Indian Child Welfare Conference comes to Boise State

The Indian Child Welfare Conference, a gathering intended to

increase cooperation between social service providers, kicks off in

the Student Union today with an Honor Guard and flag song.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., with opening ceremonies commencing

at 9 a.m. All events are free and open to the public.

Julie Manning of the Intertribal Native Council encourages the

public to attend. Many of those who are attending this year’s

conference have attended in the past and Manning said she would

like to see some fresh faces among this year’s crowd.

The Intertribal Native Council is a student organization at

Boise State designed to promote Native American culture and

awareness.

Idaho has gotten a bad rap from the rest of the nation for not

celebrating its diversity and the conference is a chance to

celebrate the “rich tapestry of Idaho life” said Kathi

McCulley, tribal relations program manager.

The Indian Child Welfare Conference has been held every other

year for the past decade in an effort to promote awareness and

coordinate services and support between state and Native social

services. The event “encourages service providers to work

together,” McCulley said.

The audience has grown over the years and with that,

understanding and cooperation have also grown, McCulley added.

Nez Perce Youth Council Advisory and Youth Peer Educators, both

from Lapwai Idaho, will be given special recognition as youth

groups that have made a difference in their communities. McCulley

said promoters of the conference would like to encourage more youth

community involvement.

Highlights include a traditional flute concert by Robert Tree

Cody and Hovia Edwards Friday at 7 p.m. Jana, winner of 2002 Song

of the Year Award, from the Native American Music Awards, will

perform on Friday at 8:30pm. The conference will wrap up Saturday

with a Pow-Wow starting at 1 p.m.

There are many speakers on a wide variety of topics including

domestic violence, and cultural competency. Check

href=”http://www.icwrtc.org”>www.icwrtc.org for a complete

listing, or head for the Student Union and find out in person.

Six Idaho tribes in conjunction with Idaho Department of Health

and Welfare, Idaho Children’s Trust Fund and Idaho Child

Welfare Research and Training Center are sponsoring this event.

Participating tribes are the Coeur d’ Alene Tribe, Kootenai

Tribe of Idaho, Nez Perce Tribe, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone

Nation, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and the Shoshone-Paiute

Tribes.

Monica Price
The Arbiter

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