Sovereign Bodies Institute

10/10/2024

Join us with the amazing Tanaya Winder for some healing journaling sessions beginning November 12! Sign ups via email, sessions limited to Indigenous survivors of violence and MMIP family members ♥️

09/11/2024

SBI is home to the world’s only international MMIP database, and is truly unique as a family and survivor led center for researching and addressing violence against Indigenous peoples. Support SBI’s efforts and make an online donation today!

08/05/2024

New public Letter from Our Director, with updates on services availability and our path ahead as an organization. Key points in the slides below, or read the letter in full at sovereign-bodies.org/public-statements.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity and the time and space to grow into our best self as an organization.

07/01/2024

Things in our office that just make sense 💙 Sage and sweetgrass. Art by Native artists. A kid’s corner with Native coloring books, Indigenous stuffed animals, a mini tipi, and books about inspiring Native people. A drum given to our director from a woman in our sister organization in Mexico alongside books on violence against our people. And a to-do list board with a gorgeous nature view in the background 💚

06/26/2024

Another of my bills in the Senate is , which would create a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Justice Program within the California Department of Justice. The Program would help facilitate collaboration between victims’ families, tribal governments, local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, and out-of-state law enforcement. The Program would also provide technical assistance in investigations into cases.

The Sovereign Bodies Institute has found that since 2015, there are approximately 18 new cases in California every year, with cases occurring in 42 of 58 of our counties. AB 2279 will help address the MMIP crisis that is raging in our state and across the country. I am proud to be working with the Chair of the Native American Caucus, Assemblymember James C. Ramos, on this important bill. 💪🏽

06/26/2024

Your Ancestors are still proud of you!

06/25/2024

Update: SBI is still undertaking a period of collective internal organizing and will resume services on August 5, 2024.

06/25/2024

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line

05/22/2024

We are pleased to introduce our new board! Representing 11 different tribes and spread across 8 states and provinces, our board is majority survivor and MMIP family-led. We are so thankful to have such a diverse, brilliant group of leaders serving our organization and the folks we support in this role. Visit sovereign-bodies.org/board to get to know them more!

05/15/2024

SBI is taking some time for collective internal organizing and rest for our advocates, May 25 through June 30, 2024.

We have our hands full with some really important transitions we are making as an org - including a brand new board, transitioning from fiscal sponsorship to being our own independent non-profit, and a strategic plan for staff growth and program development. We need some time to work on those items, and can't wait to tell you more as we make progress!

Because of this organizing & rest time, our services for MMIP families and Indigenous survivors will also be on pause May 25-June 30. If you are an existing client and you think you will need our help during that time period, please let us know as soon as possible, so we can get you taken care of before the pause. Services will resume July 1, 2024.

05/05/2024

Today we honor May 5 as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and People.

May 5 is the birthday of Hanna Harris, a young Notthern Cheyenne woman whose life was stolen on her home reservation. May 5 is also the birthday of Arshanda Knowshisgun, another young Northern Cheyenne woman whose life was stolen in Billings, MT several years after Hanna. Today we honor our stolen relatives and community members like Hanna and Arshanda, and the tireless work of their families in pursuit of justice and an end to this crisis.

SBI does not host any events of our own on this day - we believe the day belongs to the families and choose to stand beside them however they decide to honor the day. Our staff are attending family-led events in their communities, and we are honored to have supported 6 families leading their own May 5 events in 6 different states and provinces this year. Families should never have to experience violence at all, much less bear the financial costs of raising awareness or creating spaces for community healing.

Today on May 5, we invite other like-minded organizations, tribal entities, and grassroots organizers and activists to join us in committing to a Families First philosophy. Families directly impacted should always be empowered and supported to lead this movement, and their hearts, needs, and priorities should always be at the center of our work.

04/05/2024

📣‼️ Today is the last day to submit your applications for this opportunity! Information is down below.

Good afternoon everyone, an important announcement!

Sovereign Bodies Institute is recruiting new board members to join our team and work together to empower our Indigenous communities while helping lead the institute’s work into its next phase!
To apply, please send a cover letter and a resume/CV to SBI’s Executive Director Annita at [email protected]. The deadline to submit the completed applications April 5, 2024!
For more information on the Board job description please visit our website https://www.sovereign-bodies.org/board !

Thank you!