Practice Brief 8: Creating a Welcoming CAC Environment for Native Children and Families

• NCJ Number: 307560
• Author(s): Native Child Advocacy Resource Center
• Date Published: June 2023
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2020-CI-FX-K012
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored

Annotation

This document lays out the transcript of a discussion on how to create a Child Advocacy Center that is a task-appropriate facility while providing a welcoming and culturally appropriate space for Native children and their caregivers.

Abstract

This document provides the transcript of an interview with Lalania Walker, coordinator of the White Earth Nation’s Child Advocacy Center (CAC). The interviewer, Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door, is director of the Native Child Advocacy Resource Center (NCARC). The interview covers topics that explore the details of how Tribal and other CACs, that serve Tribal communities, can provide culturally responsive environments that reflect community values and promote psychological safety for victims and their families. Lalania introduces herself and her team, and how they used artwork to change the physical environment within the White Earth Nation’s  CAC, noting how they overcame the challenge of limited funds to cover the cost of the artwork. Lalalia discusses the importance of culturally relevant artwork to children’s healing process, and the impacts she has noticed that art has on children and their families. She also talks about other ways in which her CAC has worked to develop a culturally responsive environment, including Ojibwe-language labels to incorporate language revitalization, and the use of coloring books for various age groups. Lalalia also gives advice to non-Tribal CACs who serve Native children and families, and how they can start incorporating some of what her CAC offers into their own resources.