February 2022

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Through positive conversations with youth and teens centered at their core, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, NativeLove, StrongHearts Native Helpline, and the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center support the efforts of Tribal programs and Native organizations to empower the next generation in reclaiming and defining what safe, healthy, and strong relationships mean for them. Youth are at the heart of our survival as Native peoples; Native youth and teens can lead the way for positive change. Help honor youth and teens in your lives by raising awareness of dating violence and promoting healthy relationships! Read the full statement here.

Restoration Magazine Special Edition MMIW

The crisis of MMIW is not new; what is new is the national recognition of this crisis by the federal government. This political change is the result of grassroots organizing efforts by the families, advocates, communities, and Indian Nations of MMIW. In this Special Edition of Restoration, we highlight joint efforts to honor MMIW and call for justice for Indigenous women to share examples of organizing actions we hope will spread across all communities during the 2022 National Week of Action culminating into the National Day of  Awareness for MMIW on May 5th. Rising and standing together, we can end the crisis of violence against Indigenous women! Download Restoration here.

New Webinar! Rez Dating

In recognition of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM), the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is inviting you to join this webinar to learn about what “teen dating" violence is, why it happens and where to go for help if you or a friend are experiencing it. This discussion will include the intersection of intergenerational trauma and the modern occurrence of dating and intimate partner violence in Indian Country. Exploring healthy relationships and boundaries from an Indigenous perspective is also an important part of this presentation. The presenter, Lexie James, a young Hopi activist, will share her lived experiences and how she navigated them. Register here.

NativeLove TDVAM Challenge!

Starting February 1, teens and youth are invited to submit any art form answering the question “What are the qualities of a healthy relationship?” Post your submission on social media by February 28 and tag @NativeLoveIs or email nativelove@niwrc.org with your submission for a chance to win a prize pack from NativeLove and NIWRC! Read more here.

NEW! Social Media Guide for TDVAM

StrongHearts Native Helpline, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center are proud to provide this resource for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. We hope you will help us bring awareness to the issue of dating violence in Tribal communities as a way of shedding light on the devastating fact that millions of Native peoples in this country are directly experiencing abuse and threats of violence in their intimate relationships. Native youth have the power to help create positive change to end dating violence. Download the Social Media Guide for messages and graphics that you can share. 

What We're Reading...

• Minnesota’s Foster Care System Perpetuates the Legacy of Racist Boarding Schools, Native Mothers and Experts Say

• Original caretakers: Indigenous groups team up with conservationists to protect swaths of US

• Respecting Indigenous culture: Native model, actor break barriers around the world

Funding Opportunities

• U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women: 
  • View Open Solicitations
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families:
  • View Open Solicitations- refine by agency, eligibility, and category
• The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women, and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services:
  • View Open Solicitations
• OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction Solicitation:
  • Download here
• OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program  Solicitation:
  • Download here
• OFA Funding Opportunity:
  • Fiscal Year 2022 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program