Indian Nations Conference

Since 1988, OVC has sponsored eight national conferences for tribal, state, and federal professionals who work on behalf of victims in Indian Country. The conferences have provided victim service providers, victim advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, judicial personnel, social service personnel, and health and mental health professionals with training on promising practices for establishing effective victim assistance services. In addition, the conferences have presented models for coordinating tribal, federal, state, and local resources in response to victims in Indian Country. In Fiscal Year 2003, OVC competitively awarded funds to support the planning and implementation of the ninth National Indian Nations Conference, scheduled for December 2004. This conference will foster an interdisciplinary strategy that combines legal, law enforcement, and victim assistance approaches to responding to American Indian victimization; present new and established models and promising practices for assisting victims; and train professionals who investigate, prosecute, and manage child abuse cases, thus enhancing the skills of victim service providers and other allied professionals. The goal of the conference is to improve how multidisciplinary professionals respond to the rights and needs of American Indian and Alaska Native victims and to improve the handling of cases of family violence and child abuse. For more information, visit www.tribal-institute.org.

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