shawano Police Department. He then moved into the area of court administration and recently retired after 20 years as the court administrator for the City of Green Bay Municipal Court. In this role he oversaw a court system that handled approximately 20,000 cases per year with annual revenue approaching two million dollars. As a tribal judge, and with the experience of developing a tribal court, he has been invited to speak and teach at numerous training seminars on court development and building relationships with state court systems. He has been a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada since 2002 teaching in areas of resource development, tribal appellate court systems, ethics and restorative justice/peacemaking. Since his retirement from the City of Green Bay, Dave is employed by Fox Valley Technical College as a Tribal Program Coordinator. Until recently, he was the President of the Wisconsin Tribal Judges’ Association. He has been instrumental in developing a joint state/tribal training program where the Association sponsors training for state judges to create better understanding and respect between court systems.

Ed Reina (Pima/Maricopa) is the director of public safety for the Tohono O’Odham Nation and chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Indian Country Law Enforcement section. Mr. Reina’s experience in law enforcement dates back to the 1970s and includes serving as chief of police for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Fort McDowell Yavapai-Apache Indian Community. His involvement in professional associations is extensive and includes serving two terms as general chair of the Indian Country Law Enforcement section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Mr. Reina received an award for public service from Arizona’s U.S. Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice in 1986 and a commendation from the Attorney General of the United States in 1990. He chaired the efforts for and coauthored the Crime in Indian Country Report and provided technical assistance to the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island to develop a tribal police department.

Melissa Riley (Mescalero Apache) is the Faith-Based Program Manager for Unified Solutions. Melissa has several years of work experience with Native communities in Arizona and New Mexico. She is a member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe of New Mexico. Melissa has been able to use her own culture, tradition, work experience, and education to assist Native and Alaska Native communities to enhance and sustain community programs that work towards social justice and health promotion. Her work experience includes the field of social work, behavioral health, education, and medical services in rural and urban programs. Melissa also serves as the only Native American Adjunct Professor at a New Mexico State branch community college. Melissa is a graduate of New Mexico State University (NMSU) at Las Cruces where she received her Master’s degree in Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction and a minor in Counseling and Educational Psychology. She also received a Bachelor of Human and Community Services, with a double-minor in Criminal Justice and Community Health. She is now a doctoral candidate at NMSU pursuing a degree in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Critical Pedagogies and Multicultural Education.

David Rogers (Nez Perce) has 26 years of criminal justice professional experience including 16 years in law enforcement as Captain, Under-Sheriff, Chief of Police (tribal/non-tribal) including Chief of Police for Makah in northwestern Washington and the first Chief of Enforcement for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Enforcement unit which provided service to four Treaty-Tribes; and 4 years as Program Manager for the Western Community Policing Center providing training for the CIRCLE Project and Tribal Resource Grant Program. Dave is the Tribal Law Enforcement Programs Specialist for Fox Valley Technical College Criminal Justice Center for Innovation in Neenah, Wisconsin, and also serves as the Director of the National Indian Youth Police Academy that has been operating for 7 years and has gained international attention for its work with Indian youth.

Anna Rogers-Stott (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa) is employed as Program Coordinator for Uniting Three Fires Against Violence Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition. She is a graduate of Lake Superior State University. Ms. Rogers-Stott has over 15 years of experience working as a victim advocate for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Over the past few years, Ms. Rogers-Stott has done presentations for the Women of Color Taskforce of Michigan, Great Lakes Native American Conference and the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Pamela Romrell is the Indian Country Program Manager for the FBI's Office for Victim Assistance. Pamela provides oversight for the FBI’s over thirty-one Victim Specialist's in Indian Country. Prior to coming to the FBI, Pamela was a Victim Advocate Specialist at the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office in Salt Lake City, Utah for 9 years. Pamela was also the Owner and Director of WillWin Services a visitation agency for abused children. Pamela was the chairperson for the Utah Domestic Violence Council's Law Enforcement Liaison MDT and participated in many county and state MDT's including the Victim's Rights Committee, Child Protection Team and Adult Protection Teams.

Donna Rouner is a Professor of Technical Journalism at Colorado State University, specializing in sexual health, youth, and media messages.

Hon. Angela Russell (Crow [Apsáalooke]) is a former state legislator and is currently Chief Judge of the Crow Tribal Court.

Corrine Sanchez (Tewah Tohwah) is from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, and is a community activist dedicated to improving the lives of women and children. Ms. Sanchez is the founder of Brave Voices Child Interviewing Program in Espanola, New Mexico. Brave Voices is a non-threatening, comforting, and emotionally supportive environment where children who have alleged sexual abuse, suffered serious physical abuse or witnessed a violent crime, can tell their story. Ms. Sanchez is Vice-President of the Native American Children’s Alliance, President of the New Mexico Children’s Safe house Network and is involved in numerous coalitions and networks on the local, national and international level dedicated to developing effective systems of response and care for survivors of sexual violence. She holds a MA in American Studies from the University of New Mexico.

Kathy Wan Povi Sanchez M.A. (Tewa) is from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico and is an educator, potter, a mother and proud grandmother. Kathy is Director for Tewa Women United (TWU), a gathering of Northern Pueblo Tewa women advocating for positive social changes in the areas of suicide prevention, sexual violence prevention and nuclear safety for a strong and healthy Mother Earth.

Pat Sekaquaptewa (Hopi) is the Executive Director of the Nakwatsvewat Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to furthering governance, justice, and education projects in Indian Country. She presently serves as a Justice on the Hualapai Appellate Court and has also served as a judge pro tempore with the Hopi and Little Traverse Bay Band tribal courts. She is also a trained mediator. For the past six years she served as the Director of the UCLA Native Nations Law and Policy Center and its Tribal Legal Development Clinic. At UCLA, as a full-time Lecturer-in-Law, she provided instruction in constitution and statutory drafting, tribal court development, and trained and supervised law student clerks for the Hopi Appellate Court. She is a founding Director and former Associate Director of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, where she worked in the field with over 100 different tribes in their justice-system development work.

Rose Mary Shaw (Osage) is from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She currently serves on the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Board. She is the first person of color to be appointed to the state governing board. Rose Mary has served on numerous national and state advisory boards for victims assistance agencies and co-founded the first Indian tribal domestic abuse coalition in Oklahoma. She graduate from Northeastern Oklahoma with her B.S.W. and continued at Washington University at St. Louis for her M.S.W. She currently holds a license for social work with a clinical specialty. She is the director of the Osage Nation Counseling Center which oversees the chemical dependency, mental health and domestic violence programs for the Osage Tribe of Indians.

Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida) is a Grammy award winning performer and the most acclaimed Native singer of contemporary times. She is also deeply involved with the Oneida people. She is the co-author of the book "Skywoman" and was a delegate to the United Nations.

Ernest Siva (Cahuilla/Serrano) grew up on Morongo Indian Reservation, Banning, California, and learned the Serrano language and culture at home. Smith earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education and choral music from the University of Southern California. Siva serves as Tribal Historian and Cultural Advisor for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Siva also serves on the Board of Directors of the California Indian Storytelling Association; the Board of Trustees of Idyllwild Arts; and the board of the Riverside Arts Council (serving the Inland area). He is Artistic Director of the Pass Chorale, a community chorus in the San Gorgonio Pass area. He is founder and President of the Board of Directors of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Inc., and Ushkana Press, saving and sharing all the Southern California American Indian cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. In the first publication of Ushkana Press in 2004, Voices of the Flute book and CD set, Siva shared traditional songs of three Southern California Indian nations, most appearing in print for the first time. He is also president and founder of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center where he serves as "Distinguished Guest Artist in Native American Culture" at California State University, San Bernardino. Siva, along with the nonprofit Learning Center and its publishing arm, Ushkana Press, are grateful for the many opportunities this collaboration offers for research and for teaching people about the region's First Cultures.

Jaclyn Smith is a Graduate Research Assistant with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice. Also a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, Ms. Smith’s primary area of study is violence and victimization, with a special interest in minority populations. In addition to her studies and work at NIJ, Ms. Smith currently teaches courses in the Psychology/Sociology department at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She received her M.A. in Criminology from the University of Maryland at College Park and her B.A. in Criminology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mary Jo Speaker works for the U.S. Department of Justice and is the Victim-Witness Specialist for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. She has worked in this capacity since September 1996. Prior to working for the Department of Justice, Mary Jo was the Director/Coordinator for the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Victim Witness Center from July 1983 through August 1996. Mary Jo is responsible for providing comprehensive services to victims of federal crimes and victims of crimes committed in Indian Country. She has extensive experience in working with victims of violent crimes and has spent more than 25 years working with survivors and family members of murdered victims. Mary Jo graduated in May 1983 from the University of Tulsa with B.S. degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology.

Christine Stark (Anishinaabe, Cherokee, and European ancestry) is an award-winning writer and visual artist whose work has been published in numerous periodicals and anthologies, including Prostitution, Trauma, and Trafficking; Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking; Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about Sexual Violence; To Plead Our Own Cause; The Florida Review; Poetry Motel; Poetry Midwest; Our Choices, Our Lives; and Primavera. She is a co-editor of an international anthology entitled Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography. Christine is also a national and international speaker, and has spoken at numerous conferences, rallies, and universities. She has also been a community organizer and activist for nearly twenty years.

Lonna Stevens (Tlingit and Dakota) is the Director of the Sheila Wellstone Institute. Lonna is an Alaska Native of the Tlingit Nation in Southeast Alaska and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Dakota tribe. Lonna began her work in the battered women’s movement in 1996, serving as a children’s advocate at a shelter program in Juneau, AK. She is the former lobbyist at the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women on state, federal, and tribal levels (2001-2006), a role in which she was instrumental in restoring funding for shelters, domestic and sexual assault programs, and transitional housing. Lonna is passionate about advocating for Native women and children sees her lifetime work as fighting for safety and sovereignty at state, federal, and tribal levels. Lonna has also been a strong advocate for criminal and civil policies that create greater safety and in 2005 developed and lobbied Minnesota state legislators making domestic assault strangulation a felony in Minnesota.

Rebecca St George (Anishinaabe) started working for Mending the Sacred Hoop Technical Assistance Project in August of 1999. Rebecca is also currently coordinating a Safety and Accountability Audit of the systems response to Native women reporting sexual assault in and around Duluth, MN. In addition to working with Mending the Sacred Hoop, Rebecca sits on the Board of Directors for American Indian Community Housing, which is a transitional housing and battered women’s shelter for Native women, and on the Circle Keepers/Board of Directors for the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition. Rebecca is on the steering committee for Minnesota’s Northeast Project to End Long-Term Homelessness. Finally, Rebecca volunteers with the Program to Aid Victims of Sexual Assault. She received her BA in American Indian Studies and Anthropology from the University of Minnesota in 1994. Most important, Rebecca is the proud mother of two beautiful children, Jackson and Lillian.

Tom Sullivan was named Regional Administrator for Region VIII in September 2002 for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Region VIII includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Mr. Sullivan has more than 30 years experience in planning, designing, developing, managing and evaluating human service and public health programs while working in both the public and private sectors. He lead one of the first evaluations of the local health components of Head Start. When he was appointed Director of the Office of Long Term Care Standards Enforcement in the Boston regional office of HHS he was responsible for consolidating staff and functions from three regional agencies. He also served as the Senior Health Analyst for the US Senate Budget Committee. Mr. Sullivan provided administrative direction to a contract to provide general surgical, burn, trauma and emergency services for the San Bernardino Medical Center in southern California. At the same time he conducted a major evaluation of the Oklahoma system for delivering services to people with developmental disabilities. He has undergraduate degrees in economics from Boston College and in philosophy from St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, and an MBA from Harvard.

Hon. Winona Tanner (Confederated Salish and Kootenai) has been Chief Judge of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Court for 7 years.

Gayle Thom, PC, is an FBI Victim Specialist (8 years), and is on the FBI OVC Rapid Response Deployment Team. Gayle is currently assigned to the Pine Ridge Reservation and previously was assigned to the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota for 7 years. She has extensive training in both crisis and evidence response. She has worked in Canada, Mexican border, Scotland Yard, London Metropolitan Police, England's INTERPOL headquarters and extensively within the US including Hurricane Katrina, and the Red Lake shooting for which she received the FBI Director's Award for Excellence. With her expertise in outlaw motorcycle gangs she worked the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for many years. In 2001 and 2004 she was honored with the National Crime Victims Right's Week Award, and in 2004 the Oglala Lakota Nation Dedicated Service Honor.

Jeanne Thomas has been employed as the Victim Specialist for the FBI, Grand Forks Resident Agency in North Dakota for the past six years. In 2002 Jeanne established the Victim Assistance Program and has served victims of violent crime on both the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in North Dakota and Red Lake Nation Indian Reservation in Minnesota since that time. Formerly Jeanne worked as the Director of the Walsh County Victim/Witness Assistance Program for eight years. Prior to Jeanne's work with victims of crime, Jeanne was the Chief of Police in Mohall, North Dakota for 14 years.

Ms. Lisa Thompson (Lower Brule Lakota) is the executive director of Wiconi Wawokiya, Inc. Wiconi Wawokiya Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that serves victims of domestic violence, rape and children who are suspected of child abuse. Ms. Thompson has worked with and advocated for victims of domestic violence, rape and child abuse for over 16 years. Ms. Thompson developed the Children’s SAFE Place, a child advocacy center for children suspected of child sexual abuse. Ms. Thompson was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence in 1998 and in 2003 was appointed by the Governor to serve on the State CASA Commission. Ms. Thompson is a mother of two daughters, one son and three grandsons and two grand-daughters. Ms. Thompson has lived on the Crow Creek Dakota Reservation most of her life. Ms. Thompson is an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Lakota Nation.

Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts, J.D, is the Executive Director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), a Duluth, Minnesota based nonprofit organization. She has over ten years experience in public policy development, with an emphasis on affordable housing. Sherry is an Advisory Board Member for the University of Minnesota—Duluth School of Social Work and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Northeastern Minnesota Collaboration to End Long Term Homeless, a project that was created to bring counties, bands, and nonprofits together to focus on the housing needs of Native Americans. She is the primary developer of Gimaajii Mino Bimaadiziyaan ("We are, all of us together, beginning a good life"), a 29-unit culturally specific permanent supportive housing project, and Duluth’s proposed American Indian Center.

Natlia Calhoun Tseteesia (Lummi) has a Business Administration Degree. Her victim service experience includes 18years as a TVA Program Manager, service as a Victim Program Coordinator, and her experience with direct services includes work as a Victim Advocate. Tseteesia has 6 great grandchildren, 9 grandchildren and 4 daughters. She has dedicated her life to mentoring, coaching, educating and supporting individuals to find their inner power for making positive changes in their lives. Tseteesia credits her early Native teachings for providing her path in faith, trust and finding her inner spirit for strength.

Richard Van Boxtel is the Chief of Police for the Oneida Police Department in Oneida, Wisconsin. Rich began his law enforcement career at the Oneida Police Department in 1992 as a patrol officer. In 1995, he was promoted to Sergeant and has held other interim positions in the department as Lieutenant and Assistant Chief. Rich has an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice - Law Enforcement from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, a Bachelors Degree in Public Services Administration from Silver Lake College, and a Masters Degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College. Rich also serves as the Chairman for the Native American Drug and Gang Initiative (NADGI) in Wisconsin and as Co-Chair of the Tribal Affairs Committee for the Wisconsin Chief's of Police Association.

Margaret Volz has been a nurse for 31 years working with children and families in various settings. She is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and completed her Masters Degree in Nursing in 1994 at the University of Washington. She has worked in the child abuse field for the past 11 years and co-founded The Children’s Place (Children’s Advocacy Center) in Wasilla in 1999. She is a Trustee on the Alaska Children’s Trust Board chairing a committee to develop a statewide Child Abuse Prevention Plan. Currently she works as a PNP at Alaska CARES in Anchorage.

Jim G. White (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) currently serves as the Legal Director of the Southwest Center for Law and Policy. Mr. White is also the Director of the National Tribal Trial College. The Southwest Center for Law and Policy is a non-profit organization located in Tucson, Arizona. It is funded primarily by the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, to provide training and technical assistance in Indian Country in the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, teen dating violence, abuse of persons with disabilities, and elder abuse. As the director and faculty member of the National Tribal Trial College, Mr. White has written many published articles and made numerous presentations at national conferences on the legal aspects of violence and abuse committed against Native women and children. Mr. White is a graduate of the University of Kansas (1981), and the Washburn University of Topeka School of Law (1984). He is licensed to practice law in Kansas, Arizona, and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. White has also practiced in several Tribal courts. He has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Citizen Potawatomi Nation since 2004.

Hallie Bongar White is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Southwest Center for Law and Policy, a tribal Technical Assistance provider for the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. Ms. White trains nationally on issues related to sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and abuse of persons with disabilities, firearms violence, and abuse of elders in Indian Country.

Maureen L. White Eagle (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) is an attorney who has practiced law in North Dakota, Minnesota and several tribal jurisdictions since 1981. She developed and managed the civil legal services program for Native survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence at the MN Indian Women’s Resource Center from 2002 – 2005. She received a Bush Leadership Fellowship in 2005 – 2006, studying the status of women throughout the world. Upon her return to the United States, she formed Partners for Women’s Equality, an international organization which support human rights for all women. She currently is their Executive Director. White Eagle has provided legal consulting work for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute for the last 1 ½ years and is a TLPI Victim Advocacy Legal Specialist. Her TLPI work products include editing Sharing Our Stories of Survival, and writing and editing resource guides to aid tribes in the development of sexual assault codes, domestic violence codes, stalking codes, Adam Walsh compliant registration systems, tribal law enforcement sexual assault protocols, tribal prosecutor sexual assault protocols, and Sexual Assault Response Teams.

Sandra White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota adoptee) is a Sicangu Lakota adoptee from the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. Sandra is the co-founder and Director of First Nations Orphan Association. Sandra organizes community forums that bring together adoptees/fostered individuals and their families and professionals with the goal to identify post adoption issues and to identify strategies that will prevent removal of children. She also has initiated an ongoing support group for adoptees and birth relatives. Sandra has become a spokesperson on the issues of the adoption and the foster care system and how it has impacted First Nations People. She has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Australia and Japan, Alaska sharing her inspirational story of healing. Sandra was named one of the 50 Most Influential and Cool People of Madison, WI, in Madison Magazine, November 2002 and was honored with the Outstanding Native Women Award from the University of Minnesota 2003.

Darlene Wilcox, Ph.D. (Oglala Lakota) is a professional psychologist currently living and working on the Pine Ridge, South Dakota reservation. Darlene graduated from University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota. She was a member of the "Indians into Medicine" (INMED) and the "Indians into Psychology Doctoral Education Program" (INPSYDE) programs. Darlene did her pre-doctoral, psychology internship at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center and specialized in Child and Family psychology. Darlene also received a Masters in Education in Guidance and Counseling from Montana State University at Bozeman, Montana. She specialized in working with "Native American Adolescents with Dual Diagnosis Disorders." Darlene has been certified as a South Dakota School Service Specialist with endorsements in School Counseling and School Psychology since 1986.

Renee D. Williams joined the staff of the United States Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, as a Social Science Program Specialist in July 2004. In this capacity she is responsible for a number of innovative projects including the Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities Discretionary Grant Program. Ms. Williams has over 16 years of federal experience in policy administration and program management. Prior to OVC, Ms. Williams served as a Grants Management Specialist at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences providing funding for scientific research. The experience afforded her the opportunity to assist historically black colleges and universities with enhancing their science/research programs. Positions of leadership she has held include the Deputy Team Leader for the US Department of Justice COPS Office. Ms. Williams earned a BS degree in Criminal Justice from Park University, Parksville, MO and a Master of Public Administration Criminal Justice degree from Troy University, Troy, AL. She is currently pursuing a MS Counseling Psychology degree from Bowie State University and plans to earn her Ph.D. in this same discipline.

Noya Woodrich (Athabascan) has been with the Division of Indian Work for 17 years in various capacities. For the last seven years she as served as Executive Director. Noya has a Masters in Social and is a Licensed Independent Social Worker. Noya is Alaskan Native.

Drum Groups

Bearspring (Shush- bi-toh) Dance Group. Yah-ah-tey (greetings) Bearspring is the translation of Shush(bear) Bi(his- belonging) Toh(water). It is the name of where we come from in Arizona on the Navajo reservation. We started out as pow wow singing group and we still travel to many pow wows. Through the singing and dancing, we have also been asked to perform for various organization and programs. We are proud of our kids to be able to learn and enjoy this way of life in celebration. We are a family who sing and dance together for our well being. We enjoy the blessings of our gift to dance and sing. Everyday we are grateful to our Creator for the gift that he has bestowed upon us. We are happy and proud to be able to share this gift with others. We hope you are blessed with good health and well being through the songs and dances.

The Boyz is a traditional Native singing group within the Northern contemporary style singing category. There are 15 members representing several tribal nations including HoChunk, Lakota, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Cree, Potawatomi, Warm Springs, Yakima, Otoe, Kickapoo, Ponca, Hopi, Shinnecock, Oneida, Menomonie and Navajo. The group was formed nearly 20 years ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a way to keep these young boys off the streets. They have evolved into a highly accomplished singing group, winning many top honors such as Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Award for Best Contemporary Drum Group in 2007, Gathering of Nations World Champion 2007, and Schemitzun Connecticut World Class Champion Singers in 2008.

BucWild is a new upcoming Southern Plains Style Drum Group, originating from Chinle Az. Today, various singers are comprised from many nations across United States to bring you the singing of BucWild. Recently, they took first at Ft. McDowell Powwow and have won at other pow wow's such as Pala, Morongo and a host of others. This weekend they will be competing at spotlight 29 Casino Powwow. They are greatly influenced by Mr. Ron Tso, head singer who started BucWild, and the well known Scizzortail Singers out of Oklahoma. BucWild is a young upcoming group of singers who plan to stay on the powwow trail for a long time to come.