For the Children
“Where are you?” A question that echoes across Native Country as generations have fought for the return of loved ones to their families, Native Nations, and the land that knows their names and calls them home. The gift of our Ancestors as we confront the colonial past is this: we have the answers to achieve justice and healing, they are carried in our stories, our land and our DNA. This presentation will discuss this framework and the opportunity to build a world where love, compassion, gratitude and reciprocity are more than ideals, instead they are every action. For the love of Native people, we will be whole again.
Speaker
Abigail Echohawk, citizen of the Pawnee Nation, Executive Vice President, Seattle Indian Health Board & Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute
Labeled the “Unapologetic Auntie of Indigenous Data” by the New York Times, Abigail Echo-Hawk is a national leader in public health research and the decolonization of data. She is revolutionizing the integration of Indigenous knowledge within public health systems and reshaping how governments, institutions, and medical professionals approach health for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Echo-Hawk’s groundbreaking research and tireless advocacy around violence against Indigenous women have spurred policy changes across all levels of government. As a leading voice in the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) crisis, she co-authored a report that brought national attention to the data issues and the staggering number of MMIWG cases in 71 urban cities across the U.S.
Echo-Hawk has served on a number of scientific research committees, including for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which oversaw the development of a framework for an equitable distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.
A proud citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, Echo-Hawk is the executive vice president of Seattle Indian Health Board and director of its research division, Urban Indian Health Institute. Through these roles, she continues to champion Indigenous health, using her platform to inspire and drive meaningful change.
About the Conference
The Association’s “10th Annual Repatriation Conference: Igniting Change” continued our longstanding legacy to provide comprehensive training and expertise at a grassroots level to strengthen our collective futures. The 10th Annual Repatriation Conference was hosted by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe at their Paragon Resort in Marksville, Louisiana on February 25, 26 & 27, 2025.
The theme Igniting Change reflected the Association’s commitment to sparking meaningful progress in repatriation efforts. By addressing the harms of the past and pushing for accountability and collaboration, the Association inspired transformative change in the way institutions engage with Native Nations. This Conference focused on creating new pathways for collaboration, implementing updated laws and regulations, and ensuring the return of Ancestors, their burial belongings, and sensitive cultural heritage.
The Conference was an intensive training experience and called upon our collective courage to spark respectful and collaborative repatriation practices that recognize Native Peoples as the true holders and carriers of their own diverse cultures.
Together, we ignited profound change as we recognized the harms of the past and actively worked together to tend our new fire.
To learn more, visit: Indian-Affairs.org
Find us online and like, share and follow us!
Facebook: @AssociationonAmericanIndianAffairs
Instagram: @associndianaffairs
Threads: @associndianaffairs
Twitter: @IndianAffairs
YouTube: @associndianaffairs
LinkedIn: @AssociationonAmericanIndianAffairs
TikTok: @americanindianaffairsorg
Comments are closed.