Our Services: Webinar on Evaluating Tribal Utility Authority Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy, in partnership with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), is hosting a free webinar titled “Evaluating Tribal Utility Authority Opportunities” on Wednesday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mountain Time.

Many tribes have found success in facilitating energy development on native lands by advancing initiatives under some form of tribal utility authority. In this webinar, tribal leaders and community members will learn about the benefits and challenges of forming a tribal utility authority, including the many opportunities associated with wholesale tariffs, direct access service, net-metering arrangements, and use of substations and infrastructure, among other utility services. Attendees will also learn about the unique authority of sovereign nations to select new energy service providers, implement eminent domain, license dams, and negotiate right-of-way agreements.

The webinar will begin with an introduction from Lizana Pierce of the Office of Indian Energy, followed by a Bonneville Power Administration video of four tribal utilities in the Northwest titled “Northwest Tribes Provide Electricity, Prove Power to Lead.” The video will be followed by a presentation from Margie Schaff of Margaret Schaff and Associates, LLC, on opportunities to develop tribal utility authorities. Ray Wiseman, General Manager for Yakama Power, will then share a case study on Yakama Power's experience as a tribal-owned utility.

There is no charge to attend, but registration is required. Register now for this webinar, and learn more about the 2018 Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination through Community Energy Development webinar series. For more case studies of tribes who have transitioned to ownership and operation of tribal electric utilities, see Tribal Authority Process Case Studies: The Conversion of On-Reservation Electric Utilities to Tribal Ownership and Operation.

Link: https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/june-27-webinar-evaluating-tribal-utility-authority-opportunities

Our Professionals: Direlle Calica , First Native American Woman to Lead the Institute for Tribal Government

Direlle Calica appointed as new Director of PSU’s Institute for Tribal Government

Author: Institute for Tribal Government

Posted: August 22, 2017

Direlle R. Calica, J.D. has recently been hired to lead the Institute for Tribal Government of PSU’s Center for Public Service, which itself is part of the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government within the College of Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA). Ms. Calica is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and is of Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakama, Molalla, and Snoqualamie tribal descent. Ms. Calica is a Portland State University alumna, graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Ms. Calica has more than 20 years of experience as a legislative, policy, planning, and regulatory advisor. She has worked in the field of Tribal Relations for the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District of Oregon) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has been an advisor to various Indian Tribes on external relations. Ms. Calica also has extensive professional experience in intergovernmental affairs, hydro system planning related to tribes, environmental entrepreneurship, and tribal energy policy. She has also served as a White House Intern and as a Mark O. Hatfield Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate.

Ms. Calica has also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Indian Law Program at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, where she received her Juris Doctorate with a focus on Federal Indian Law, Business and Natural Resource law. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Northwest Energy Coalition, Our Native American Business & Entrepreneur Network (ONABEN) and she is a Bonneville Environmental Foundation (B-E-F) Director Emeritus. Ms. Calica is the Managing Partner of Kanim Associates, LLC which is a Native American, women, and Veteran owned consulting company. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, and the WSBA Environmental Law Section.

“I am deeply honored to be named to this position, and I look forward to working to help foster and forge academic, economic, social and cultural collaborations and advance the Institute for Tribal Government’s programming to match the rapidly evolving aspects of modern tribal governance,” Ms. Calica noted.

About the Institute for Tribal Government: The Institute for Tribal Government is part of the Center for Public Service, a unit of the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. The Institute serves elected tribal governments from across the nation and provides training to local, state, and federal government agencies, and others who are interested in learning about tribal government. The Institute’s current programming includes a year-long Professional Certificate in Tribal Relations, which is designed as a transformational professional development opportunity for “tribal liaisons” and other public service professionals working in Indian Country to increase their understanding and capacity for effective coordination with tribal governments and staff. The Institute was founded in 2000 and former directors have included Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, Roy Sampsel, and Don Sampson. A Tribal Policy Board consisting of elected tribal chairpersons, directors of tribal governmental and policy organizations, and representatives of institutions of higher education provide policy guidance to the Institute.

Contact: Michaela Stroup Madrid (503) 725-9000

Link: https://www.pdx.edu/hr/news/direlle-calica-appointed-new-director-psu%E2%80%99s-institute-tribal-government

Our Stories: Shirod Younker Selected as NACF Fellow

The Foundation awards national and regional fellowships to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists. Visit current grant opportunities and open calls to learn more about current opportunities.

National Artist

Since 2011, the NACF has supported artists whose innovative and multifaceted approaches to literature, dance, visual arts, film, storytelling, music, and traditional arts strengthen culture, foster creativity and economic opportunity, and impact issues of social progress, environmental sustainability, and cultural equity.

Mentor Artist

We honor mentor and apprentice artists by facilitating the intergenerational transfer of cultural knowledge and artistic skill in traditional and contemporary visual arts.

August 2017, Shirod was selected to be a Fellow. Younker is one of the keepers of his tribe’s cultural knowledge. His passion and commitment for understanding, learning, and regaining what his tribe lost from policies of government assimilation has been unrelenting. He has spent countless hours and unending dedication researching historical archives so he may teach, practice, and revive valuable artistic ancestral practice and knowledge.

For his 2017 NACF Mentor Artist Fellowship, Shirod Younker will mentor his apprentice, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, in traditional and contemporary tool making, canoe paddle carving and canoe model making. This craft once thrived among virtually every coastal and river tribe throughout the Pacific Northwest; however, today, too many youth are unaware of the cultural and historical significance of this art practice. Therefore, Shirod works to imbue these traditional wisdoms into his teachings so that his apprentices and students may fully comprehend the interconnectedness between spiritual wisdom and Native art aesthetics in both traditional and contemporary canoe model and canoe paddle making.

As a citizen of a restored tribe, much of his tribe’s cultural foundation has been recuperated from his collection of historic text and from community elders’ oral teachings about traditional knowledge. Thus, Younker’s years of research—through old unpublished documents and journals as well as artifact collections—has been critical in piecing together the progress his tribe has made recovering original language and art. Through his endeavor, he has been emotionally moved by the insight he has gained and wants to instill the tribe’s ancestral spiritual beliefs into art practices again, which may inspire artisans, crafters, and the community to learn more of their language and songs.

“I teach because our connection to each other is the true lesson our ancestors want to show us with their art.” – Shirod Younker

More information: https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/

Our Stories: Shirod Younker Artist in Residence at Crow's Shadow Institute

Shirod Younker artist in residence and artwork created at Crow’s Shadow Insitute.

Through grants from several charitable foundations, Crow’s Shadow is typically able to fund three to six Artists-in-Residence each year. Artists participating in these residencies usually spend two weeks in the studio developing limited-edition prints, which are then hand-pulled by Crow’s Shadow’s Tamarind-trained Master Printer, Judith Baumann. Most of the artists who are invited to the studio are not printmakers–they typically specialize in other areas of visual art and the Master Printer’s technical expertise allows them to realize a project in a media that they would not otherwise be able to accomplish.  The final prints enter the Crow’s Shadow permanent collection, housed both in our studio and at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon. Prints published by Crow’s Shadow Press have traveled extensively to galleries and cultural institutions around the region and nationally.

Residencies are invitational only and artists are selected by a committee of art professionals. Artists-in-Residence (AiRs) are nominated for a residency based on the quality of their work and their potential to reflect the mission of Crow’s Shadow.

Crow’s Shadow Institute

Phone: (541) 276-3954

Email: info@crowsshadow.org

Visiting hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Mailing Address: 48004 St. Andrews Road, Pendleton OR 97801