

Justice Center President Accepts Award on Behalf of the Sexual Assault Committee
Attorney General John Ashcoft and the Office for Victims of Crime in the US Department of Justice honored the Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee on April 19 in Washington, DC, with a 2001 Crime Victim Service Award. Denise Morris, chair of the Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee and president/chief executive officer of the Alaska Native Justice Center, accepted the award.
The Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee strives to reduce sexual violence against Alaska Native women and increase community awareness through research, education and outreach. The committee was formed in January of 1999 to address the high percentage of Alaska Native women who are victims of sexual violence. The Crime Victim Service Award honors unique individuals and organizations whose work on behalf of crime victims is characterized by exceptional commitment and effectiveness. The committee's selection to receive the award is a tribute to its extraordinary service to victims and the esteem to which its work is held. The Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee received the award during National Crime Victims' Rights Week in April.	Alaska Native Justice Center's Denise Morris and the FBI's Jessica Newton sit on the Alaska Native Women Sexual Assault Committee.
CITC Introduces Return to Work Project
Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Transitional Services Department is proud to introduce a new program entitled the Alaska Native Return to Work Project.
This federally funded vocational rehabilitation program is designed to provide services to Alaska Natives and American Indians with disabilities wanting to return to the work force. The Return to Work Project will provide culturally relevant vocational rehabilitation based on informed choices and individual strengths and capabilities. Between 2000 and 2002, Alaska Natives and American Indians with disabilities living in the villages of Ninilchik, Salamatof, Seldovia, Tyonek, Chickaloon, Knik, Eklutna and members of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe will have the opportunity to work with the vocational rehabilitation counselor within their home communities. In 2003, Alaska Natives and American Indians with disabilities in the Anchorage area will have the opportunity to utilize the Return to Work Project.	Alaska Native Return to Work Project staff: Rebecca Hansen, Len White Bear and Manny Wrase (from left to right).
Cook Inlet Tribal Council is unique in that it houses both the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and a tribal return to work program. This successful cooperative effort provides services under one roof and is the only arrangement of its type in the United States. The Native Return to Work Project is located at Cook Inlet Tribal Council, 670 W. Fireweed Ln., Suite 124, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. Contact Len White Bear, project director, at (907) 265-4218 or toll free at 1-877-985-5900.
U.S. Surgeon General Tours Alaska Native Medical Center
In March, the Surgeon General of the United States, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., toured the Alaska Native Medical Center. Dr. Satcher, who was in Alaska to testify at a Senate hearing on health care for mentally disabled Americans and to attend the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games, toured the hospital after a brief visit to the rural Alaska communities of Bethel, Kotlik, and Emmonak. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation hosted the tour at the Alaska Native Medical Center. The Surgeon General's visits to Alaska's Native community healthcare centers reflect one of his top priorities наto eliminate, not just reduce, some of the health disparities between majority and minority populations in America. "For all the medical breakthroughs we have seen in the past century, we still see significant disparities in the medical conditions of racial groups in this country. What we have done ... is to make a commitment наreally, for the first time in the history of our government н to eliminate, not just reduce, some of the health disparities between majority and minority populations," said Dr. Satcher. "Through the successful collaborative management of the Alaska Native Medical Center by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation, we are proud to be a part of the solution for eliminating some of the health disparities the Surgeon General has recognized," said Katherine Gottlieb, president and chief executive officer of Southcentral Foundation, CIRI's non-profit health care affiliate.
The CIRI Foundation Funding Tree
The CIRI Foundation reminds CIRI original enrollees and their lineal descendants that they are eligible to apply for scholarship, fellowship and grant programs awarded by the Foundation. Lineal descendants include natural and adopted children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. All eligible applicants must submit copies of birth certificates linking them to an original enrollee. For more information about The CIRI Foundation and its programs and guidelines, visit www.ciri.com/tcf, call (907) 263-5582 or write 2600 Cordova Street, Suite 206, Anchorage, AK 99503.
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