Quarterly Newsletter
“Guided by Culture”
NICWA News is the quarterly newsletter for members and donors of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Donate or become a member today to subscribe.
Dear NICWA Members, Sponsors, Donors, and Friends,
Regular readers of NICWA News know that I typically use this space at the beginning of each issue to reflect on the theme, which often stems from our National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) values. This issue is no exception. The theme “Guided by Culture” sums up the work we — NICWA board, staff, members, partners, and donors — have been doing together for decades. Intentionally established in 1983 as a culturally based organization, our grassroots founding board of directors had the wisdom to look to our Native cultures for guidance about what we should do and how we should go about our work. Our advocacy and programs are guided by our cultures, and our board and staff talk regularly about how we apply our values and teachings to do the best work we can for the Tribal Nations we serve. As a capacity-building organization, NICWA works at the Tribal, local, state, and national levels to strengthen the interrelated and interdependent networks and systems that support Native children and families. Our work on behalf of Native children and youth responds to changing needs in Indian Country and the evolving context in the child welfare field and in the United States, and our values are our guideposts:
• We believe that our cultures are our strongest resource for helping children and families.
• We believe that Tribal child welfare practice must maintain a cultural and/or spiritual focus.
• We believe that effective practice includes translating the values and principles of traditional teachings into expression today.
• We believe in community-based services designed and delivered by and for local people.
• We advocate to maintain strong Native families.
• We advocate for the preservation of Native cultures.
• We value helping the helper.
• We are committed to cross cultural competence.
• We seek and support positive, active, and effective Tribal-state relations.
• We believe that the highest priority for child welfare is child safety and well-being.
• We are committed to permanency and value the child’s right to have a family to grow up in and call their own.
As you’ll read about in this issue of NICWA News, these values recently shaped the relaunch of our membership program. NICWA Founder Terry Cross and our board of directors have always believed that a membership association of Tribal Nations, service providers, allies, and individual advocates was central to the identity of NICWA. Over our 40-year history, this has been a keystone that informs our work and champions our advocacy priorities. It has always been part of the vision that NICWA would be a membership organization in service to our community, built on the belief that it is our members who drive our work and help us continue our advocacy on behalf of Indian Country.
As we hear from you year-round, of utmost importance is our shared conviction that our cultures are our greatest resource for helping Native communities, families, and children. I often say that recent social science literature has finally caught up to our ancestral wisdom: a robust and growing body of research now shows that Native cultures are an effective protective factor, a key ingredient in many “helping” programs and services, and a facilitator of healing.
Our ancestors knew this all along!
With gratitude for your service to Native children and families,
Sarah L. Kastelic, PhD, MSW
(Alutiiq)