In 2020 and 2021, RWN Foundation has been honored to support to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center’s creation of a national tribal policy institute dedicated to increasing the safety of Native women and strengthening sovereignty of Indian tribes.
As NIWRC writes, “The development of a tribal policy center to strategically advance the restoration of the safety of Native women requires a strong national movement that includes the voices of women and the families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).” RWN Foundation’s grants will support NIWRC-led national convenings of tribal organizations, survivors, and MMIW families, to identify the foundational legal and policy barriers to the safety of Native women, and to generate collective policy recommendations that center Native voices and needs, push for systemic change, and serve as a call to action for tribes and community members.
The RWN Foundation grant will also support the creation and distribution of healthy bathing bundles, which serve a tandem benefit to survivors leaving abuse and trafficking by providing added sanitation (in the context of a spreading pandemic) as well as the means to engage in traditional rituals of cleansing, healing, and renewal.