The Society of
Indian
Psychologists
Executive Board
President
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse
President Elect - Iva Greywolf
Past President – Art Blume
Secretary – Royleen Ross
Treasurer – BJ Boyd
March 1, 2010
Dr. Alvin Alverez
President, Division 45
Dr. Alverez,
I hope that you and your family are well. I am guessing you are looking forward to your
upcoming trip. Though we will miss you at SIP this June, I certainly understand, support and resonate
with your family trip to explore ancestral lands. The idea really takes my breath away! It truly sounds like
a life affirming trip. I hope your travels are safe, eye opening, and fulfilling.
I am making a formal request for funds from Division 45 to support our guest speaker at the
Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP) 2019 conference to be held June 24-25, 2019. We have invited
Shirley Turcotte, a First Nations member from Canada to speak broadly on the issue of healing trauma
including historic trauma that has occurred in Canada as well as in the U.S. She is a reknown expert in
the area and nearing retirement. She has made an exception to include us in her last year of services as
we have a healing to acknowledge not only our historic trauma but our sadness associated with the loss
of our friend, mentor and guide, Dr. A. Figueroa. We are also inviting Dr. Gene Hightower who has a just
published book in the Diversity and Multicultural book series with Cognella that both of our
organizations support. His book is a wonderful faithful rendition of the words of an elder (now passed)
who developed a traditional way of managing substance abuse treatment for Indigenous communities
and who entrusted his words to Dr. Hightower. This will be his first public sharing of this work.
We would like to formally request joint sponsorship of their participation in our conference. We
would ask that Division 45 consider contributing $1000 to support their travel and honorarium. Speaking
now as a fellow of the division, I believe that this request for support aligns very well with the mission
and strategic goals of Division 45, especially relevant to strategic goal #1 and #4. Keep in mind we will
have the Presidents and/or their representatives present at this meeting.
Please let me know if there are any questions for me on behalf of SIP. I want to express our
appreciation for the close working relationship we have with Division 45, to which we remain
committed.
With my warmest regards,
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse, Ph.D.
President, Society of Indian Psychologists
38 N. Allen Street, Albany, NY 12203
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