VCU RRTC

This webinar will explore the historical context of disability policy and the evolution of disability programs serving Tribal Members. Our esteemed panelists discuss the disability rights and policies within Indigenous communities. By understanding the historical challenges and successes, we can work together to build a more inclusive and equitable future for all Indigenous people with disabilities.

Bios:

Hoskie Benally Jr. is a Member of the Navajo Nation and is Legally Blind. He is currently employed with the Native American Disability Law Center as the Community and Government Liaison engaged in Disability Systems Advocacy with the Navajo Nation and other Native American Tribes. Benally is also involved with the Disability Sub-Committee. Prior to joining the Law Center, Benally was the CEO of a Residential Treatment Center for Native American Youth that successfully integrated Navajo culture into western-based mental health treatment. Benally is the current President of the Navajo Nation Advisory Council on Disabilities, a former Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, and a former Member of the New Mexico Developmental Disability Planning Council. Currently, Hoskie is a member of the National Council on Disabilities. Grounded in Navajo tradition and fluent in Navajo, Benally is an experienced cultural instructor. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Brigham Young University.

Since 2006, Dr. Elmer Guy has served as the president of Navajo Technical University (NTU), which is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), a community of 37 tribally and federally chartered institutions of higher education. Navajo Technical University offers certificate to master’s degree programs. Prior to becoming president, Dr. Guy also served NTU as its vice president of academics and student services and its dean of instruction. In 2011 and 2012, under Dr. Guy’s leadership, NTU was named one of the top 120 community colleges in the United States by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program. Before joining NTU, Dr. Guy was appointed by the Navajo Nation president to serve as both the executive director and deputy director of the Navajo Nation Department of Education. During his tenure with the Navajo Nation Department of Education, several needed programs were successfully developed and implemented, including two trusts for the handicapped ($7 million) and for vocational education programs ($6 million); the Navajo Medicine Man Apprentice School; and a comprehensive teacher education program, all of which have been institutionalized and remain in full operation.  Dr. Guy earned his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from the University of Arizona, and in between, a graduate degree from the University of San Francisco. 
Dr. Guy serves on the board of the American Indian High Education Consortium, the American Indian College Fund board, the College Board’s Community Colleges Advisory Panel, as well as other regional and national associations. 

Donald Warne, MD, MPH, joined the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health as Co-Director on September 1, 2022. He is an acclaimed physician, one of the world’s preeminent scholars in Indigenous health, health education, policy and equity as well as a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Dr. Warne will also serve as Johns Hopkins University’s new Provost Fellow for Indigenous Health Policy. Warne comes from a long line of traditional healers and medicine men and is a celebrated researcher of chronic health inequities. He is also an educational leader who created the first Indigenous health-focused Master of Public Health and PhD programs in the U.S. or Canada at the North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota, respectively. Warne previously served at the University of North Dakota as professor of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as director of the Indians Into Medicine and Public Health programs at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Warne’s career is informed by rich work and life experiences. He served the Pima Indian population in Arizona as a primary care physician and later worked as a staff clinician with the NIH. He has also served as Health Policy Research director for the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, executive director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, and faculty member at the Indian Legal Program of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Warne has received many awards recognizing his research accomplishments, educational leadership, and service work, including the American Public Health Association’s Helen Rodríguez-Trías Award for Social Justice and the Explorer’s Club 50 People Changing the World. Warne received a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University, Doctor of Medicine degree from Stanford University’s School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
 

Jim Warne (facilitator), Educator-Advocate-Filmmaker Jim Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota. Jim earned a BS from Arizona State University and an MS from San Diego State University. Jim created continuing Education programs at SDSU Interwork Institute from 1993 to 2015. He has written over 50 million in grants and contracts for universities and Tribal Nations. Currently, Jim is the Community Engagement Director at the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities, Oyáte Circle Sanford School of Medicine. Jim wrote several grants for USD, establishing the Oyáte Circle, a Native Disability Center. Jim is the President of Warrior Society Development, LLC. He consults for various government agencies, organizations, Tribal Nations, and academia, including the Arizona College of Medicine Sonoran Native Center. Jim is a Motivational Speaker, experience includes: Congressional Testimonies, Workforce Inclusion, Film Production, Actor/Stuntman, Professional Football, Youth Camps, Organizational Development including Higher Ed Administration. Jim’s WSD Productions Film Division produced “7th Generation,” an Award-Winning Documentary. His Emmy-nominated short film, “Oyáte un Itówapi - Pictures of my People,” was featured on Fox NFL Pregame Show, Thanksgiving 2020, and FOX “Voices” on MLK Day 2021. His new production is “Remember the Children” (2022). Jim’s wife, Jill, is on the Hoopa Tribal Council, and Ryan is Jim’s son.