SSW Advocacy Letters

Recent Events on College Campuses 11/2022

Post Roe Letter 6/2022

Letter re: Roe v. Wade and recent shootings 5/2022

Letter about George Floyd Murder 6/2020

Legislation

THE TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION ON INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL POLICIES IN THE U.S. ACT (H.R.5444 AND S.2907)

This federal Legislation is pending and would support the establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools in the U.S. The Act would establish a Commission to document the stories of survivors of the boarding schools. The Commission would be tasked with locating the records of the boarding schools in order to locate the remains of those children who did not survive the boarding schools in order to notify their tribes and consider relocation. The Spokane Tribe is actively advocating for this legislation and bringing to the community the lived experiences of tribal members along with other Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest who were taken by the U.S. government to boarding schools, including Ft. Spokane. To learn more about the “Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act” and the efforts to raise awareness of the issue visit The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition at https://boardingschoolhealing.org/truthcommission/  To learn more about the Secretary of the Interior’s report on U.S. Boarding Schools, Secretary Deb Haaland, visit the initiative site https://www.bia.gov/service/federal-indian-boarding-school-initiative  The Indian Affairs Investigative Report is available on that site.  

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S.2907, H.R. 5444) To learn more: The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and boardingschoolhealing.org/truthcommission

THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT (ICWA)

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law passed in 1978 to protect the best interests of Native American children, their families, and tribes. ICWA gives tribal governments exclusive or presumptive jurisdiction to for decisions related to the removal and placement of Native American children in custody, foster care, and adoption cases. 

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the case of Haaland vs. Brackeen, brought by the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Indiana and individual plaintiffs, which sought to declare the Indian Child Welfare Act unconstitutional. The Supreme Court upheld the law, and the ruling can be found here: 6.15.23 SCOTUS Ruling.   

• The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) issued a statement in response to the ruling: DCYF’s Response. 
• To read a response to the ruling from a Social Work faculty member, Gerry Charvat, visit the WITHub.

Educate Yourself

CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTON: The Children’s Alliance focuses on advocacy and solutions to better the lives of children and their families in three areas: Early Learning, Health, and Foundations of Care. The Alliance develops campaigns in all three areas. For more information on the Children’s Alliance and their efforts visit https://childrensalliance.org/ 

DISABILITY RIGHTS WASHINGTON: To learn more about the advocacy priorities, programs, and equity work by DRW, visit https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/

EVERY CHILD MATTERS MOVEMENT: Spokane Tribal members have joined with others to support the community awareness and education efforts that began in Canada, Every Child Matters – Orange Shirt Day, September 30th. Orange shirt day is an annual community event to raise awareness of the history of boarding schools in the U.S. and their impact on Indigenous peoples through the generations. To learn the history and meaning of Orange Shirt Day visit “The Orange Shirt Society” from Williams Lake, BC at   https://www.orangeshirtday.org/  To get involved locally, contact Sarah McNew, MSW, at smcnew@esd101.net 

FUSE WASHINGTON: FUSE Washington is a progressive organization in WA working on three major areas of public concern: tax reform, racial justice, and climate change. Interested? To learn more visit   https://fusewashington.org/

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF SOCIAL WORK (IFSW): To review the IFSW Human Rights Report-North America Region released on March 31, 2020, visit https://www.ifsw.org/34542-2/ 

LEGAL VOICE: Legal Voice is another organization that during legislative sessions advocates for gender equality and LGBTQIA+ rights. Check out their website to learn more about designated priorities for both Washington and Idaho legislative sessions: https://www.legalvoice.org/legislative-priorities

WASHINGTON STATE COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (WSCADV): Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) advocates for positive changes across the state in hopes to make resources more available and improve safety for survivors of domestic violence. They are highly involved in keeping up with legislation by tracking bills, lobbying, and informing the public on how to take action themselves. Visit WSCADV’s state legislative advocacy page.

WASHINGTON AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: To learn more about the advocacy and representation efforts of the ACLU in WA State, visit  https://aclu-wa.org/

Educate Decision Makers and the Community using Advocacy Strategies

• Research the issue to know the scope and prevalence of the problem using credible sources. Share this information with decision makers. 
• Create fact sheets, social media posts, and materials that expose disinformation and clarify misinformation. 
• Connect with advocacy organizations to build a collective voice for a cause. 
• Use a ‘justice’ lens to question policy, to ask the questions, and create solutions driven by those most impacted. 
• Support another to tell their lived experience. Lift up the lived experiences of those most impacted, sometimes that means stepping aside to give space and room for voices often ignored or made invisible. 
• Prepare yourself to testify at public hearings, speak at city council, testify at committee hearings or school board meetings, wherever and whenever possible. 
• Partner with those most impacted to organize advocacy efforts – panels, marches, rallies, vigils, forums, clinics, drives, legislative education, and on and on.  

Contacting Representatives

• Who represents me at the national level?
  • To locate contact information and current U.S. leaders, visit The White House at  https://www.whitehouse.gov/ 
  • To locate U.S. Congressional Members on Congress.gov Find Your Members by Address at https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member 
  • To watch live or view recorded sessions and committee hearings,
    • visit U.S. House of Representatives at https://www.house.gov/watch-houselive 
    • visit U.S. Senate at https://www.senate.gov/legislative/floor_activity_pail.htm 
• Who represents me at the state level?
  • WA State Legislature – Find Your District at https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder 
  • To watch live or view recorded sessions and committee hearings, go to TVW, the Washington’s Public Affairs Network at  https://tvw.org/ 
• Who represents me on the city council or county commission?
  • Visit your city or county website to locate the city council members or county commissioners. Council members represent portions of the town/city, as do the county commissioners. Representation is by address. 
• Who is my mayor or town manager?
  • Visit your city website to locate the mayor or town manager. 

Critical Media Literacy

How can you tell if you’re reading misinformation or disinformation? Check out these resources:

Center for Media Literacy

The American Psychological Association’s Misinformation and Disinformation page

EWU Associate Professor Cindy Nover’s paper about media literacy and social work

University of Washington’s Fake News, Misinformation and Disinformation page