Alaska Native Women’s Resource CenterC

Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center

Interviewee: Tami Truett Jerue, Director

1. How did this work come about? And why was it necessary?

Our work came about as the result of the “Thriving Women’s Initiative Alaska” grant.

We received the training and technical assistance necessary to pull things together to apply. We

are aware of the amount of sexual violence, sex trafficking of women, and there are 229 tribes in

the state, and combined they have the highest rates of sexual violence. It makes sense that there

are native advocates to address these concerns, so we needed a resource center to take on these

tribal issues; to work together with tribes to solve these problems.

2. To accomplish your work, how does your project draw upon the best of the what has been or is in your organization and community?

We are building a new coalition that is addressing sexual violence. One way is through

raising awareness about violence through a performance using a play that is customized to our

situation in Alaska. We brought in actors, including Alaska actors that would perform, educate,

and raise important issues in a non-threatening way. People don’t understand the Violence

Against Women Act (VAWA) and we wanted to raise awareness through our play. It is an

important means by which to inform and to work with lots of communities on addressing

violence against women. There is need to provide anti-violence training that addresses cultural

realities and traditions and we believed that we could inform community through the play. It is a

way to bring policy home. It’s important for us to ask ourselves what can we do to strengthen our

communities and get the rates of violence down?”

3.

(a) Why did you get involved and what makes you stay? (b) What is important about what you do and what do you love most about the work?

All of us have been working in the field for a while and have gained a lot of knowledge of

what’s been happening. We sat down at a table and worked on a curriculum. We drew upon the

expertise of many who worked in the field and that is what developed the objectives of the

community: a program that has a community-based voice along with traditional language and

teachings. I got involved because of the trauma that I saw and experienced growing up. I got

involved when I was about 18 years old. I’ve been trying to change how communities looked at

trauma and violence against Native women. I’ve been working in the field for a long, long time. I

have always wanted the system to be different; I am tired of burying relatives, but I believe in the

strength of community to make changes. I have seen violence all around me and it’s so

frustrating. I know that taking it on is where we have to go. We deserve to be heard in order to

stop the violence. What I love must about the work is when the light bulb goes off and they

realize I don’t have to be this way. It’s then that they get it.”

4. When your organization has been operating at its best what have been the best, most inspiring, and creative moments and accomplishments of your project?

We have seen that when the tribes get engaged in conversation they often don’t believe or

realize that they have the power to change things. But, when a particular tribal leader suddenly

realized how important the conversation about violence is, and that it needed to be discussed, he

became critical to helping and convincing other leaders about its importance. This was possible

because he is an influential leader.

5. (a) Thinking big, outside the circle/box, what is the dream of the organization (what might be)? (b) How might this come about and how would you communicate it to others?

I want to engage every tribal community in Alaska to come up with a community

response to address the problem of violence. They would develop their own process, response,

and whatever else might work for them. It would include addressing drugs and alcohol and

providing treatment, and using cultural and western approaches, along with safe homes. All of

this could come about one community at a time; it takes a lot of time, energy, planning, and

identifying who will be served. It would be a comprehensive plan doing what the community

needs and wants.

6. What do you appreciate most about those that you work with and what do they appreciate about you?

I depend on a volunteer committee to keep the organization going. The staff person I

work with is very supportive of our cause and is easygoing. The environment we work in is

respectful and supportive – and this is what we want to mirror in our community. Our board

works hard, and they speak their minds. I appreciate how they act on what they believe in. They

build on each other’s strengths and they have lot of different skills and talents. They are focused,

educated, good forward thinkers, good advocates, and they are around when you need them. I

work closely with Shirley Moses, the director of the Healing Hearts Coalition. Her generosity is

phenomenal and it carries over to others.

7. What do you feel are the most important strategies and practices of your project? (b) How do they serve to empower the community? (c) What has your community appreciated most about what you do?

An important strategy of our project is to be honest and clear about what we are doing and

what needs to happen. When we want engagement from the community or tribal leaders and are

seeking change, we are not just giving them lip service. I think that they appreciate that we are

persistent in our efforts of what we want and believe. We have learned to listen carefully to what

others have to say. We are told by the community that we have a lot of love and empathy.

8 and 9. What positive images do you and your organization envision for the future or your work and the people you serve? What commitments do you and your organization have to make sure you are on the right path that will lead to positive changes in the organization and community?

We are tribal advocates for building strengths and assets in our communities. We are

upfront with the tribes we work. We remind ourselves that ego does not run the show. We are on

the right path when we let community be the driving force and use our organization as the voice

for our people, especially for the training needs that they want. Positive changes must meet the

cultural needs of the community. We are very thankful to the 7th Generation Fund for

Indigenous People. The grant that we received has had a huge impact on what we do. It enabled

us to not have to fully rely on other funders and it helped us to carve our path for the work we

are doing. We are grateful for support and that they trust us.

Applying the Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle

I. Discovery: The Discovery phase is a search to understand the “best of what is” and “what has been.” It begins with a collaborative act of crafting appreciative interview questions and constructing an appreciative interview guide. Appreciative interview questions are written as affirmative probes into an organization’s positive core, in the topic areas selected. They are written to generate stories, to enrich the images and inner dialogue within the organization, and to bring the positive core more fully into focus.

Discovery for the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center began with an awareness of

the high amount of sexual violence directed against Native women and that the work they were

doing was necessary and required training and technical assistance to apply for the Thriving

Women’s Initiative Alaska grant. The best of what is points towards experienced people from the

community who understand the need for change, who step up to do the work and can

collaborate with others to address the challenges of violence:

It makes sense that there are native advocates to address these concerns, so we needed a resource center to take on these tribal issues; to work together with tribes to solve these problems.

To draw upon the best of what is in the organization and community, ANWRC builds

upon the positive core of creativity to accomplish their work by using theater. Through this

activity they were able to connect the dots between the play and informing the community of

need to address violence:

One way is through raising awareness about violence through a performance using a Play that is customized to our situation in Alaska...There is a need to provide anti-violence training that addresses cultural realities and traditions and we believed that we could inform community through the play. It is a way to bring policy home.

Getting involved in anti-violence work is personally and professionally challenging. In this

case, Tami felt that “what should be” in the design of the organization was experience and a

belief in the inherent strengths of people. She was healed on a personal level and returned to

back to the community, determined to persist and change the system:

I got involved because of the trauma that I saw and experienced growing up. I’ve been trying to change how communities looked at trauma and violence against Native Women. I have always wanted the system to be different; I am tired of burying relatives, but I believe in the strength of the community to make changes.

Tapping into the resilience and the moment of enlightenment of the women who receive

support from the organization enables their liberation from suffering and is an important process

of the project:

What I love most about the work is when the light bulb goes off and they realize I don’t have to be this way. It’s then that they get it.

When ANWRC is operating at its best it uses its knowledge to bring about the synergy of

the group, an inspiration to change, and a subsequent domino effect:

When tribes get engaged in conversation they often don’t believe…they have the power to change things. But when a particular tribal leader suddenly realized how important the conversation about violence is…he became critical to helping and convincing other leaders about its importance.

II. Dream: The Dream phase is an energizing exploration of “what might be”: a time for people to explore their hopes and dreams for their work, their working relationships, their organization, and the world at large. It is a time for groups of people to engage in thinking big and thinking out of the boundaries of what has been in the past. The intent of the Dream phase is to identify and spread generative, affirmative and hopeful images of the future

A dream of the organization is the development and implementation of a master plan

that would fuse the cooperation and camaraderie that is needed to address and end violence

against Native women:

I want to engage every tribal community in Alaska to come up with a community Response to address the problem of violence. They would develop their own process, response, and whatever works for them. It would include addressing drugs and alcohol and providing treatment, and using cultural approaches, along with safe homes.

III. Design: The Design phase involves making choices about “what should be” within the organization or system. It is a conscious re-creation or transformation, through which such things as systems, structures, strategies, processes and images will become more fully aligned with the organization’s positive past (Discovery) and highest potential (Dream).

The ANWRC depends on volunteers to make their work happen which reflects the

positive core of commitment and the use of the strength and talents of the community. The

leadership of the organization can be an important driver of transformation if they reflect and re-

create a positive environment that acknowledges the contributions and strengths of others:

The environment I work in is respectful and supportive – and what we want to mirror in our community. Our board works hard, and they speak their minds. I appreciate how they act on what they believe in. They build on each other’s strengths.

A strategic choice of the project focuses on using the skills of open and authentic language

and approaches with the community to demonstrate the commitment and trustworthiness of the

organization and staff:

An important strategy of our project is to be honest and clear about what we are doing and what needs to happen. (We) are seeking change, we are not just giving lip them lip service. I think that they appreciate that we are persistent in our efforts of we want and believe.

IV. Destiny: The Destiny phase initiates a series of inspired actions that support ongoing learning and innovation—or “what will be.” The Destiny phase, however, focuses specifically on personal and organizational commitments and paths forward which result in changes in organizational systems, structure, processes or procedures.

Inspired actions of the organization that support what will be, again, centers on a positive

image and commitment for the future. The right path means that the community is also going on

the journey:

We are upfront with the tribes we work with. We remind ourselves that ego does not run the show. We are on the right path when we let the community be the driving force and use our organization as the voice for the people…