Collaboration Between Federal, State, and Tribal Organizations: A Story of Equity for Minnesota Tribal Children and Families

This session demonstrates intentional collaboration to support parent voice and leadership. Indigenous Visioning is an American Indian organization that was established to support tribal communities through local, regional, state, and national partnerships. It is creating a community-driven project to strengthen families and communities through an Indigenized Parent Leadership Training in Minnesota. Participants will experience what can happen for tribal families when leaders from the national and state level not only include tribal representatives in a statewide needs assessment, but also provide direct funding to BIPOC communities. Through the state’s Preschool Development Grant needs assessment, American Indian family voices were prioritized. This helped define the need for ongoing avenues for parent voices to be heard and the need for efforts to support tribal communities through culturally specific parent engagement. As a result, Indigenous Visioning launched a new parent leadership training project for White Earth and Red Lake Nations. Indigenized Parent Leadership Training in Minnesota is modeled on the nationally accredited and evidence-based Parent Leadership Training Institute curriculum.