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The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

Working for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation for Boarding School Survivors and Descendants

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Board and Staff

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

Our Mission: To lead in the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy.

How We Started

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in June 2012 under the laws of the Navajo Nation.

We were formed after a national symposium in 2011. Leaders from the U.S. and Canada came together to discuss the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the need for such a process in the U.S.

NABS was created to develop and implement a national strategy that increases public awareness and cultivates healing for the profound trauma experienced by individuals, families, communities, American Indian and Alaska Native Nations resulting from the U.S. adoption and implementation of the Boarding School Policy of 1869.

NABS was fiscally sponsored by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) until it became financially independent in 2015.

Board of Directors

Chief Ben Barnes
Chief Benjamin Barnes
(Shawnee)

President

Ramona Klein
Ramona Klein, Ed. D
(Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa)

1st Vice President

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James LaBelle Sr.
(Inupiaq)

2nd Vice President

Theresa Sheldon
Theresa Sheldon
(Tulalip tribes)

Treasurer

Rochelle Ettawageshik
Rochelle Ettawageshik
(Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians)

Secretary

Juana square
Juana Majel-Dixon, Ph.D.
(Pauma-Yuima Band of Luiseño Indians)
Agnes Attakai
Agnes Attakai, MPA
(Diné/Navajo Nation)

 

Rory Wheeler
Rory Wheeler
(Seneca Nation)

 

Staff

1
Deborah Parker
(Tulalip Tribes) 
Chief Executive Officer

 

Samuel Torres
Samuel B. Torres, Ed.D.
(Mexica/Nahua)
Deputy Chief Executive Officer

 

3
Jennifer Blevins, Ph.D.
Director of Operations

 

Sandy square
Sandy White Hawk
(Sicangu Lakota)
Elder in residence

 

Deidre Whiteman
DEIDRE WHITEMAN
(spirit lake dakota/hidatsa)
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

 

Fallon Carey
Fallon Carey
(Cherokee Nation)
Digital Archives Manager

 

6
Iko'tsimiskimaki "Ekoo" Beck
(Blackfeet/Red River Métis)
Community Engagement Coordinator

 

Moki Bear Eagle
Moki Bear Eagle
(Oglala Lakota)
Oral Historian

 

Tom Kinley
Tom Kinley
(Lummi Nation)
Human Resources Manager

 

Kathy Howkumi
Kathy Howkumi
(Pueblo of Nambe)
Grants Manager

 

Serene Thin Elk stands in front of bookshelves, smiling, wearing black and long dentalium earrings.
Serene Thin Elk, MA, LPC-MH, LAC
(Ihanktonwan Dakota)
Director of Indigenous Mindfulness

 

Tsinni Russell
Tsinni Russell
(Diné)
Digital Archives Specialist

 

Lacey Kinnart
Lacey Kinnart
(Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Ojibwe)
Oral History Program Operations Manager

 

Charlee Brissette
Charlee Brissette
(Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Ojibwe)
Oral History Program Manager

 

Alicia Horne
Alicia Horne
(Tulalip)
Executive Assistant

 

staff photos (3)
Dr. Ponka-We Victors-Cozad
(Tohono O’odham Nation/Ponca Tribe)
Director of Policy & Advocacy
Dr. Gerry
Dr. Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell
(Native Hawaiian)
Oral History Project Specialist

 

sherrie photo
Sherrie Catanach
(Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Director of Communications

 

 

Tyesha Ignacio
Tyesha Ignacio
(Diné)
Policy & Development Associate
Denise Lajimodiere
Dr. Denise Lajimodiere
(Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa)
Oral Historian

 

Arlin Yazzie
Arlin Yazzie
(Diné/Navajo Nation)
Salesforce Administrator

 

River Freemont (NABS Digital Archives Specialist) stands in front of a grassy plain wearing a red-clay colored button-up, earrings, and a septum piercing.
River Freemont
(UMONHON/TURTLE MOUNTAIN CHIPPEWA DESCENDANT)
Digital Archives Specialist

 

Previous Board Members

We are grateful to our previous Board Members for their service and commitment to boarding school healing. Thank you!

  • Travis Miller, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans (2020-2025)
  • Maka Akan Najin Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Tribe (2020-2023)
  • Ruth Anna Buffalo, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (2018-2025)
  • Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (2018-2024)
  • Dr. Joannie M. Suina, Ed.D., Pueblo of Cochiti (2018-2023)
  • Vance Blackfox, Cherokee Nation (2017-2019)
  • Henry Cagey, Lummi Nation( 2017-2019)
  • Jacob Davis, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (2016-2018)
  • Sandy White Hawk, Sicangu Lakota (2015-2022)
  • Sarah Eagle Heart, Oglala Lakota (2015-2021)
  • Chase Iron Eyes, Standing Rock (2015-2017)
  • Elicia Goodsoldier, Dine/Spirit Lake Dakota (2015-2016)
  • Marlene Helgemo, Ho-Chunk Nation (2014-2020)
  • Jerilyn DeCoteau, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (2014-2018)
  • Patricia Whitefoot, Yakama Nation (2014-2017)
  • Andrea Carmen, Yaqui Nation (2014-2016)
  • Denise Lajimodiere, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (2012-2018)
  • Edna Brillion, Haida/Cree (2012-2015)
  • Rosemary Gibbons, Mimbres Apache/ Chicana
  • Don Coyhis, Mohican

Coalition

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is a membership organization comprised of over 700 Native and Non-Native members and organizations committed to boarding school healing.

All Members of the Board of Directors are Regular Members of the Coalition. Learn how to become a Coalition Member.