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About the Panel

Indigenous advocacy leadership to end intimate partner violence is reaffirmed during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Indigenous cultures recognize the power, leadership, and expertise of women. Additionally, the leadership and expertise of survivors to end intimate partner violence need to be reaffirmed. This panel of elder indigenous advocates will discuss how women’s and survivors’ voices are necessary for guiding policy and the development of programs. Daily program practices should reflect the experiences of women and survivors. This conversation also addresses questions about forums for teaching, learning, and sharing. Is there an opportunity for teaching in programs and shelters? How do we do meaningful inclusive work? Please join us for this thought-provoking webinar.
 

Speakers

Karen Artichoker is a citizen/member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and is also very proud of her HoChunk roots. She worked for many years with the South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault assisting Tribes in developing domestic violence shelters and system response. She is a founding mother and former Management Team Director for Cangleska, Inc., a domestic violence/sexual assault program that operated for over a dozen years on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After leaving Cangleska, Ms. Artichoker updated her work experience in the fields of addiction and mental health. She also completed the coursework and hour requirements for addiction counselor certification and has been attending graduate school to obtain a degree in Clinical Mental Health. Her  career and life passion has been focused on ending violence against native women and developing opportunities that will enable and support native Peoples and Tribes in reclaiming the best of who we are individually and collectively.

Tina Olson (Yaqui) has worked on issues surrounding domestic violence for over 30 years. Currently, Tina is the former Executive Director and founding member of Mending the Sacred Hoop (MSH), an American Indian Non-Profit Organization located in Duluth, MN. Tina has provided training, technical assistance, and material development for tribes across the country, assisting them in program development, implementation, and consultation on developing a tribal response to domestic violence and sexual assault. Tina has taken various roles in the work to End Violence Against American Indian & Alaska Native women on a local, tribal, and national level; women’s support group facilitator, women who use force group facilitator, men’s group facilitator, advocate, trainer, and public speaker on issues around domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and elder abuse. Tina is presently a board member of the American Indian Housing Program. Tina is the proud mother of four daughters and nine grandchildren and lives with her partner in Duluth, MN.

Genne James (Diné) Genne James is from the Navajo Nation and lives outside of Tucson, AZ. She began working at the Mending the Sacred Hoop, a sister program of the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program, at Duluth, Minnesota. She learned from seasoned advocates,
such as Tina Olson and Ellen Pence, who influenced her views on social change. “Social change has influenced how I work with people and to look at the core issues rather than address the symptoms.” Genne has worked among several Native communities, including the Northern Pueblos, the Jicarilla Apache, the Gila River Indian Community, and Pascua Yaqui. She works for Pima County Behavioral Health.