Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 88 F O R T H E L o v e O F . . . ANOTHER OUTSTANDING MONTANA NONPROFIT. T H E N AT I O N A L I N D I G E N O U S W O M E N ' S R E S O U R C E C E N T E R T HE NIWRC, OR NA- TIONAL INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER, IS DOING BIG THINGS AROUND THE WORLD. But their main office is in a tiny town on the North- ern Cheyenne: the town of Lame Deer, Montana, where Executive Director Lucy Simpson works tirelessly to advocate for Native American women who have suffered domestic abuse. The NIWRC mission, in their own words, is to "to provide national leadership to end vio- lence against American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian women by supporting culturally grounded, grassroots advocacy." Mallory Adamsky (Diné) is the Director of Communications and Advancement for the NIWRC, and she explains the kind of work they are doing, saying that the NIWRC "is a national, Native women-led nonprofit orga- nization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children by upholding the sovereignty of Native nations. One of our primary goals is to provide national leadership in advocating for the safety of Native victim-survivors of violence by lifting up the voices of tribes and grassroots advocates working to address gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, sex trafficking, and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls." The NIWRC doesn't only service Montana, but offers support to, as Adamsky says, "tribes, programs, and grassroots advocates as they build capacity in serving and advocating for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian victim-sur- vivors of violence in their communities." Adamsky has worked with the NIWRC for four years. She joined in 2016 after being invit- ed to speak at a media confer- ence as an independent jour- nalist covering violence against Native women. She says that "the previous communica- tions officer told me about the opportunity to be a part of the first domestic violence hotline for American Indians and Alaska Natives," and ever since she has it "has been an honor to grow with and learn alongside the incredible stronghearted advocates that make up NIWRC's family." The NIWRC has many national and tribal partners, including Battered Women's Justice Project, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Indian Law Resource Center, National Congress of American Indi- ans, and the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. Adamsky says that there are many resourc- es for anyone, especially Native Americans, who are the victims of domestic violence. If you or someone you know are a Native American and have been the victim of domestic violence, she says that the NIWRC also encourages "reaching out to StrongHearts Native Helpline, which is a culturally-based domestic violence, sexual violence and dating violence helpline for our relatives. It is a free, national service that provides peer support, information and education on domestic and sexual vio- lence, and referrals to tribal and Native support programs every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT." by MALLORY ADAMSKI

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