Fall 2020
Q & A with Aaron Bird Bear
Aaron Bird Bear, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa & Diné nations, was named UW-Madison’s first director of tribal relations in March 2020.
What goals do you have for your position, and how can Extension help you achieve them?
Tribal Relations units across higher education in the United States serve as resources to enhance partnerships and advance mutual goals between Native Nations and universities. The Director of Tribal Relations position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was created to help lead strategic engagement opportunities, special projects and initiatives for UW-Madison with the Native Nations of Wisconsin and affiliated organizations such as the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) or the Great Lakes Intertribal Council (GLITC). To accomplish this, the Tribal Relations Director has a 50% appointment with the Division of Extension and a 50% appointment with the Office of University Relations. The Tribal Relations Director serves as a primary contact and resource on behalf of campus leadership and the first goal is to create and manage a collaborative effort to improve the structure through which UW-Madison and tribal governments communicate on matters of shared concern. Currently, the Native Nations-UW Working Group Advisory Council composed of tribal representatives from each of the 12 Native Nations of Wisconsin supports the new Tribal Relations Director at UW-Madison.
The Tribal Relations Director is asked to help develop a plan of work, priority setting, and stakeholder and partnership engagement. The 12 tribal governments each shared their interests with UW-Madison in 2016 and 2019, and seven areas of focus were identified in the 2017 Native Nations-UW Strategic Plan: 1) Relationship Building, 2) Education Pathways, 3) Native Campus Climate; 4) Research Relationships, 5) Environment and Natural Resources, 6) Language and Culture, and 7) Health. To help address these interests, the Tribal Relations Director promotes alignments between Native Nations needs/priorities and Extension programming. Additionally, the Tribal Relations position is intended to facilitate greater engagement between Extension and campus-based researchers in relation to research and outreach relevant to Native Nations, including supporting efforts of the Division of Extension Native American Task Force. Another goal Tribal Relations is currently working towards is an inventory of Division of Extension programs and services connected to the 12 Native Nations of Wisconsin to assess if the interests and priorities shared in 2016 and 2019 by the Native Nations of Wisconsin are being met with Extension programming or with other UW-Madison programming. To help support this work, Extension faculty and staff might consider how their institutes, programs and services attend to seven areas identified by tribal nations and connect with the Tribal Relations Director.
Any exciting projects or collaborations underway that you can tell us about?
- The Tribal Relations Director recently co-led an effort to secure a $500,000 grant from the USDA New Beginnings for Tribal Students program to create education pathways for tribal youth in partnership with the College of Menominee Nation and the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College.
- The Tribal Relations Director helped initiate and continues to support a campus effort to integrate Indigenous worldview into one of the new facilities being constructed on campus.
- The Tribal Relations Director participates in the Committee on Native American Campus Signage charged with developing campus signage teaching the 12,000-year human story of campus.
What advice do you have for educators seeking to work with tribal communities?
Relationships first! Indigenous nations and communities are often approached by many well-meaning people for short-term projects, and the time it takes to educate folks unfamiliar with the history and culture of a specific tribal nation or the time it takes to educate folks unfamiliar with contemporary Indigenous nations often tilts short term relationships to be less beneficial for Native Nations or communities than long term relationships. Since tribal nations and communities receive a significant volume of requests for collaboration from various universities and organizations, it can be difficult for tribal nations or communities to evaluate these requests if they do not already have a prior relationship with the person or group requesting collaboration. To help with this, practicing the Four Rs is useful when working with Native Nations: 1) Respect, 2) Relationships, 3) Reciprocity, and 4) Responsibility.
Practicing the Four Rs is useful when working with Native Nations: 1) Respect, 2) Relationships, 3) Reciprocity, and 4) Responsibility.
- Respect: Respect for tribal governments as sovereign nations accorded the respect one provides to representatives of other governments, respect for Indigenous knowledge, language, and culture, and respect for the shared histories between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that continue to influence contemporary Indigenous and non-Indigenous nations and communities.
- Relationships: Longer term relationships are preferred over shorter term relationships for the mutual benefit of Native Nations or communities.
- Reciprocity: The collaboration should be reciprocal and of mutual benefit to both partners. If the nature of the collaboration does not allow for reciprocity, one can ask of other ways that mutual benefit might be achieved with tribal partners.
- Responsibility: Lastly, responsibility refers to the idea that any sensitive information shared with collaborators by tribal partners will be honored and will not be shared with others unless approved by a tribal partner.
Programming highlight: Anti-hate in Iron County
Iron County Extension educators Neil Klemme (4-H Youth Development) and Amy Nosal (Community Development) facilitated a community conversation on race and equity this summer that resulted in the Iron County Board of Supervisors approving a Statement of Community Integrity and Respect. In the statement, the county board: does not tolerate any form of hate; encourages community members to hold themselves and their neighbors accountable for building awareness of hateful behaviors; empowers members of the community to engage in constructive and respectful conversations on the topic of hate; and commits to working with communities to create partnerships that further inclusion and collective integrity.
With programmatic guidance provided by Neil, the Iron County Board of Supervisors has included four seats for youth in grades 9-12 since 2017. This year, however, the county board requested that youth not attend in-person county board meetings as a safety measure against COVID-19. The northern Wisconsin region where Iron County is located experienced several racist events that received national news attention. Seeing an opportunity to re-engage, Neil and Amy approached the youth involved in the local governance program to discuss their thoughts on positive community engagement around deep-seated issues like race and equity. Neil and Amy contacted the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance for guidance on how to the facilitate the conversations.
The conversations started in early July and utilized Zoom in consideration of the ongoing pandemic. As Neil explains, “The first few weeks were spent talking through the issues and listening to the youth tell us what they see here in Iron County and coming to agreement on how we wanted to move forward.” Amy continues, “There was a lot of great discussion about what we were seeing on social media and reading locally that lead to the idea and final draft of a county board statement.” Above all else, the youth indicated the need for community education. Together the youth and participating adults reviewed statements created by neighboring communities and worked together to craft language that Iron County leaders and residents could support. Both Neil and Amy praised the youth for their efforts in avoiding being confrontational or politicizing the issue.
The statement received support from State Senator Janet Bewley and Representative Beth Meyers as well as local law enforcement and various public agencies within the county. The Statement went before the Iron County Board of Supervisors and was approved on September 29, 2020. To view the full Statement and letters of support, visit the Extension Iron County website.
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Re-introducing the African American Employee Resource Group
The African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG) is an employee resource group open to all active employees of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. The purpose of AAERG is to serve as a resource for and foster the success of current and future African American/Black Colleagues by sponsoring programming, providing collegial support, encouraging belonging, and raising a collective voice related to issues that impact employees' ability to thrive. AAERG will also support initiatives that promote career development, mentoring and guidance, recruitment & retention, and networking & relationship building.
Meet the AAERG Executive Committee:
- Angie Allen
- James Boling
- Danielle Hairston-Green
- Rick Mills
- Dondieneita Fleary-Simmons
- Eva Terry
- Hywania Thompson
The group will launch an official call for membership and their website on December 1, 2020. This coincides with the first day of the All-Extension Virtual Conference, which will focus on racial equity. Look for an opportunity to interact with AAERG during a breakout session in the afternoon on December 1.
AAERG will also kick off their READ, WATCH, LISTEN, ACT Monthly Challenge. This is an opportunity for all colleagues to have a starting place for becoming better allies of the African American community. Colleagues are encouraged to participate in suggested activities daily for ten minutes.
Public membership meetings will be extended to all colleagues and allies quarterly.
Employee Spotlight: James Boling
Job title: Youth and Family Educator
Where do you live? Waukesha, WI
Where did you grow up? Milwaukee
How many years have you been in Extension? I've been with Extension for 2.5 years and with the UW System for 22 years.
Tell us a little about your role in Extension: I provide support and educational opportunities for 500+ youth in Waukesha County through 4-H and community youth development. We have 18 clubs and 20 county-wide projects that we offer, and anywhere between 40-60 projects are offered within the clubs . We have 170 - 200+ volunteers that make 4-H possible through volunteering and sharing their knowledge with youth. I'm also involved in pre-college programming and leadership development with middle and high school students in Waukesha County. Our programs provide leadership, career, and college exploration, personal development, and STEM program for 6-12 graders. I also work with the area high schools and their Black Student Union Organizations.
What motivates you in your position? I'm constantly amazed at the talent and skills of the youth I work with and hope that they have the drive to be caring, responsible citizens. I am passionate about providing opportunities for youth to reach their fullest potential. All students and families can use support and to me it is essential to make sure that I'm making efforts to accommodate all youth and families. My passion is including everyone and being supportive.
One unique or surprising fact about yourself: I view myself as a simple, down-to-earth person. I like to do a lot of meditation and personal reflection. I think it's important to just be kind, respectful and open to differences in people.
OAIC celebrates its first birthday!
by Dominic J. Ledesma
October 2020 marks one year since the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance (OAIC) was established in Extension. First, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the members of our OAIC team. We have been working extremely hard to create a unit that serves the current and emerging needs of a 21st century institution.
OAIC’s primary charge is to lead organizational strategies that improve Extension’s institutional commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and equity in our programming. Our charge is rooted in the need to prepare a 21st century workforce to address 21st century issues in a 21st century society. So, what has the OAIC been working on in the past year to bring a more strategic and coordinated approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion issues in Extension? Here are a few highlights that we feel are worth celebrating with a slice of cake and a scoop of ice cream.
- Expanded OAIC resources - We have been working behind the scenes to develop protocols and processes that maximize our staff’s time, capacity, and content expertise. This includes the development of website that is centered on building staff capacity. Worth noting is our creation of two libraries that expanded resources, one that compiles self-directed learning opportunities around anti-racism and anti-bigotry and another one comprised of OAIC guidance documents that support the development of inclusive programming.
- Frontline support for program access, equity, and inclusion – OAIC’s support request intake process is an educator-centered effort to promote equitable and inclusive programming statewide, and to do so in a manner that is tailored to the specific context of their locality, target audiences, and programs. A team-based approach to supporting colleagues helps us consolidate and align our expertise in a streamlined manner.
- Revamping our civil rights training platform – We are working to update our civil rights compliance training materials and transition them to Canvas. This platform will provide an introduction to new colleagues on our non-discrimination responsibilities and also serve as a refresher for existing colleagues as they prepare for Area-based civil rights reviews.
- New Colleague Onboarding – OAIC plays a central role helping onboard new staff, introducing them to our office’s support services for language access accommodations and other areas of support we offer. During NCO, we also provide new colleagues with an introduction to Extension’s non-discrimination policy and responsibilities around civil rights laws.
- Program Manager Collaborative – OAIC collaborates with Institute Directors and evaluators to provide training sessions and coaching opportunities for Program Managers. The purpose is to help colleagues develop a Program Plan of Work that takes a more outcome-driven, equity-centered approach to identifying statewide priorities for programming.
- Institute-driven equity initiatives – In the past few months, some Institutes have rededicated their commitment to raising critical awareness around equity, diversity, and inclusion issues. Some Institutes have established specific equity committees while others have been planning in-service trainings that are tailored to their community of employees. OAIC staff is working closely with Institute leadership to coach and guide their efforts in positive, and in some cases new, directions.
- Call to Action – In August 2020, OAIC launched a Call to Action, which serves as Extension’s overarching framework for advancing institutional goals around equity, diversity, and inclusivity. Our leadership is guiding the work of 9 specific initiatives that are driven by organizational leads and supported by work groups, steering committees, and task forces. The Call to Action represents an unprecedented effort in Extension and aims to galvanize a broader institutional will to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion goals.
Our unit’s work is focused on ensuring that Extension, as both a workplace and as a space for publicly available educational programming, is safe, inclusive, and equitable for all colleagues and learner-participants.
It has been an exciting challenge to develop a new unit of dedicated and talented colleagues; above all, one that is truly responsive and accountable to colleagues to providing services, support, and professional learning opportunities that allow statewide colleagues to better serve our publics. It has been a busy first year but we are excited to continue our work on multiple fronts across Extension. Happy birthday OAIC!
Statement of appreciation to Dominic Ledesma from OAIC staff
Dominic, thank you for your thoughtful leadership this past year. You recognize our individual strengths and have skillfully shaped and honed us into an effective, highly functional, and fun team. We appreciate all that you do and look forward to your leadership in the opportunities and challenges this next year will bring.
30 years of civil rights for people with disabilities: Celebrating the ADA
by Heather Stelljes, Division of Extension Access Consultant
In what was a challenging summer regarding racial justice, violence, and health disparities among BIPOC, there was one strong reminder that organization, protesting, allyship and advocacy does create lasting change. On July 26, the nation celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. This monumental legislation literally and figuratively opened doors for people with disabilities to gain equal access in employment, education, and public resources and programming.
Background of the ADA
To understand the importance of the ADA and its impact, looking back to 1973 is helpful. It was then that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability for any entity that receives federal funds. What’s less known about Section 504 is that it took four years and a 28-day sit-in by disabled activists to have the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to put any regulations into place. Without the regulations, the legislation didn’t have any teeth, thus allowing courts to interpret it however they’d like. The sit-in was modeled after earlier civil rights movements, and was well-supported by the Black Panthers, Chicano Mission Rebels, and the LGBTQ community in San Francisco, highlighting the importance of allyship as well as the intersection of disability in all identities and backgrounds.
Section 504 led to increased accessibility within transportation, schools, housing and other federal programs. However, comprehensive civil rights protections for disabled people was still lacking, as many segments of life were not covered in the legislation. Section 504 also built momentum for the disability rights movement of the 1980s and the eventual conclusion by many Americans, and more importantly, government officials, that there was indeed a need for additional civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities. The signing of the ADA provided just that.
Impact of ADA
Not only does the ADA prohibit discrimination by local and state governments and in the workplace, it provides access standards for private businesses and commercial facilities. Additionally, it ensures equal access to healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, and social services; these are things that able-bodied individuals don’t often have to think twice about. It also allows for further organization, power and advocacy from the disability community. This led to amendments in 2008 that made it easier to gain services and reduce the burden of proof on disabled people. The 2008 amendments also expanded the definition of disability to include individuals with substantial limitations in major bodily functions, such as those of the immune, digestive, respiratory and endocrine systems. This lent itself to greater protections for more people around the nation. As a result of ADA and its amendments, the 20% of Americans who experience disability have increased likelihood of employment and higher education, connected not only to higher economic status but well-being and purpose. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 19.3% of people with disabilities are in the workforce, compared to 66.3% for those without disabilities (pre-COVID).
Disabled people” is used interchangeably with “people with disabilities” throughout this piece to highlight pride in the disability experience, reduce stigma around disability, and to reflect language commonly used by the disability community. Person first language is still recommended until a person’s identity is known.
For the University of Wisconsin and the Division of Extension, the ADA guided the establishment of a formal process for people with disabilities to request accommodations to fully and meaningfully participate in education, services, and programs. The formal accommodation process is protective for both the university and people with disabilities, as it upholds the interactive process outlined in the ADA, thus allowing the Division of Extension to achieve compliance. More importantly, the ADA lends itself to increased intentionality about accessibility, and a focus on ensuring people with all abilities can gain from Extension programming. It allows for the opportunity to be proactive by designing programs and events with disability in mind, and making it explicit that people with disabilities are considered and welcomed. That means letting people know that we can meet accessibility needs, whether that is sharing that an event can be captioned, a sign language interpreter can be provided, or a location is accessible. While these examples pertain to specific, and often apparent disability experiences, it notifies people with non-apparent disabilities that their experience is also considered and valued.
The Division of Extension has a long history of reaching many people around the state and supporting their unique needs, whether disability-related or not. This approach, and the mission of Extension in general, has likely limited the need for formal accommodations, as demonstrated by having fewer than 10 disability accommodation requests in the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted programming in general, but when we consider the overall number of programs and people served, this number suggests a disparate impact on access to programming for people with disabilities. However, by utilizing taglines to direct participants toward the disability accommodation request form, or by directly connecting with the Division’s Disability Access Consultant to explore disability-inclusive practices, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our dedication to inclusion, accessibility, and compliance.
Space for Inclusion
Broadly speaking, the ADA is often celebrated as a law that affirmed the inherent dignity of people with disabilities. In enacting the ADA, the country began the long process of recognizing that having a disability, or being disabled, does not diminish a person's right to fully participate in all aspects of society, while also recognizing that people with disabilities are frequently precluded from doing so because of attitudinal, societal and institutional barriers. Like other civil rights legislation, the ADA paved the way for positive change for a marginalized population to be recognized and granted rights. However, like other civil rights legislation, rights haven’t meant being truly accepted and included. The disability experience is still often stigmatized and sometimes pitied. This isn’t to deny that having a disability can be challenging; rather, it’s to note that attitudinal barriers can make access and inclusion more difficult. Ultimately, the ADA is the minimum standard. We are still striving to create full access, and truly honor the spirit of the law, and its precedent to normalize the inclusion of people with disabilities. We are continually improving at examining our practices and programming to make them inclusive and welcoming, and at the same time, we need to continue to normalize and celebrate disability.
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, language(s), background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
For inquiries related to this publication or if you would like to make a financial gift to support the OAIC’s work, please contact oaic@extension.wisc.edu.
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