Land Acknowledgement Information
Land acknowledgements are recognition of the Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral and contemporary land, prior to their forced removal. In speaking these acknowledgements, it is necessary to explore the current impact of colonization and systemic oppression on Indigenous Peoples; colonization is an ongoing process and we are present participants on stolen land.
There are currently no federally recognized Native American and Indigenous tribes in the State of Ohio, but a number of tribal nations in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota and Minnesota have ancestral connections to Ohio land. Among the Historic Indigenous Tribes in Ohio were the Shawnee Tribe, the Chippewa Tribe, the Ojibwa (Oh-jib-way) Tribe, the Delaware Tribe, the Wyandot Tribe, the Eel River Tribe, the Kaskaskia Tribe, the Iroquois Tribe, the Miami Tribe, the Munsee Tribe, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, the Ottawa Tribe, the Piankashaw Tribe, the Sauk Tribe, the Potawatomi Tribe, the Seneca Tribe, and the Wea (Wee) Tribe. We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples who are the traditional stewards of this land and water. We acknowledge the history of oppression and genocide that brought us here, and our place within that history. We honor the Indigenous Peoples who lived and cared for the land before us, the Indigenous Peoples who reside in Ohio today, and the generations to come.
As we gather this week to restore our roots in accountability and transformative justice, we must reflect on the connection between sexual violence as a tool of colonialism, and of oppression, that continues to this day. There is an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls with deep, intersectional roots including white supremacy and misogyny. Land acknowledgements are also a call to action: What will you commit to doing and learning today? How will you sustain this work? Please reflect on what this land acknowledgement means to you, and find ways to support Indigenous organizations in Ohio.
Orgs:
- Cleveland American Indian Movement
- Lake Erie Native American Council
- Myaamia Center through Miami University
- The Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition
- The Miami Valley Council for Native Americans
- The Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio
Shandra Witherspoon, OAESV Director of Coordinated Community Responses
Kasie Holmes, Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern
Dr. Ebony Speakes-Hall is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is also the founder of Dr. Ebony Speakes-Hall and Associates, where she offers clinical services and individual and corporate coaching. Dr. Ebony consults with businesses and nonprofits in diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Dr. Ebony is a tenure-track Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati. She serves as the President for the ACLU of Ohio. She is also the Vice-President of the National Association of Social Workers. Dr. Ebony is an advocate for LGBT rights, youth in foster care, human trafficking victims, and impacted communities. She is a sought-out motivational speaker for her candid talks on the relationship dynamics and issues facing Black women in America.
Dr. Speakes-Hall earned her Doctor of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University and a Master of Divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.
Workshop #18 - Thinking beyond the system: Liberation through transformative justice
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The mainstream anti-violence movement thrives on criminalization and policing. It has often excluded the most marginalized survivors (survivors of color, trans survivors, sex workers, etc.) who are impacted by the various levels of oppression. Therefore, it is important to go back to the roots of the anti-violence movement that addresses sexual and domestic violence within the context of institutionalized state-sanctioned violence. This workshop will discuss the shift within the anti-violence movement from being rooted in community-based projects to relying on state funding to serve survivors. It will use a transformative justice framework to address violence, harm, and abuse faced by the most vulnerable survivors of violence. The core of the workshop will be scenarios and examples that will help participants use TJ principles and a liberatory approach to violence.
Megha Rimal is a domestic violence advocate, abolitionist, and social worker in training who is committed to building a violence-free world based on economic and racial justice. Megha is a Nepali-born immigrant who resides in Central Ohio with her family. She has experience working with immigrant and refugee survivors and currently works as an advocate at The Center For Family Safety and Healing (TCFSH). Megha is committed to intersectional and anti-oppressive advocacy and movement building. She holds a BA from Mt. Holyoke College in Gender Studies and Anthropology and is pursuing an MSW at Case Western Reserve University. During her spare time, Megha loves exploring new places, hiking, practicing yoga, and cooking with her partner.
Katherine Brandt is a social worker and activist focused on ending all forms of violence and changing our cultural and economic systems to enable people to thrive. She previously worked in intimate partner violence prevention and now works in childcare and early childhood education access. She has a Master of Social Work from Ohio State University.
Jessica Camacho is a longtime anti-violence activist and social justice community organizer living in central Ohio. In 2013, Jessica helped spearhead efforts to ensure Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients gained eligibility for in-state tuition and driver’s licenses in Ohio. Jessica served as Vice President for the Central Ohio Workers Center (COWC) where she pursued justice for immigrants and workers through legislative advocacy and grassroots community organizing. As an intern at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Jessica worked with social workers around the state to help support immigrant families impacted by immigration enforcement and state violence. Jessica currently works at The Center for Family Safety and Healing (TCFSH), where continues to build bridges between movements and communities to help end violence.
Workshop #19 - Growing in Partnership: Nourishing the Roots of Campus Advocacy through Community Collaboration
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This session will walk participants through the process of partnering and coordinating various campus groups to expand campus advocacy services. New Directions has built partnerships with the Title IX Office, the Health and Counseling Center, and an existing group of students called the Sexual Respect Peer Alliance on Kenyon College campus in Gambier, Ohio. As an unaffiliated community partner, New Directions has been able to mediate and focus the various goals of these different groups to develop a set of common goals to expand campus advocacy and meet the needs of survivors. Participants will gain key takeaways about how they can replicate this community collaboration with campuses in their own communities.
Lauren Lochotzki has served as the Sexual Assault Advocate since 2015. She obtained a B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Psychology from Bowling Green State University. In her role, Lauren primarily works with survivors of sexual violence, providing support by meeting survivors where they are in their healing process and helping them navigate through their trauma. She facilitates support and educational groups for survivors, the Knox County SART (Sexual Assault Response Team), Darkness to Light Stewards of Children, Safe Zone, and Safe Bars, and also supervises volunteers. Lauren is very passionate about being a support to survivors as well as preventing sexual violence before it starts. Other than New Directions, Lauren’s favorite things are her two children, camping, spending time with family, and coffee.
Workshop #20 - Impact of and Resolutions for Vicarious Trauma in Law Enforcement and Prosecution System
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Click here for the PDF of “Professional Quality of Life Scale.”
Vicarious Trauma is real and it’s affecting our prosecutors, victim advocates, law enforcement and communities. In government and law enforcement settings, vicarious trauma isn’t always discussed and leads staff to quickly burnout, have compassion fatigue, or engage in poor self-care routines which can lead to victims not getting the care they need either. This workshop will explore vicarious trauma, its impact on individuals, communities and workplaces. Participants will learn about the PRO-QOL compassion satisfaction/fatigue scale to help them gauge their own levels of vicarious trauma. Participants will then learn concrete ways to address vicarious trauma and explore ways to combat this in themselves and their organizations and advocate for reasonable accommodations and changes within systems to decrease the level of burnout and increase compassionate response.
Click here to access the pre-workshop materials.
Donna Holbert began her career as a legal advocate in 2004, pursuing a college degree as a non-traditional student to further her knowledge and understanding in order to empower and support the silent, vulnerable, and hurting within her community. She currently works with the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office as their Child/Sexual Assault & Domestic Crimes Advocate. Donna has extensive training in Trauma-Informed Care, Criminal Justice Advocacy, Domestic Violence, Victim Services, and Grant Writing. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Miami University, Oxford, OH while working full-time with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. She was awarded an Advocate award by her colleagues with the Butler County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council in 2010. She has written and been recommended for funding for VOCA Grants and VAWA Grants. Donna is experienced with Domestic Violence Civil Protection Orders and Stalking Civil Protection Orders, and she has experience as a legal assistant with a law firm. Donna has planned, organized, and facilitated National Crime Victims’ Right Week events, trained deputies and other law enforcement on victim services and victim rights, and participated in classroom lecture and panel discussions at Miami University, Hamilton and Middletown, OH. She currently serves as Chairperson of a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force as well as Co-Chair of a Sexual Assault Response Team. Donna is a public servant and a champion for victim rights.
Casey Frazee Katz has more than ten years of experience working with issues of sexual and interpersonal violence in a variety of organizations and settings, including community agencies, non-profits, and government. In her current position, she was instrumental in expanding WHW’s rape crisis program to a dual-serving program offering full services to survivors of any type of gender-based violence as well as launching the Sexual Assault Response Team for Butler County in conjunction with prosecution and law enforcement partners. Under her leadership, the Butler County office of WHW received an award for ‘showing up whenever needed in the community.’ Casey is also an independently licensed counselor and works in private practice. Certified in EMDR therapy, her practice focuses on working with people who have survived traumatic experiences, particularly sexual and domestic violence. Focused on systemic change and self-care, Casey is an ardent social justice advocate.
Workshop #21 - Working with Military Sexual Assault Victims: A Community Approach
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This workshop will discuss military culture, structure, and military in Ohio. Attendees will gain understanding of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. The workshop will include reporting options, the reporting process of sexual assault in the military, barriers, benefits, and limitations to reporting sexual assault in the military. The workshop will discuss how community partners can coordinate sexual assault response to military sexual assault victims.
Shelly Trimble is a Clinical Social Worker with 18 years of experience in working with victims of trauma. She received her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor (LISW-S) and is certified in with the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Advocate Program, Level 4 (D-SAACP IV). Her experience includes working for the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Air Force. Areas of expertise include medical social work, substance abuse and addition, dual diagnosis, mental health treatment, homeless veterans, sexual assault, PTSD, and military social work. Ms. Trimble is a Level 2 iRest® Teacher and brings iRest to the military population and the local community.
Rosa Beltré, OAESV Executive Director
Caitlin Burke, OAESV Director of Prevention
Funding for this conference was made possible in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as by the Rape Crisis Funding awarded by the Ohio Governor’s office, administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers or moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services or of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.