Tribal Blog Posts

people holding hands around the dinner table

2023 National Tribal TANF Institute Embraces the "Heartwork" in Practice

  • by Jason M Borucki
Nearly 200 participants from 40 tribes and 10 states came together in Sacramento to share their experiences, celebrate one another’s culture, highlight successes, and enrich the spirit of collaborative learning and growth.

From July 17-20, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education welcomed tribal council members and elders to the table alongside human services professionals for the 2023 National Tribal TANF Institute in Sacramento. Now in its 18th year, the in-person event served as an overwhelmingly positive and empowering step toward improving

photo collage of people

“Embracing the Power of Community”

In July 2022 UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education Human Services hosted the 17th annual National Tribal TANF Institute. This year’s institute, held at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West hotel, saw over 230 attendees from 40 tribal agencies across 13 states. This Institute was the first to be held in-person in three years.

The theme of this year’s Institute, “Embracing the Power of Community,” recognized and celebrated the inherent strength that exists within native communities.

Andrew and Lauren Peters

Native Girl’s Remains Returned to Alaska After More Than a Century

By Karen Nikos-Rose

A trek of 4,000 miles between Alaska and Pennsylvania is a long trip even in three planes with today’s technology, observed Lauren Peters, days after the University of California, Davis, doctoral student and her family made that journey. She and her two sons were returning her grandmother’s aunt to her native St. Paul Island, on the Bering Sea, after her disinterment at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Daughters at California Indian Day 2

Tribal Professionals Convened to Learn Skills and Celebrate their Culture at the 2021 National Institute

This past July saw UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education—Human Services host the 16th National Tribal TANF Institute. The virtual conference hosted 230 participants from 44 tribal and governmental agencies from across the U.S.  and featured an expanded schedule, with 40 workshop options. This year’s theme was “Empowering Our Spirits”, centering the importance of cultural values to provide the basis for healing, rejuvenation and growth.

photo of computer with opening keynote on screen

15th National Tribal TANF Institute: Giving Tradition a New Platform

UC Davis Human Services Hosts First-Ever Virtual National Conference for Tribal Professionals 

 

2020 has seen much turmoil and the cancellation or postponement of many time-honored traditions. One such tradition, the National Tribal TANF Institute hosted by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education - Human Services, was not only postponed two months to late September, but also, for the first time in its 15-year history, moved to a virtual platform.