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Effective Communication Skills with Victims and Survivors: Including Cultural Considerations
Length: 1.5 Hours
This workshop introduces basic communication skills to assist professionals in communicating with indigenous and with non-indigenous victims/survivors in a sensitive and effective manner. ACEs, FETI, Person-First language; these are only a few of the adapted tools being presented to more effectively communicate with victims and survivors in a culturally and spiritually sensitive manner. After all, educated, intelligent people may not be as culturally or spiritually wise as they would like. So, let’s consider how to better communicate in order to make a positive difference in more human beings’ lives.
Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Recall at least three communication skills necessary for providers to successfully advocate for and support indigenous crime victims and survivors.
- Examine the impact of generational trauma on victims and how it can influence communication.
- Identify at least two culturally specific active listening skills.
*This presentation was originally recorded at IVAT’s 21st Hawai`i International Summit on Preventing, Assessing & Treating Trauma Across the Lifespan, April 8th-11th, 2024 in Honolulu, Hawai`i*
Tanya Grassel-Krietlow, FAST Manager, The South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault
Tanya is an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribal Nation, where her mom was born and raised. She graduated high school in Chamberlain, SD, went to UMM- Morris, graduated from SDSU with a BA in Psychology, and then attended grad school at USD. Tanya’s son recently graduated from the Indian Police Academy. He is employed by the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. Her husband, Kurt, is a real-life Daniel Boone who hunts and fishes as hard as he works. We are a family that cooks what we harvest and are equal parts outdoorsy, tree hugger, and river rat. Tanya has been privileged to have had a lot of career paths from law enforcement to education to grants management. All have involved working with Native Americans and their families. She currently lives in Pierre, SD and is working with The South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault as Program Manager for the FAST Tribal Sexual Assault Initiative.
Gayle Thom, CEO - Chief Enthusiasm Officer, FAST Tribal Sexual Assault Initiative - SD Network
Gayle Thom was honored to work for 10 years responding to violent crime scenes in Tribal communities, assisting victims, survivors, and their families through the investigative and often through the prosecution phases of the criminal justice system. She served on the FBI’s nationwide Rapid Deployment and Evidence Response Teams that responded to critical incidents across the country; such as Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and the Red Lake Nation school shooting. Gayle was the first FBI direct-service Victim Specialist, implementing the program in what DOJ calls “Indian Country”. The program has now grown to 40+ FBI Indian Country Victim Specialists. She also was privileged to help implement the CAP Crash Assistance Program for the SD Highway Patrol, and assisted with developing the first Victim Assistance Academy training for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Victim Specialists.
