National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)

Mission

The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) protects the safety, health, and cultural identity of all Native children and families—today and for future generations—by upholding culturally based services, community strength, and Tribal sovereignty.

Bottom Line for Portland

NICWA is dedicated to supporting strong Native communities, culturally grounded and Native-led approaches, and strengthening federal, state, and Tribal policy. NICWA convenes over 2,000 attendees at our Protecting Our Children Conference each year to share expertise, learn, and advance Native child advocacy; serves over 2,300 individuals, organizations, and Tribal NICWA members; and trains over 1,700 frontline professionals, community advocates, and leaders through training institutes, online courses, and community trainings. With your support, we can continue to uphold Tribal sovereignty, promote Tribal-led child welfare practices, and ensure Native children thrive in culturally abundant, well-resourced communities for generations to come.

Quote

“I work in the area of Indian Child Welfare and am grateful for the resources NICWA has and the advocacy NICWA does.”

“The Puyallup Tribe is proud to be a continued supporter of NICWA. We highly value the collaborative work done by all to ensure our children’s overall well-being. Stronger children lead to a stronger future.”

Incentives

The first two to donate $50 or more on Saturday, November 1 will receive two club-level tickets and a parking pass to Portland Trail Blazers vs. Pheonix Suns on November 18, 2025.

The first to donate on Tuesday, November 25 will receive one nail session with Moondust Nails.

Donors who donate on Tuesday, December 2 will receive a handcrafted beaded medallion necklace, designed by NICWA staff.

The first 10 to donate on Tuesday, December 30 will receive a NICWA puzzle from our annual Protecting Our Children conference.

Partner(s)

A huge thank you to our partners:

• Pavelcomm provides our cyber security and technical assistance every day. They graciously donated the four Trail Blazers tickets with parking passes offered in our incentives. 
• Moondust Nails provides nail manicures and nail art and donated the one free gel nail session with nail art incentive.
• CASA for Children works to improve outcomes for children in foster care and partnering with NICWA in supportive spotlight messaging.
• Coalition of Oregon Land Trust (COLT) protects the natural world through building connections and advancing policies that strengthens those protections, and partnering with NICWA in supportive spotlight messaging.
• Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) focuses on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities, and partnering with NICWA in supportive spotlight messaging with event information.

Children’s Center works to build a world where each child feels safe, valued, and heard with ending child abuse and neglect through assessment, treatment, and prevention, and partnering with NICWA through supportive spotlight messaging.