Post by Moon Seeker on Oct 16, 2007 11:22:33 GMT -5
BY MELANIE CSEPIGA
Times Correspondent
A recent partnership between a work force development agency and the American Indian Center of Indiana Inc. is aimed at bringing training services to the estimated 2,000 Native Americans living in Northwest Indiana.
At the same time, it is hoped that the partnership with The Center of Workforce Innovations in Valparaiso will create greater awareness of available services for the American Indian population.
"We're very excited about having them as partners," Tamera Stump, senior work force associate with CWI, said.
"It's not that their needs were not necessarily being met, but many may not know what is there for them." Stump said one staff member will be designated to go to nine of the CWI WorkOne offices in Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton and Pulaski counties to work with the Native Americans seeking services.
According to Linda Madagame, chief executive officer of the American Indian Center in Indianapolis and member of the Indiana Indian Commission, it is hoped that partnering with CWI not only will help the Native American populace become more self-sufficient, but have the added benefit of unification.
"We're the invisible population," Madagame said. "We want to get past all that."
Since 1992, the AICI has been providing comprehensive work force development services to the approximate 40,000 Native Americans in Indiana.
Madagame said, however, that those residents often do not declare their heritage, making it difficult to reach them.
Having the designated access to WorkOne's resources in work force, education and economic development will help reach the American Indian Center's goal of economic, social and cultural development, Madagame said.
BREAKOUT
To learn more about the work of the AICI, visit www.americanindiancenter.org.
nwitimes.com/articles/2007/10/16/business/business/doc90ad5f290b046e4e862573750062c2b0.txt
Times Correspondent
A recent partnership between a work force development agency and the American Indian Center of Indiana Inc. is aimed at bringing training services to the estimated 2,000 Native Americans living in Northwest Indiana.
At the same time, it is hoped that the partnership with The Center of Workforce Innovations in Valparaiso will create greater awareness of available services for the American Indian population.
"We're very excited about having them as partners," Tamera Stump, senior work force associate with CWI, said.
"It's not that their needs were not necessarily being met, but many may not know what is there for them." Stump said one staff member will be designated to go to nine of the CWI WorkOne offices in Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton and Pulaski counties to work with the Native Americans seeking services.
According to Linda Madagame, chief executive officer of the American Indian Center in Indianapolis and member of the Indiana Indian Commission, it is hoped that partnering with CWI not only will help the Native American populace become more self-sufficient, but have the added benefit of unification.
"We're the invisible population," Madagame said. "We want to get past all that."
Since 1992, the AICI has been providing comprehensive work force development services to the approximate 40,000 Native Americans in Indiana.
Madagame said, however, that those residents often do not declare their heritage, making it difficult to reach them.
Having the designated access to WorkOne's resources in work force, education and economic development will help reach the American Indian Center's goal of economic, social and cultural development, Madagame said.
BREAKOUT
To learn more about the work of the AICI, visit www.americanindiancenter.org.
nwitimes.com/articles/2007/10/16/business/business/doc90ad5f290b046e4e862573750062c2b0.txt