January 2023
January is National Stalking Awareness Month & Human Trafficking Awareness Month
As Native women in the United States experience some of the highest rates of violent victimization for stalking and sex trafficking, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) strongly supports the efforts to raise awareness of these crimes and offer resources to support survivors. Throughout the month of January, please visit our social media pages and sign up for our mailing list to explore resources on both stalking and human trafficking to advocate for victims in our communities.
The Advocacy Workshop Is Almost Here!
Join us in Albuquerque, NM to discuss the key principles of advocacy from Indigenous cultural beliefs and values, encompassing concepts of resilience, trauma-informed approaches, and sovereignty. There will be interactive activities and discussion of advocacy skills, confidentiality, elements of shelter, and safe spaces. The workshop will take place from January 24 through January 26, 2023. Please note that you may register to attend this 3-day workshop in-person, virtually, or as a combination of the two (hybrid). Register, view the workshop agenda, and hotel information here.
FVPSA Office Hours: Discussions With FVPSA and NIWRC
FVPSA Office hours have a new look! A panel of Native advocates will share how they’ve used ARP funds and how they navigated improving or developing Tribal infrastructure. The panel includes experiences from an urban-based Native organization, a reservation-based Tribal organization, and Tribal government executive leadership. If you have questions we invite you to join us for coffee and conversation in this virtual space. Join us on January 13 at 10 a.m. MDT. If you have any questions or need any assistance at any time, please contact Brenda Hill, NIWRC Director of Technical Assistance and Training, at bhill@niwrc.org. Join via Zoom.
NEW WEBINAR FROM STTARS! Honoring Our Youth Through Ensuring Safe Housing and Access to Shelter
Indigenous youth find themselves on the streets for a multitude of reasons. Not only will this webinar focus on what led to their housing status, but it will also look at how some Indigenous youth were able to move off the streets. It will also explore prevention strategies and what can be done to prevent youth homelessness, such as: keeping families intact; incorporating traditional and cultural practices; training social workers in the child welfare system; creating housing opportunities, ensuring safety, and addressing the effects of colonization on Indigenous families and communities. Join us on February 8 at 1:00 p.m. MDT by registering here!
Participate in a Focus Group!
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is holding a listening session to hear from Indigenous women who have been in a relationship with an intimate partner who is or was abusive (abuse can include physical, emotional, verbal, financial, spiritual, sexual, etc.) and has received services from a domestic violence service program and/or provider. During the session, we want to learn about your experiences with domestic violence service programs and/or providers, especially how the programs and/or providers supported or could support you in your holistic wellness and healing journey. Click here for more information and to submit your interest in participating.
COVID-19 Update
Greetings Relatives,
As we reflect on 2022 and turn inward as winter time calls us to, may we honor and remember those lost to SARS-CoV-2 this year and support their loved ones. May we set intention and prayer to lean into collective care for one another and across Tribal Nations. While vaccines reduce deaths of COVID-19 we still lost a quarter of a million people in the U.S. and Tribal Nations to COVID-19 from 2021 to 2022 and bivalent booster uptake remains low with only 15% of the eligible population receiving a dose as of December 28th, 2022. RSV rates are reducing but COVID and Flu rates are increasing. Hospitalizations are still rising across most of the US.
In the U.S., an estimated 19 million now live with long COVID. This disproportionately impacts our Indigenous Nations as life expectancy for Native Americans dropped by 6.6 years since 2020. Women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming relatives are also disproportionately impacted as they are more likely to develop long COVID. As we begin to learn more we now know COVID-19 can cause immune system dysregulation for 8 or more months post-acute infection and reinfections increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disorders, diabetes, multisystem organ failure, and neurological damage by way of vascular damage to the blood vessels. In light of growing research around the impacts and spread of airborne viruses, the White House released a fact sheet outlining a commitment to cleaner indoor air across the Nation.
With a growing population of the community including survivors of violence experiencing disability and debility, we must create safer indoor spaces, shelters, and places of gathering. We know that American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women experience some of the highest rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking, homicide at the hands of an intimate partner, and missing & murdered. Women with disabilities are at double risk for violence and abuse, this risk increases for trans and bisexual women. Each day the importance of staying connected, processing this immense collective trauma and grief, and implementing tools to protect our collective health increases.
Ay’ingidi (stay safe by being aware),
Marquel Musgrave, COVID-19 TA Specialist, NIWRC
Marquel in Recent Interviews
Best Ways To Protect Yourself
- Wearing a high-quality, well-fit mask like an N95, KN95, or KF94 (fits best for small faces) or a clear N95 for accessibility.
- Stay home when sick.
- Stay up to date with vaccinations (Bivalent Vaccine Boosters are now authorized for children 6 months and older).
- Wash hands and clean surfaces as RSV lives on surfaces longer than flu and COVID-19.
- Plan for ways to obtain Tamiflu and Paxlovid or other COVID treatments.
- Support your immune system by eating traditional foods and herbs rich in vitamins and nutrients and talk to your health care about supplementing with Zinc, vitamin C, Vitamins D3, K2, and Magnesium.
- Water is our first medicine, stay hydrated, ground yourself using traditional medicines, and pray for our collective health and the protection of our little ones, who are heavily impacted at this time.
Best Ways To Protect and Educate Your Community
Learn More: The Impact of SARS-CoV-2
Helpful Tips: Airborne Virus Transmission Prevention
We Are Hiring a Deputy Director!
In the News
Funding Opportunities
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U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families
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The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women, and Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services
Policy Updates
Upcoming Events
