TIWAHE Initiative Pilots

TIWAHE [ti-wah-hay] noun: the Dakota word for family that represents the connection and responsibility to protect all living things around you.

Tackling systemic issues, changing behavior, and finding solutions is a tall feat for anyone but – what if it was with a whole nation watching?

The TIWAHE Initiative began as an idea to better serve Tribal communities in their social service needs, a historically underfunded sector of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget. The tide changed in 2015 with the authorization of funds through the presidential budget to reduce poverty, substance abuse, and domestic violence in Indian Country, thus establishing the TIWAHE Initiative.

As the first step toward implementing the initiative, the BIA set up a pilot program and selected four Tribes with the requirement to pick at least one Self- Governance Tribe as part of the pilot. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians was one of the four selected.

"The ultimate plan is to replicate this anywhere, not just for Tribes but for everybody. We recognize that they are looking to us, it's a little scary," explained Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians Administrative Officer, Dave Conner.

The reason for their involvement in the pilot program may be partly attributed to the previous administration, according to Red Lake Abinoojiiyag Noojimoo Wigamig Juvenile Facility/Recidivism Director, Muriel Dudley.

Through a Department of Justice Correctional Program in Indian Country grant, Red Lake built a juvenile detention facility which sat empty for a decade due to the lack of funds to hire staff to serve the community.

With the funds provided by the pilot program, the Red Lake TIWAHE Initiative hit the ground running and opened its doors to provide the much-needed social services to youth and families, but it wasn't enough.

"We are really lacking in coordination of services, doing the research and looking at numbers a lot of our youth are sent off reservation, they fall through cracks, and it's not one person's problem," said Dudley.

Dudley further explained that they are looking to make their facility a one-stopshop and are currently moving into Phase 2 of their TIWAHE roll out.

The Children's Healing Center is building a data infrastructure utilizing the Global Appraisal of Individual Need short screener (GAIN SS) which screens for mental health issues, substance abuse, crime and violence and recidivism.

"The Children's Healing Center staff has been working closely with the Chestnut Health Care System for the past two years to implement the GAIN SS and make it culturally relevant not only to the Red Lake Nation but to other American Indian communities throughout Indian Country," said Dudley.

Although still understaffed, TIWAHE is rapidly trying to make up for lost time by hiring a mental health professional in February specializing in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and are currently building a health and wellness piece to their practice that works with other Red Lake programs to integrate all Tribal social services.

"We need to have that cross communication. I really think that a Tribal entity needs to show that this CAN be done," said Red Lake TIWAHE Initiative Lead Planner Donovan Sather. "Once we become professional in this work force...getting the mindset that I have a job, I have a duty – shifting to I'm a provider...we're all in this together mind set. Once our clients see that we're working together. It makes clients want to participate and hold up their end."

Sather and the Red Lake TIWAHE Initiative team will be rolling out a Resource Booklet later this year to educate the Tribal community on the social service programs provided by the Tribe and garner awareness.

Future funding for the TIWAHE Initiative is still unclear in the coming year, but the Red Lake TIWAHE Initiative team is hard at work to make their program accessible for all those wanting to serve their communities.

To learn more about the Red Lake TIWAHE Initiative program contact Donovan Sather via email at Donovan.Sather@redlakenation.org.