‘Why not me?’: the boot camp giving Indigenous women the tools to run for office

At a bootcamp aimed at cultivating leadership among Indigenous women, the goal is community and connection. Leaders hope more Native women will see themselves as candidates for public office

Advocacy Boot Camp

This unique Advocacy Boot Camp, specifically for Native women aims to (1) provide tools on how to advocate for issues and amplify your advocacy, (2) highlight the legislative and political process, (3) develop communications strategies for amplifying your voice, (4) utilize existing skills to establish a pathway for more Native women to see themselves as candidates and normalize Native women’s leadership and (5) bridge the gap by providing Native women with the tools, training, and resources to successfully run for office.

In predominantly white male environments, women and people of color are expected to adopt the leadership traits of the majority group to achieve success. Navigating these choppy waters and finding a balance between embracing the positive traits while staying true to yourself is extremely challenging. However, we already possess many of these skills through our community volunteerism, organizing, and advocacy for our children, families, Veterans, environment, and communities.

During this Boot Camp participants will build their advocacy skills with workshops covering advocacy basics, communications strategy, and hear from exciting speakers about how you can effect change, both as an advocate and as a candidate for change. This is an exciting opportunity to come together as Native women and envision a future where our strong voices are heard and we have a seat at all tables!  Over the 2.5 day session you'll have the opportunity bond with others and develop a leadership journey action plan that we will focus on at follow-up sessions.

During this training participants will:

• Learn to bring their authentic voice to advocacy

• Understand the legislative process

• Communicate with elected officials

• Build community and network

• Engage in a supportive and nurturing sisterhood

• Develop long-term leadership goals