by Esther Anne, Policy Associate II, Catherine Cutler Institute, University of Southern Maine and REACH volunteer and Amanda Hollander, Training Specialist, Office of Child and Family Services State of Maine, and REACH volunteer.

Since April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and since Wabanaki REACH was created out of work with children in the state child welfare system and their families, we thought it an appropriate time to share our experiences facilitating a training for State caseworkers on the 1978 federal Indian Child Welfare Act. 

Through our professional careers, we have the honor of providing educational experiences to state child protective caseworkers about ICWA, which is widely considered the Gold Standard in child welfare policy and practice. We share history and discuss what led to the necessity of a law such as ICWA. Caseworkers view a video of Tribal citizens sharing their stories of being in state custody prior to ICWA, they learn about state ICWA policy, and they practice making decisions through an interactive simulation exercise. 

The ICWA training session has grown over the years. In 1999, when child welfare staff from the Tribes and state came together to create an educational experience for caseworkers that would lead to increased compliance with ICWA, the training session was no more than an hour. Now, we spend the day with caseworkers as they learn, reflect and apply this new knowledge and we avail ourselves to any questions they may have that day or any day in the future.

In this blog post, we each reflect on the experience of sharing history with caseworkers.

Learning History

The part of the ICWA training session that has seen the most transformation is the one we start with and take our time with; it is the history telling. 

Esther: “In the past, we would do an activity to illustrate how much participants knew about Wabanaki Nations and follow this with an hour-long lecture with slides sharing the history of what happened in this territory, in Wabanakik. 

Well, as you can imagine, some had a hard time. While many appreciated learning and geez, some even knew more history than we did, but yeah, some caseworkers seemed to “check out” like they wouldn’t or couldn’t take in anymore, some of them had never heard any of this information and some got defensive, especially around the data about the negative impact sports team mascots have on native youth.

And it was not the best experience for me, either, not that sharing this painful history is ever good, but this way was making it more difficult to connect with the participants. I was also struggling with their discomfort and fighting the urge to make it all better, if that makes any sense… yeah, it impacted the connection, which we know helps us teach better and learn better.

Well, everything changed when we switched to telling the history of Wabanakik through Wabanaki REACH’s popular program Interacting with Wabanaki Maine History. In this program, we gather in a circle, center ourselves and participants step on to a fabric map of the state of Maine, they represent Wabanaki people, and we tell the story of Wabanaki people and people of European descent here in this territory by taking them through an interactive script. We then gather back in the circle to re-center ourselves, become present, reflect and share with each other what we think and feel about this new knowledge.

Throughout the rest of the day’s activities, I noticed right off that the caseworkers were asking much more thoughtful and critical questions. It was like they had a different lens in which to see families of all Tribal Nations.”

Sitting with Discomfort

A critical part of the IWMH program is the circle, which provides space to reflect, listen, and share.

Amanda: “As a white facilitator with mostly white participants, it’s been an important experience to sit with the uncomfortable truth of colonization. One of the greatest gifts of working with Esther is learning to sit with that discomfort while still having compassion for ourselves and each other. We do not shy away from the truth or try to make the discomfort easier. This also has become a beautiful example for social workers to practice sitting with families in crisis. Our job as social workers is not to manufacture or force change, but instead to sit with them during a dark time in their life and witness their self determination to change. Social workers are not fixers, but instead witnesses and supports. Sitting with the discomfort of colonization is an important part of this program and one that has taught me so much about the internal decolonization that I continue to strive for as a Mainer, a mother, a social worker, and a friend.”

Bringing in Our Whole Selves

The IWMH program is a highly effective way to learn because it requires participants to experience history intellectually with their minds, emotionally with their hearts, and physically with their bodies. 

Esther:  “Even when we just used the powerpoint slides, I would, of course, share history and the current overwhelming evidence of the strength, tenacity, and beauty of Wabanaki people and our ways of knowing and being. While I was in the role of facilitator, you know in charge of ensuring a safe space in which the participants are able to bring their whole selves, I was not feeling safe to do that myself. 

That changed when we started implementing IWMH into the training sessions. I slowly started by introducing myself in Passamaquoddy, bringing food to share, sharing stories of growing up in Sipayik, lighting smudge, and adapting the circle guidelines. We all know whomever holds the talking piece gets to talk while the rest listen. I added the expectation that whomever has the talking piece will receive positive regard and attention from the rest whether they speak or not for at least a few minutes. It benefits everyone for each of us to give and receive in this way.”

Amanda: Watching Esther share more and more language and rituals with participants allowed me to be more vulnerable and authentic. I feel so grateful to be able to practice being fully myself and fully present in the room. My whiteness is just a fact. Finding ways to sit with the discomfort instead of the shame allows me to be fully present in the room and bring my whole self to the experience. This is another important aspect to model for participants. I am so grateful for Esther’s leadership and vulnerability. I continue to learn something new every day.”

Esther: “I continue to learn from Amanda, too. She is super knowledgeable and her way of connecting with participants is exceptional. She had some big shoes to fill when Martha Proulx retired. I so appreciate how Amanda holds participants and herself accountable with such compassion and understanding, I imagine the participants appreciate it, too.”