Native Network Skills Exchange Workshop
The fourth Native Network Skills Exchange Workshop is August 4-7, 2009 at Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Network members – reserve your spot at this workshop ASAP by contacting Gail Brooks
(brooks@ecr.gov)!
This year's workshop is open to all members of the Native Dispute Resolution Network. The gathering is intended
to be a safe environment that fosters candid dialogue, creativity, and openness among participants who work,
develop, and lead collaborative efforts and resolve disputes across Native and non-Native communities and
governments.
The workshop agenda stems from the need and desire to more robustly engage the membership in implementing and
fulfilling the Native Network's vision. Members volunteered to participate in the Skills Exchange work group to
develop the 2009 workshop and to draft the workshop agenda, with input from the broader Network membership through
surveys and feedback from past workshops.
The draft workshop agenda allocates time for sharing and input on the efforts of the three current Native Network
work groups: Native Leadership; Member Recruitment and Retention; and Skills Exchange. Workshop participants will
learn about the goals, approach, and proposals of each work group in sessions designed for member input and
feedback on each proposal.
The agenda balances the business aspects of the Network with open space sessions intended to foster the exchange
of skills, innovations and ideas among workshop participants. Time is set aside each workshop day for open space
sessions. Open space is the opportunity for participants to discuss topics of importance to them. Network members
will lead the topic discussions and activities that apply what we're learning. Topics for open space will be
generated at the workshop based on the interests of participants.
This year's workshop was made possible by critical support from JAMS Foundation, The Williams Company, Federal
Highways Administration, DOI's Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution in addition to the U.S.
Institute's commitment of staff for the workshop. We are all indebted to the workshop contributors and supporters:
The principal underwriter is the JAMS Foundation.
Their support is, and has been, instrumental to enriching Network member skills and expertise to the benefit
of the field more broadly.