Best Practices for Providing Victim Services to American Indians and Alaska Natives

Tamara Fife

Tamara Fife (Chickasaw) is the Tribal relations director for the Washington State Department of Health, where she leads agency-wide priority projects with 29 Tribal Nation partners, coordinates the resolution of barriers Tribal constituents encounter in the agency, and acts on behalf of the Secretary of Health on emergent issues in Indian Country.

Since 1995, she has supported victim service providers to build strong and successful financial grant management systems and trauma-informed programs and policies. She is passionate about contributing her time and efforts to the safety and well-being of the Tribal and rural communities where she lives and works. Ms. Fife leads community-based participatory strategic planning and evaluation initiatives, always building from the strength and resilience within communities. She has a deep understanding of the capacity building and resource development challenges of diverse groups thriving in the margins of the mainstream. She works with their governance bodies and staff to assess their capacities and community assets—and then helps them write plans to build relationships across their constituencies to sustain their common missions to serve victims of crime.

She collaborates with community members to develop trauma-informed program planning and policy initiatives tailored to their unique cultural nuances, which result in culturally relevant and responsive victim services. She is actively engaged in national and state policy development, advocating for systemic changes that address the root causes of crime and contributing to the long-term well-being of her community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Public Health.

Melissa E. Riley

Melissa E. Riley (Mescalero Apache), Ph.D., is the owner and principal of Native Community Development Associates, LLC, of New Mexico, and a consultant to national, state, and Tribal agencies and public and private organizations. Dr. Riley has managed federal projects for OVC grantees, including the national Counseling and Faith-Based Services for Crime Victims in Indian Country Training and Technical Assistance and the Children’s Justice Act Partnership in Indian Country Training and Technical Assistance grants. She developed curricula for the New Mexico Department of Health Office of Community Health Workers, Gallup Indian Health Services, the University of Texas at Arlington, and others. She developed sexual assault protocols, behavioral health/social service, and other Tribal multidisciplinary policies and procedures that enhance victim service response and increase prosecution. She helped revise curricula and train recipients of Tribal Justice System Planning Grants from the Department of Justice.

Dr. Riley developed and implemented wrap-around services for Tribal programs in communities impacted by alcohol/substance abuse, crime, and other social issues. She is a direct service provider for several New Mexico Tribal communities, providing counseling, social work, home evaluations, guardian ad litem services, and family conferencing facilitation. She teaches Tribal social work courses at New Mexico Highlands University and early childhood and bilingual education courses at New Mexico State University. She is currently the director of the Native American Social Work Studies Institute at New Mexico Highlands University, conducting research and developing courses.