CSVANW August 2017 Newsletter

August 2017 Newsletter

BREASTFEEDING, BONDING,

AND BREAKING CYCLES

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. CSVANW is honoring a mother's sacred bond with baby by celebrating the healthy relationship that begins at birth.

We believe that healthy families are critical to breaking cycles of violence- nursing is just one way to develop a lifelong foundation for establishing healthy relationships

An early form of child abuse and neglect prevention can be built through strong mother-baby bonding and through supporting new moms in their motherhood journeys. Home visiting programs and early childhood education programs are great free resources of support for new moms- and can provide the support and encouragement that new moms may need in these sometimes complex and hard passages through motherhood.

We invite you to enjoy the blog submissions this month from Reyes Devore and Deleana OtherBull, who share their stories of bonding with their little ones.

BUILDING A LIFELONG BOND

By Reyes DeVore

The connection between a mother and child is instrumental to the relationships we have with others throughout our lives. Mine exudes strength beyond what I ever thought I could hold. Like many things in life, it has been a process arriving to this space.

This year I can confidently share that I am an Early Childhood Educator who has just reached her sixth year in the field.

This sense of self-assurance wasn't always there though.

My journey truly began when I was pregnant at the age of 19 with my son. There were so many fears as to what the future for us would look like. At that time, college was the last thing on my mind; I was focused on just getting by. Now we share a bond that's incomparable.

Two years of my son's life went by when I began growing tired of the retail world. This came along with the uncertainty of what road to take next. During this ambition for change, I was blessed with the means to pay for school.

But college? Was it for me?... Read More.

BREAKING THE CYCLE:

BEGINNING WITH BONDING

By Deleana OtherBull

Motherhood is sacred.

When I had my son, I didn't have a lot of family nearby- or family that could stay with me- but I had created a supportive team around me. I had some family, friends, my midwife, my doula, and my home visitor.

I must admit, that motherhood was not 100% instinctual for me like I had envisioned the beginning of motherhood would be. I didn't automatically feel connected with my son and feel as nurturing as I thought I should be.

But two years later, I can confidently tell you that there is no such thing as a "right" or "perfect" way of being a mom and that each motherhood experience is a very intimate and personal journey.

The first three months of breastfeeding my son was hard. Leading up to the birth of my son, I had this vision that breastfeeding would be a beautiful, simple and easy experience- but the reality of early breastfeeding meant soreness and struggle.

I worked actively on mother-baby bonding and I had a strong belief that breastfeeding would nourish his mind, body and spirit. Read More.

CSVANW STILL HAS POSTERS AVAILABLE!

A great addition for your classroom, community center, clinic or wellness center! FREE!

Developed for youth, by youth! CSVANW is providing a series of colorful posters that will engage youth in learning more about consent, healthy relationships, resiliency, and their dating rights.

All posters are 24x36 and are printed on high quality gloss poster paper. Funding for posters was provided by the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department and the NoVo Foundation.

Learn More! Check out our other poster designs!

CSVANW WELCOMES OUR NEW

BOARD PERSON

Please join us in welcoming Joannie Romero to the CSVANW Board of Directors!

Joannie Romero is from the Pueblo of Cochiti and is an experienced administrator with a demonstrated history of working within Tribal Programs and non-profit organizations that specifically serve Native American communities. Joannie recently completed the requirements for the Master of Jurisprudence degree, in Federal Indian Law, from the University of Tulsa, College of Law. Joannie's capstone thesis, entitled "The Reclamation of Educational Sovereignty in Pueblo Communities: An Evaluation of Multi-Jurisdictional Frameworks & the Catalyst for Sovereign Schools" is an in-depth analysis of Indian Education and the past 100 years of Federal Indian Policy, within the State of New Mexico. This research also focuses on historical trauma as well as policy recommendations for reclaiming our Native children through education.

She currently manages the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Continuing Education Program, serves as the Co-Sponsor for the Indigenous Liberal Studies Student Organization, and continues to work towards developing programming that focuses on empowering Tribal communities. Joannie is a proud wife and mother to four children. She is extremely passionate about teaching Keres to her family, practicing archery with her compound bow, as well as being outdoors.

MEET OUR NEW MEMBERSHIP AND

OUTREACH COORDINATOR

CSVANW is excited to announce Angel Charley, Pueblo of Laguna, has been hired as our new Membership and Outreach Coordinator. We are eager to take both our outreach and membership initiatives to the next level with our newest addition to the Coalition team.

"I am so honored to work with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women in this capacity! I know that as this organization continues to grow and thrive so should our communication efforts. It is my personal passion to ensure we continue to build on the trust, stamina, and relationships that CSVANW has sustained for the past 20 years."

3RD ANNUAL NEW MEXICO WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Albuquerque, NM

Cheyenne Antonio, Program Coordinator for Sex Trafficking attended the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons hosted by Lifelink downtown Albuquerque at Civic Plaza.

Thank you to Lifelink for hosting an important event that brings awareness and coalition building to the forefront.

Our presence at the New Mexico's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons Day was an important space to not only represent our Tribal Coalition but to bring more awareness and partnership to our Tribal Sex Trafficking Taskforce and to reassure the community and our partners that we support the intiatives of moving forward for our tribal and urban communities.

COMMUNITY BUILDERS YOUTH CONFERENCE (CBYC II)

Santa Fe, NM

CSVANW attended the Community Builders Youth Conference this July to support for the 7th through 11th grade Native Youth students who attended. The focus of the CBYC II conference is to engage youth with STEM initiatives throughout New Mexico.

Our Membership and Outreach Coordinator, Angel Charley, was on hand during the two day event to bring awareness about CSVANW's violence intervention efforts geared toward Native Youth.

"I was so excited to see some of this years CSVANW Native Youth Summit attendees at the conference too! Our youth are really stepping up to the challenge of being the engaged change they want to see in their own communities." Angel Charley, CSVANW.

NON-FATAL STRANGULATION TRAINING

Albuquerque, NM

In the last legislative session for the State of New Mexico, the Senate passed Memorial Bill 38 to form a multi-disciplinary committee that could provide a process for bringing groups together to discuss possible strangulation recommendations for legislation.

CSVANW was named a co-convener of this committee in the bill. The committee is currently reviewing what data, if any, currently exists on strangulation and what procedures are in place to identify and respond to victims of strangulation.

"Holding the Non-Fatal Strangulation Training was important to us because we wanted to provide a space where our tribal communities, tribal law enforcement, providers and advocates can gain a deeper understanding of the vulnerabilities- both from the medical and legal standpoint- that victims of strangulation face so that we can work to ensure better response is enacted." Deleana OtherBull, ED, CSVANW.

BUILDING A BRIDGE FOR OUR LGBTQ YOUTH CONFERENCE

Gallup, NM

Our Native Youth Program Coordinator, Keioshah Peter, and Trafficking Coordinator, Cheyenne Antonio, were in Gallup this month to support and advocate for our LGBTQ youth at the Building A Bridge for our LGBTQ Youth Conference.

"The LGBTQ Conference was enlightening to the community because the conversations and space was very much needed. I learned the importance of consent and the amount of violence our LGBTQ relatives face. It's very important in our line of violence prevention that our LGBTQ relatives are at the forefront." Cheyenne Antonio.