Organizations Filed Purposes:
TO LEAD IN THE PURSUIT OF UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE ONGOING TRAUMA CREATED BY THE U.S. INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL POLICY.
TO PURSUE TRUTH, HEALING, AND RECONCILIATION TO ADDRESS ONGOING INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA FROM THE U.S. INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL POLICY AND TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY LED HEALING.
EDUCATION - IN APRIL 2019, NABS LAUNCHED THE FIRST OF ITS KIND RESEARCH STUDY ON NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD REMOVAL IN THE U.S. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND THE FIRST NATIONS REPATRIATION INSTITUTE. THE STUDY WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR EFFORTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW BOARDING SCHOOLS IMPACTED RATES OF ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND HOW THESE INSTANCES OF CHILD REMOVAL IMPACTED HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THE DATA WE COLLECT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR EFFORTS TO SPARK A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON THESE ISSUES AND CULTIVATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HEALING. IT WILL HELP US CONTINUE TO INFORM POLICY REFORM, BEST PRACTICES IN SOCIAL WORK AND HEALTHCARE FIELDS, AND COMMUNITY-LED HEALING INITIATIVES. WE HAVE ALSO ESTABLISHED A RESEARCH ADVISORY COUNCIL MADE UP OF ACADEMIC EXPERTS IN BOARDING SCHOOLS, ARCHIVES, AND DIGITAL PROJECTS AS WELL AS TRIBAL ARCHIVISTS AND RESEARCHERS TO ADVISE NABS STAFF ON RESEARCH PROJECTS AND ON THE CREATION OF OUR DIGITAL ARCHIVE AND DATA CENTER. NABS CONTINUES TO DO INDEPENDENT RESEARCH INTO BOARDING SCHOOLS AND ITS IMPACTS.
ADVOCACY - IN SPRING OF 2019, NABS FILED A SUBMISSION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED AND INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES (UNWGEID) DETAILING A NUMBER OF CHILDREN WHO WERE TAKEN INTO FEDERAL CUSTODY AND WHOSE FATE AND WHEREABOUTS REMAIN UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY. THE FILING OUTLINES HOW THE U.S. HAS NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED, ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR, NOR SHOWN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE MANY CHILDREN THAT DID NOT RETURN HOME FROM FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS. OUR PARTNERS ON THE FILING INCLUDE THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL (IITC), THE NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND (NARF), THE NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION (NICWA), THE ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE, THE SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE OF MICHIGAN, AND INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS. NABS'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALSO ATTENDED THE 12TH SESSION ON THE EXPERT MECHANISM ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (EMRIP) AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN JULY AND READ AN INTERVENTION TO THE EMRIP ASKING THEM TO GET INVOLVED IN OUR FILING TO THE UNWGEID ON CHILDREN WHO WENT MISSING AT BOARDING SCHOOLS. WE ALSO HOSTED AN INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON THE NEED FOR BOARDING SCHOOL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND REPARATIONS BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND INCLUDED EXPERTS HEATHER WHITE MAN RUNS HIM FROM NARF, ANDREA CARMEN FROM IITC, LES MALEZER FROM NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES, AND FORMER TRC COMMISSIONER CHIEF WILLIE LITTLECHILD FROM CANADA.
HEALING - NABS LAUNCHED THE HEALING VOICES MOVEMENT A YEAR AGO AND SINCE THEN, OVER 30 NATIVE YOUTH HAVE BEEN EMPOWERED TO USE MEDIA TO AMPLIFY THEIR VOICE. AFTER COMPLETING YOUTH MEDIA TRAININGS AND HEALING VOICES STORY COLLECTION FILMING IN TURTLE MOUNTAIN, ALASKA, AND WIND RIVER, WE PREMIERED SOME OF THE COMPLETED VIDEOS AT OUR CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER 2018 AND SHARED THE VIDEOS ONLINE IN 2019. IT'S TIME TO #BREAKTHESILENCE AND #BEGINTHEHEALING. WE HELD OUR FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE, THE SPIRIT SURVIVES: A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TOWARD HEALING, ON OCTOBER 2-3, 2018 IN CARLISLE, PA WHICH COINCIDED WITH THE 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SCHOOL'S CLOSING. WE HAD NEARLY 200 ATTENDEES WHO CAME FROM MORE THAN 70 DIFFERENT TRIBAL NATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THE MAJORITY OF WHOM WERE BOARDING SCHOOL SURVIVORS OR DESCENDANTS. IN THE FALL OF 2018, NABS MET WITH CANADIAN TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONER, DR. MARIE WILSON, AND SHE EMPHASIZED THAT RECORDS AND TRUTH ARE HIGHLY VALUABLE TO THE PROCESS OF HEALING ITSELF, NOT JUST A MEANS TO AN END. AS WE CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR MISSING FEDERAL AND CHURCH-RUN BOARDING SCHOOL RECORDS TO AID IN TRUTH, HEALING, AND RECONCILIATION, WE'VE BEGUN RAMPING UP OUR WORK WITH CHURCH DENOMINATIONS. AS THE 2018 ARTICLE "A SHOCKING HISTORY" IN LIVING CHURCH MAGAZINE STATED, "THE CHURCHES WERE NOT JUST COMPLICIT. THEY WERE PARTICIPATORY [] THEY RECEIVED FEDERAL FUNDING AND HELPED CARRY OUT THE [BOARDING SCHOOL] POLICY." WE CONTINUE TO SEEK THE FULL TRUTH OF THE BOARDING SCHOOL ERA AND COUNT ON THE CHURCHES TO BRING FORTH THEIR BOARDING SCHOOL RECORDS, ENTER INTO VOLUNTARY FORMS OF REPENTANCE AND ATONEMENT, AND SUPPORT NATIVE-LED HEALING.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Christine Mccleave | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 45 | $70,000 |
| Michael Yellow Bird | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Marlene Helgemo | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Ruth Anna Buffalo | TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Joannie Suina Romero | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Sarah Eagle Heart | 2ND VICE CHAIR | 1 | $0 |
| Sandy White Hawk | 1ST VICE PRESIDENT | 1 | $0 |
| James Labelle | 2ND VICE PRESIDENT | 1 | $0 |
| Vance Blackfox | PRESIDENT | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202042729349301104_public.xml