CILS Provides Regional ICWA Trainings

Mary Risling, directing attorney of the Eureka office, leads a team of CILS staff providing training on the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”) throughout the state. Sponsored by the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP), these trainings are being provided at no cost to judges, commissioners and referees, county counsel, attorneys representing parents and children, county social workers, tribal leaders, tribal social workers, and other ICWA advocates. A modest fee is charged for attorneys earning legal education credits. 

Yurok tribal members prepare a traditional salmon meal at a recent ICWA training

The OCJP also underwrote CILS' 2000 revision of the California Judges' Benchguide to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The California Judicial Council assisted the training project by sending a copy of the Benchguide to each juvenile bench officer in the State of California. The Benchguide has been posted on the CILS website, and may be downloaded, or a hard-copy of the guide may be obtained from CILS at cost.

The all-day training begins with an historical and present-day overview of Indian Tribes and tribal members in California. The experiences of Indian families and how community and cultural factors affect their responses to the California child welfare system have been of particular interest to judicial officers and social workers especially. 

The training then shifts to a discussion of the principles of federal Indian law before focusing on the statutory provisions of the ICWA. The afternoon session focuses on issues that attendees preselected and prioritized for more in-depth coverage and discussion.

One of the larger sessions took place in McKinleyville, in Humboldt County, on August 3, 2001. That training was co-hosted by the Yurok Tribe and the Humboldt County Department of Social Services. 

Tribal participation made this event very special as members of the Yurok and Hoopa Tribes provided demonstrations of traditional dances in their full regalia and the Yurok Tribe generously provided a traditional salmon lunch. Members of the Yurok Tribe caught salmon for this special event and cooked the salmon on alderwood stakes around a large open fire pit in the traditional Yurok way. CILS thanks the Yurok Tribe for their generous hospitality.