Deborah Parker

Deborah Parker (born 1970),[1][2] also known by her native name cicayalc̓aʔ (sometimes spelled Tsi-Cy-Altsa or tsicyaltsa),[lower-alpha 1][4] is an activist and Indigenous leader in the United States. A member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, she served as its vice-chairwoman from 2012[5] to 2015[6] and is, as of July 2018, a board member for Our Revolution[7][8] and the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.[9] She is also a co-founder of Indigenous Women Rise.[10][11]

Deborah Parker
cicayalc̓aʔ [lower-alpha 1]
Born1970 (age 52–53)
NationalityTulalip
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Washington (B.A.)
Known forActivism
Board member of
SpouseMyron Dewey (died 2021)
Children3

During the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, Parker successfully campaigned both for the reauthorization and for the inclusion of provisions which gave tribal courts jurisdiction over violent crimes against women and families involving non–Native Americans on tribal lands.[12][13][14] She also served in the 2016 Democratic National Convention as one of the platform committee members representing Bernie Sanders,[15][16] where she "helped to ensure that Native policy initiatives were ultimately rolled into the party's larger platform."[17]

Biography

Deborah Parker is a member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington and is of Tulalip, Lummi,[18] Yaqui, and Apache descent;[19] her native name, cicayalc̓aʔ,[lower-alpha 1] extends back multiple generations on her mother's side.[4][18] Her grandfather, who was of Lummi heritage, was from Cowichan Bay; her grandmother was from the Snohomish River area.[18][20] Born in 1970[1][2] as the daughter of a Tulalip father and Yaqui–Apache mother,[20] she grew up on the reservation, where she became intimately familiar with many of the problems facing the Native American community that she later sought to address.[13][14] In 1999,[21] she graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in American ethnic studies and sociology.[21][22] Since graduating, Parker has been involved in numerous groups and organizations. During her time at UW, she appeared as in extra in the movie, Singles.[23]

Prior to working for the Tulalip Tribes, Parker served as the director of the residential healing school of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation and participated in the Treaty Taskforce Office of the Lummi Nation, wherein she was mentored by indigenous leaders such as Billy Frank Jr., Joe DeLaCruz, Henry Cagey, and Jewell James.[22] Later, she developed two programs for the Tulalip Tribes: Young Mothers, a culturally relevant initiative for teen mothers; and the Tribal Tobacco Program, which promoted responsible tobacco use among tribal members while acknowledging tobacco's sacred role among indigenous peoples in the United States.[22] From 2005 to 2012,[24] Parker served as the Legislative Policy Analyst in the Office of Governmental Affairs for the Tulalip Tribes;[22][24] and, in March 2012,[5][25] she began serving as vice-chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes,[5][26]: 209  becoming its only woman board member and its youngest member.[5] After serving three terms as vice-chair, she decided to not seek re-election in 2015 to focus more on her family and activism.[6][27]

While serving the Tulalip Tribes, Parker continued to involve herself in improving education and political engagement among Native Americans in Washington. In January 2005, she was elected as the treasurer for Choice & Consequence,[28] a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes healthy practices among Washington youth.[29] She later was promoted to its board of directors as the president.[30] In 2006, she participated in the development of Native Vote Washington, a 501(c)(4) organization that sought to encourage greater political participation among Native Americans.[19] In 2007, Parker starred as Aunt Fran[31] in Shadow of the Salmon, a docudrama about the significance of salmon among the Northwest Native peoples[32][33] that was nominated for multiple awards.[34] Later, in September 2010,[35] she was appointed by the University of Washington's Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program as a member of its board of trustees,[21][35] where she served her full three-year term.[36]

In the same year as her 2013 efforts in support of passing the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Parker joined Mother Nation,[37][38] then called Native Women in Need,[39] as an honorary board member after eight months of supporting the group.[37] She was initially drawn to the organization because of the work it did and the dedication of its founder.[38] From 2014 to 2017, Parker served as a trustee board member for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.[40] In October 2017, Parker was selected by Marysville School District to serve as its director of Equity, Diversity, and Indian Education[41][42] and continues to do so as of June 2018.[43]

Parker lives in Tulalip, Washington, where she is a mother to three children and two stepchildren[23] was married married to documentary filmmaker Myron Dewey (who is of Paiute and Shoshone descent)[9][22] until his death in 2021.[44]

As of July 2018, she is a board member for Our Revolution[7][8] and the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center;[9] the senior strategist for Pipestem Law,[24][45] a lawfirm specializing in representing Native American interests;[46] and the volunteer policy analyst for Mother Nation,[37][38][45] a nonprofit organization supporting Native American women.[39]

Activism

Parker describes her activism and resilience to resist despite hardships as "warrior status".[26]: 212  She has been the recipient of numerous awards relating to her activism and tribal outreach, including the Native Action Network's 2010 Enduring Spirit Award,[19][23] the National Indian Education Association's 2011 Parent of the Year Award,[21] the Daughters of the American Revolution's 2013 Community Service Award,[47] Potlatch Fund's 2013 Pearl Capoeman-Baller Civic Participation Award,[48] the Snohomish County Human Rights Commission's 2016 Human Rights Award,[49] and KSER's 2017 Voice of the Community Award for Community Impact by an Individual.[42] In September 2015, she was honored as the first of fifty in Indian Country Today's 50 Faces of Indian Country 2015.[50] Parker was also the keynote speaker at the second annual Faith and Action Climate Team (FACT) Conference in October 2017.[20][51][52]

2012–13 Violence Against Women Act reauthorization
Photograph of Barack Obama signing the VAWA reauthorization, surrounded by numerous major players, including Deborah Parker
On March 7, 2013, Barack Obama signed the reauthorization act with Deborah Parker (left, with hat) by his side.

During the political battle leading up to the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Parker was "vital" in the campaigning that pushed for reauthorization and her public testimony to Congress in particular was influential.[16][26]: 209  While in Washington, D.C., for an April 2012 meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency,[53][54] Parker visited the staff of Washington senator Patty Murray to discuss salmon and natural resource issues.[55] During the visit, she learned about the efforts to pass the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 and the struggle that Murray's team were having with keeping support for a provision on tribal jurisdiction.[55][56] According to the team, the reauthorization would likely fail, especially with the tribal provision, because the legislation "lacked a face."[25] After being asked whether she knew any stories that could help the effort, Parker asked to speak directly with Murray.[55][56] Murray was on the Senate floor at the time; she agreed to leave immediately to meet privately with Parker.[56]

Parker and Murray met later that afternoon to discuss the reauthorization bill[25][55] and the inclusion of new provisions to allow tribal courts to prosecute non–Native Americans for crimes against women and families on tribal lands.[54][56] Parker, committed to ensuring that the VAWA was reauthorized with tribal provisions, decided that "she had to set aside her fear and become 'the face' and the voice for the issue of Native women and rape."[25] This was not something she originally planned to do.[5] The next day after the meeting, on April 25, she detailed in a press conference to Congress experiences both she and other women she knew had with violence and sexual abuse on reservations, describing herself as "a Native American statistic".[25][53][54][55] It was the first time Parker had publicly talked about the experiences she had.[56]

The Senate passed the VAWA reauthorization the following day[25]: 232 [54] with the protections for Native Americans included,[45] though Republicans in the House of Representatives initially sought to remove them.[5][45] Parker began to aggressively lobby in favor of the reauthorization and sought to convince members of Congress to support both it and its tribal provisions, so much so that then-president Obama got to know her by her native name[14] and her "toes bled" from all the walking.[14][45] She attended national cable news programs and provided interviews to newspapers across the country in support of the legislation.[55] While lobbying the opponents of the bill, Parker felt she was "up against some of the worst discrimination I've ever seen in my entire life" and that Native American women were treated "like we were subhuman".[45] The House of Representatives began proposing weaker language to the Senate in an attempt at compromise on the provision; Murray, Parker, and the rest refused.[55] Before long, the opposition to the reauthorization and its tribal provisions eroded in the House and strong bipartisan support emerged.[55]

By the time the final bill was signed into law in March 2013, it included the tribal law provisions that Parker promoted.[12][13][14] Four months later, in July 2013, Parker was honored by the Obama White House as one of the Open Government and Civic Hacking Champions of Change "working to improve their communities through technology, innovation, and civic participation."[57][58] For Murray, the VAWA reauthorization "would have never happened if Parker had not gone public with her story on Capitol Hill" and she "made the absolute difference at the absolute critical time" by "making her personal story become the face of what this was about".[59] Around the same time, playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle released Sliver of a Full Moon, a play about the events surrounding the VAWA reauthorization that tells the stories of five Native American women and two Native men.[60] Among the five women is Deborah Parker, played by Jennifer Bobiwash.[60]

Later, in October 2015, the tribal provisions were officially implemented for all tribes after a "very successful" pilot program involving the Tulalip, Pascua Yaqui, and Umatilla tribes.[14][61] A year afterward, in October 2016, Parker was featured in the second campaign advertisement of Patty Murray's re-election in the 2016 United States Senate election in Washington.[59] In the video, Parker briefly recounted her experiences with sexual assault and her work with Murray to help pass the VAWA reauthorization.[59]

2016 US presidential election

During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Parker served as one of the platform committee members representing Bernie Sanders[15][16] after having been an early and vocal supporter of his 2016 presidential campaign.[15][27] She was initially hesitant to do so, but accepted then–Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's offer to join the platform committee, seeing it as an opportunity to advance the causes she supported, particularly "Native American sovereignty, climate justice, to increase [...] protections for women, [and] income inequality";[27] and to "'honor' Sanders and 'represent his vision' on the committee."[62] As a platform committee member, Parker "helped to ensure that Native policy initiatives were ultimately rolled into the party's larger platform."[17] She also authored one of the twelve "priority amendments" to the Democratic platform that the Sanders campaign supported, which sought to introduce language that explicitly promoted using global warming as a "test" for whether any policy or decision should be supported within relevant federal agencies.[63][64]

In June 2016, on the first day of the platform drafting hearing in St. Louis, Parker proposed a substitution amendment that replaced and strengthened the language in the section on honoring tribal nations.[65] Elijah Cummings, the chairman presiding over the hearing, allotted Parker additional time and gave her the floor.[65][66] While reading the amendment text, she was overwhelmed by the moment and began to cry.[65][66] After some silence, James Zogby continued where Parker left off until she regained her composure and resumed.[65][66] Barbara Lee noted afterward that in all her decades of attending Democratic National Conventions, she did not recall "any provision or plank in our platform that acknowledges the first people of the United States".[65] Cornel West likewise commented that Parker's "very existence [...] on this committee is historically unprecedented".[65] After further commendations from other committee members, and Cummings' recognition of Parker's "passion", the proposal was passed unanimously to a standing ovation.[65][66]

Specifically, the amendment text committed the Democratic Party to "uphold, honor, and strengthen to the highest extent possible the United States' fundamental trust and responsibility, grounded in the Constitution and treaties, to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes" because "throughout our history we have failed to live up to that trust".[65] It also committed the party to restoring tribal lands to indigenous tribes; increasing funding and support for tribal communities, particularly in infrastructure, education, and health care; eliminating school and sports mascots that are derogatory, stereotyping, or racist toward Native Americans; and improving both tribal jurisdiction and indigenous voting rights.[65] Lastly, the amendment endorsed "environmental justice in Indian Country" and acknowledged "the past injustices and the misguided, harmful federal and state policies and actions based on outdated and discredited values and beliefs that resulted in the destruction of the Indian nations' economies, social, and religious systems, the taking of their lands, and the creation of intergenerational trauma that exists to this day."[65] The amendment text was fully retained in the July 1 draft version[67] and further expanded to strengthen language for Native Hawaiians by the time the official platform was released on July 21.[68]

Shortly after Our Revolution formed in August 2016,[69] Parker joined it as a member of its board of directors.[8][70]

Protests

Throughout the years, Parker has opposed and protested multiple pipeline projects out of concern for their environmental impact and effects on tribal lands. In September 2016, Parker and other Tulalip tribal members joined Standing Rock in protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline.[8][71] A month later, on November 15, 2016, Parker joined Eryn Wise, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, and Judith LeBlanc for the protests' "National Day of Action", during which the four staged a sit-in at the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters and led a crowd of approximately 1,000 protestors around Washington, D.C.[72]

Parker joined other indigenous leaders and groups in January 2017 for the 2017 Women's March and marched in the Women's March on Washington.[73] During the protest, a new group was formed called Indigenous Women Rise,[74] of which she became a co-founder.[10][11] A year later, in January 2018, she participated in the 2018 Women's March in Seattle, where she recounted the previous year's events.[73]

In an April 2018 article, Parker criticized Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and advocated for opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline in solidarity with First Nations peoples.[75] Our Revolution released a statement doing likewise on the same day.[76]

Views

During a 2016 interview, Parker described a national restriction on gun possession for those previously charged with domestic violence as a "necessity" for protecting women.[27] She also censured Donald Trump's usage of "Pocahontas" as a nickname for Elizabeth Warren (who claims Cherokee and Delaware heritage), which she described as "very insulting"; and Trump's past treatment of tribal nations and their sovereignty more generally.[27]

Parker is critical of the US government's current and historic treatment of indigenous populations, comparing Native American reservations to "concentration camps".[26]: 211 

Regarding the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, especially traditional ecological knowledge and traditional medicine, Parker supports rules and guidelines which preserve indigenous ways of life and respect the privacy of certain traditions and practices.[77] She also emphasizes the importance of viewing indigenous knowledge from an indigenous perspective, which may differ from "the Western-science approach" to these issues.[77]

See also

Notes
  1. Although commonly spelled "Tsi-Cy-Altsa", it is sometimes rendered in all lowercase as "tsi-cy-altsa" or also without hypens as "tsicyaltsa". Officially, Parker's name is spelled "cicayalc̓aʔ", as stated on her nameplate while serving as vice-chair of the Tulalip Tribes.[3]

References
  1. Walker, Richard (June 9, 2017). "10 Things You Should Know About the Tulalip Tribes". People. Indian Country Today. National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018. Deborah Parker (1970– ). Former vice chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes; leading advocate for expansion of the Violence Against Women Act to include protections for Native American women; appointed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, to the 2016 Democratic National Convention's Platform Committee.
  2. Horwitz, Sari (March 9, 2014). "The hard lives—and high suicide rate—of Native American children on reservations". World (National Security). The Washington Post. Sacaton, Arizona: Fred Ryan. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018. 'It's tough coming forward when you're a victim,' said Deborah Parker, 43, the vice chair of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington state. 'You have to relive what happened. ... A reservation is like a small town, and you can face a backlash.'
  3. Charoni, Allison (May 6, 2013). Deborah Parker. Media Lab (MAKERS Workshop) (Video). KCTS 9. Event occurs at 0:21–0:24. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via YouTube.
  4. Walker, Richard (December 9, 2015). "Young Lummi Carry Ancestral Teachings to COP21". Native News. Indian Country Today. National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. 'At times, my spirit's down. At times, I hurt,' said former Tulalip Tribes vice chairwoman Deborah Parker, whose Native name, tsi-cy-altsa, goes back seven generations on her mother's side of the family.
  5. Muhlstein, Julie (May 22, 2012). "Tulalip leader speaks in D.C. for protection for women". Local News. The Daily Herald. Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  6. Winters, Chris (March 24, 2015). "Tulalip Tribes return former chairman to board". Local News. The Daily Herald. Tulalip: Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018. Board member Deborah Parker did not run for re-election.
  7. "About: Our Board". About. Our Revolution. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. Deborah Parker, Vice-Chair – Native American Leader
  8. Guttenplan, Don David (November 7, 2016). "Bernie Sanders's Our Revolution Faces Its First Big Test". Campaign Finance. The Nation. Katrina vanden Heuvel. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. 'What triggered that move was having three Our Revolution board members at Standing Rock' said [Larry] Cohen: the actor and environmental activist Shailene Woodley (who was actually arrested protesting the pipeline), Native American activist Deborah Parker, and Jane Kleeb, incoming chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party.
  9. "Deborah Parker". National Indigenous Women's Resource Center. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. Deborah Parker, Tsi-Cy-Altsa (Tulalip/Yaqui), was elected to the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors in 2012. As a board member, Deborah brings to Tulalip leadership nearly two decades of experience as a policy analyst, program developer, communications specialist, and committed cultural advocate and volunteer in the tribal and surrounding communities. [...] Deborah lives in Tulalip with her husband Myron Dewey (Paiute/Shoshone) and their five children.
  10. "Deborah Parker: We Are The Changemakers Panelist Bio". Corvallis Changemakers. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018. Most recently, Deborah Parker was named to the Democratic National Convention's Platform Committee. She is a trustee for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Vice Chairwoman for the National Our Revolution Organization, Board of Trustee for the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center and Co-Founder for Indigenous Women Rise.
  11. "Indigenous Women Rise (Room 24 B)". Legislative / Policy, Women in Tribal Gaming. ChirpE. Indian Gaming 2017 Tradeshow and Conference. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  12. Capriccioso, Rob (February 28, 2013). "A Proud Day for Tribal Advocates of the Violence Against Women Act". News (Politics). Indian Country Today. National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization passed the U.S. House on February 28 by a vote of 286 to 138. In a major victory for Indian country, it mirrored the already passed U.S. Senate provisions that allow tribal courts to prosecute non-Indians who commit violence against women and families on Indian lands. [...] The Senate agreed with [Deborah] Parker's position this year on February 12, and the higher chamber last Congress also voted in the affirmative on the tribal provisions, but this was the first time that the House had taken such action. [...] 'The hard work of Deborah Parker and all tribal advocates is a big win for all of us,' [Pamela] Stearns said, adding that she looks forward to continuing the fight with them on behalf of Alaska Native women[.]
  13. Wang, Hansi Lo (February 20, 2014). "For Abused Native American Women, New Law Provides A 'Ray Of Hope'". Code Switch. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. Deborah Parker serves as the Tulalip Tribes' vice chair. For three years, she flew back and forth between Washington state and Washington, D.C., giving speeches and knocking on doors—an experience that she says felt like 'going to war.' [...] It's an alarming statistic that Parker knows all too well from growing up on the reservation.
  14. Monnet, Jenni (February 22, 2014). "Prosecuting non–Native Americans". U.S. Al Jazeera America. Al Jazeera Media Network. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018. Raised on the reservation, an early victim of abuse herself, she [Deborah Parker] said listening to the often-daily survival stories of other tribal members led to a moment of awareness. [...] After meeting certain requirements, the Tulalip, along with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, now have the judicial authority to try non-Indians for certain domestic violence-related cases under a pilot program of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Congress passed its reauthorization last year, and by March 2015, the tribal provision will take effect for all U.S. tribes. Last year, Parker said she lobbied members of Congress about the measure until her "toes bled." And she said she advocated so frequently on Capitol Hill—500 days to be exact—that even President Barack Obama got to know her by her Indian name.
  15. Trahant, Mark (May 27, 2016). "Deborah Parker Named to Democrat's Platform Committee". News (Politics). Indian Country Today. National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  16. Nichols, John (May 24, 2016). "The Democratic Platform Committee Now Has a Progressive Majority. Thanks, Bernie Sanders". Democrats. The Nation. Katrina vanden Heuvel. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. The Sanders selections are all noted progressives: Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison, academic and activist Cornel West (the author of the groundbreaking 1994 book Race Matters and a leading member of Democratic Socialists of America), Native American activist and former Tulalip Tribes Vice Chair Deborah Parker (a key advocate for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act), and Arab-American Institute President James Zogby (a veteran of many conventions who was an adviser to the campaigns of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Vice President Al Gore and President Obama).
  17. Capriccioso, Rob (May 18, 2018) [Edited; originally published May 12, 2017]. "In Trump Era, Native Democrats Desperately Search for Answers". Archive. Indian Country Today. National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018. Then last summer, Sanders chose Deborah Parker, former vice chair of the Tulalip Tribes, to serve on the Democratic Platform Committee. Both she and Jodi Gillette-Archambault, Obama's former White House Advisor on Indian Affairs of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, helped to ensure that Native policy initiatives were ultimately rolled into the party's larger platform.
  18. Parker, Deborah (June 16, 2016). Wisdom of the Cedars (Video). Orcas Island: TEDx Talks. Events occur at 1:43–2:02, 2:15–2:20, and 13:33–13:52. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via YouTube.
    • [2:15–2:20] "My name goes seven generations back to my grandmother, my [unintelligible] grandmother."
    • [13:33–13:52] "And I said 'I'm a Coast Salish person—my grandfather comes from Lummi Nation, from the islands from East Saanich, from Cowichan; my grandmother comes from the [unintelligible], from the Snohomish River—and I have no idea what you're talking about.' "
  19. "2010 Enduring Spirit Award Honors Native Women" (PDF). 7th Annual Native Women's Leadership Forum & Enduring Spirit Honoring Luncheon. Native Action Network. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018 – via Washington Governor's Office of Indian Affairs. She [Deborah Parker] carries her great grandmothers Indian name 'tsi-cy-altsa' and is an enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes and is also of Yaqui/Apache descent. [...] In 2006, Deborah worked with a team of Native colleagues to form Native Vote Washington as a 501 (c)(4) organization to encourage Indian participation in the political process.
  20. Parker, Deborah (October 28, 2017). Deborah Parker: Love at the Crossroads – Climate and Social Justice (Video). 2nd Annual Faith and Action Climate Team Conference. Seattle, Washington: Ed Mays (published October 30, 2017). Events occur at 0:25–0:38 and 1:36–1:53. Retrieved July 18, 2018 – via YouTube.
    • [0:25–0:38] "My indigenous name, the name I carry from my grandmother, she was a Snohomish me— well, not a member, she was just Snohomish; there's no membership."
    • [1:36–1:53] "I was honored to be vice-chair of our tribe [the Tulalip Tribes of Washington], honored to be a mother of three beautiful tribal children, and the daughter of [...] a member of the Tulalip Tribes and my mother is a Yaqui–Apache from the south."
  21. Spadafora, Mary Jean (April 6, 2012). Marmor, Jon (ed.). "Parker named National Indian Parent of the Year". 360° View. Viewpoints. Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 2012). University of Washington: Paul Rucker. p. 10. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via issuu. Deborah Parker, '99, received the National Indian Education Association's 2011 Parent of the Year Award for her work representing the Tulalip community and for fighting racism in the Marysville School District. [...] Parker, who currently serves as a trustee on the UW Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program Board, is a Tulalip Tribe Legislative Policy Analyst.
  22. "Deborah Parker". Champions of Change (Civic Hacking and Open Government). The White House of President Barack Obama. U.S. Federal Government. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018 – via National Archives and Records Administration.
  23. Sheets, Bill (January 25, 2012). "If there's a need, she's likely been there to help". Local News. The Daily Herald. Tulalip: Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. "Deborah Parker". Pipestem Law. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018. Deborah Parker (Senior Strategist) is the former Vice-Chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors and a nationally-recognized advocate and activist for the rights of Native women. She served as a Legislative Policy Analyst in the Office of Governmental Affairs from 2005–12 for the Tulalip Tribes.
  25. Turner, Jan (July 24, 2012). "Stories of Pain and Perseverance: Rape on the Reservation". Our World Today (Security & Stability). Womenetics. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  26. Lane, Temryss MacLean (January 15, 2018). "The frontline of refusal: indigenous women warriors of standing rock". International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Routledge. 31 (3): 209–211. doi:10.1080/09518398.2017.1401151. eISSN 1366-5898. ISSN 0951-8398. S2CID 149347362.
  27. Parker, Deborah (August 1, 2016). "Deborah Parker Interview At 2016 Democratic National Convention". TYT Interviews. The Young Turks (Video). Interviewed by John Iadarola. Events occur at 0:29–0:36, 1:34–2:02, 2:43–3:07, 5:27–6:12, 9:30–9:39, and 10:51–11:46. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via YouTube.
    • [0:29–0:36] "About a year ago, I decided to not seek re-election and actually spend more time with my family."
    • [1:34–2:02] "Well, I was contacted by Debbie Wasserman Schultz from the DNC and when she called me on a Sunday afternoon to say, 'Would you be willing to sit on the platform?' my mind said 'no, thank you' but I actually said 'yes', not knowing the full process. I just thought, 'wow', that this is our opportunity and my opportunity as a Native American woman to—and as a climate activist and I work on Violence Against Women Act issues— [...]"
    • [2:43–3:07] "Personally, I was hoping to achieve, to advance some of the causes that I have been working on, which is Native American sovereignty, climate justice, to increase—as I was saying—protections for women, income inequality. Those are things that were so important to me and those were the very issues Bernie Sanders was reporting in."
    • [5:27–6:12] "It's [nationwide legal restrictions on guns for those charged with domestic violence] a necessity; if you truly care about women and the safety of women, then we need to take direct action. [...] and if you're truly committed to protecting women, then let's put legislation forward that protects women and gun safety and legislation that doesn't allow perpetrators and abusers to have guns, which is a huge killer of women."
    • [9:30–9:39] "It's [Donald Trump referring to Elizabeth Warren as 'Pocahontas'] very insulting to be called something that I'm not—I'm not 'Pocahontas', I'm not from her nation—so I mean it's very deep for us, so it's actually insulting."
    • [10:51–11:46] "He [Donald Trump] already has a record with the tribal nations that is very seriously flawed. [...] he did try to engage in business with our sovereign nations and he tried to shortcut a lot of the policies and procedures. You can go online and see the testimonies that he took to Congress that really ridiculed and just really hurt our idea—the fact that we have sovereignty, the fact that our constitutionality and our treaties are what protects us. It's part of the Constitution and he wanted to ignore that. You don't ignore that."
  28. "Nonprofits". People Watching. Snohomish County Business Journal. January 5, 2005. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018 – via The Herald Business Journal. Deborah Parker has been elected treasurer and Tim Blair has been elected vice president of the nonprofit group Choice & Consequence.
  29. "Choice & Consequence: The Organ Lady Story". About. Choice & Consequence. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018. Our Mission: The Choice & Consequence mission is to educate youth about the consequences of their health behaviors. We show the benefits of choosing wisely using real human organs and empower audiences of all ages to make positive health choices. [...] The Board of Directors set CC up as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity in Washington State. On January 1, 2004, Providence Everett Medical Center donated their organ program, 'The Real Inside Story' to Choice & Consequence.
  30. "Choice & Consequence: Board of Directors". About. Choice & Consequence. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  31. "Shadow of the Salmon: Resource Guide" (PDF). p. i. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via Washington State University. [Image caption:] Billy Frank Jr., respected Nisqually elder and longtime Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, sits among other Shadow of the Salmon cast members. From left: Noah Hunt (Cody), Gene Tagaban (Uncle Ray), Deborah Parker (Aunt Fran) and Roberta Sam (Shawnee).
  32. Walker, Richard (December 31, 2007). "News from the Pacific Northwest". News. Indian Country Today. Suquamish, Washington: National Congress of American Indians. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018. The film premiered Nov. 19 at the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort and stars Gene Tagaban, ('The Business of Fancydancing') Tlingit, and Debra [sic] Parker, Tulalip.
  33. "Shadow Of The Salmon". Salmon Defense. 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  34. "Locally Produced Film, 'Shadow of the Salmon,' Nominated for Three Regional Emmys" (PDF). News (Press release). Three Sixty Productions. April 13, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  35. "New FEOP Board Members Elected". Around Campus. E-News (Newsletter). University of Washington: Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. September 2010. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  36. "Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program". Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. University of Washington. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  37. "Staff". Mother Nation. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. Deborah joined the Mother Nation Team as Policy Analyst in February 2016. Prior to her new role, Deborah was an Honorary Board Member since 2013, after eight months of supporting Mother Nation through advocacy, donation of funds and house items along with clothing.
  38. Robinson, Chetanya (April 19, 2017). "Nonprofit agency helps fill the gaps in services for Native American women". Real Change. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. Deborah Parker [...] started volunteering with Mother Nation in 2013, the same year she successfully fought to have a provision of the Violence Against Women Act allow Native women to prosecute non-Native abusers. [...] Parker is now a policy analyst with Mother Nation. She said she was drawn to the organization after seeing how positively Native women responded to its culturally grounded services—that and founder Hill's dedication.
  39. "About". Mother Nation. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. Native Women in Need, an advocacy, cultural services and mentorship organization serving Native American women, officially changed its name to Mother Nation on March 8th, 2017, International Women's Day! Mother Nation is a non-profit Native women's organization that celebrates and inspires the success of Native American women in pursuit of healing from historical and intergenerational trauma.
  40. "Appendix A: Actions of the April 7, 2014, Meeting of the Board of Regents" (PDF). Governance. Smithsonian Institution. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. VOTED that the Board of Regents appoints LaDonna Harris, Victor Montejo, Deborah Parker, and Valerie Rowe to the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian for three-year terms effective immediately. [2014.04.14]
  41. Wicks, Emily (October 18, 2017). "MSD25 selects former Tulalip Tribes Board Member and Native American advocate to serve as Director of Equity, Diversity and Indian Education". News. Marysville, Washington: Marysville School District. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  42. Muhlstein, Julie (October 11, 2017). "KSER-FM celebrates this year's Voice of the Community Awards". Local News. The Daily Herald. Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  43. Cornwell, Paige (June 11, 2018) [Updated; originally published June 10, 2018]. "They survived a school shooting as freshmen. Four years later, a diploma doesn't erase the pain". Local News. The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington: Frank Blethen. ISSN 0745-9696. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018. On the reservation, 'we are still processing, and for some of us, it may be a lifetime of processing,' said Deborah Parker, the district's director of equity, diversity and Indian education and a former Tulalip Tribes vice chairwoman.
  44. "Indigenous filmmaker and journalist Myron Dewey dead at 49". CTV News. September 29, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  45. Burton, Lynsi (May 12, 2017). "Mother Nation: Healing the trauma of native women". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Seattle Media. ISSN 0745-970X. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. By the time Parker arrived home the next day, she learned the Senate had passed VAWA with native protections. The bill was stymied, however, as the House of Representatives sought to remove those provisions and the two chambers could not agree on a final bill. Parker, then a vice chairwoman at the Tulalip Tribes, flew to Washington, D.C., several times to lobby lawmakers. She stuffed tissues in her shoes to staunch her bleeding feet as she shuffled from office to office. 'I was up against some of the worst discrimination I've ever seen in my entire life,' Parker said of the opponents to the bill. 'It's like we were subhuman and those old belief systems from the past were very real.' [...] Parker now volunteers as a policy analyst for Mother Nation and dedicates her time to helping tribes throughout the United States implement new VAWA laws as a senior strategist for Pipestem Law.
  46. "About The Firm". Pipestem Law. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018. Pipestem Law is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the sovereign rights of tribal governments and improving the lives of Native people. We specialize in representation of tribal governments, tribal enterprises, and Native organizations with an emphasis on litigation in tribal, state, and federal courts.
  47. "Community Extra: Applause". Local News. The Daily Herald. Josh O'Connor. June 6, 2013. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  48. Cleary, Niki (November 6, 2013). "Potlatch fund recognizes Native America's game changers". Tulalip News. Tulalip: Tulalip Tribes of Washington. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via Kim Kalliber. This year, Tulalip's own Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker was among the recognized. She spoke about the experience in a recent interview.
  49. Muhlstein, Julie (December 9, 2016). "Everett event to honor those who bolster dignity, equality". Local News. The Daily Herald. Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  50. "50 Faces of Indian Country: Parker, Miller, Begay, Jacobs, Valdo". Culture (Arts & Entertainment). Indian Country Today. Indian Country Media Network. September 1, 2015. ISSN 1066-5501. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  51. McDade, Georgia S. (November 8, 2018). Green, Marcus Harrison (ed.). "Love at a Crossroads: Conference Marries Climate and Social Justice". Community. South Seattle Emerald. Marcus Harrison Green. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018. The keynote speaker was Native American Deborah Parker of the Tulalip Tribe. Whether addressing us or answering questions she oozed calm. She said she spent most of her time 'healing, not hurting' and encouraged us to do the same. She used the word 'protect' often in her address.
  52. "Love at the Crossroads: Climate and Social Justice Conference" (PDF). Mount Zion Baptist Church. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018 – via Eating for a Healthy Planet.
  53. Parker, Deborah (April 25, 2012). Women Senators, Tribal Leader Discuss Importance of VAWA Improvements (Video). Washington, D.C.: Senator Patty Murray. Event occurs at 0:12–5:55. Retrieved June 8, 2018 – via YouTube.
  54. Agtuca, Jacqueline; Cheam, Tang, eds. (June 2012). "Passage of More Inclusive Violence Against Women Act" (PDF). Restoration of Sovereignty & Safety. Vol. 9, no. 2. National Indigenous Women's Resource Center. pp. 22–25. OCLC 4947882874. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  55. "Murray Honored by NCAI for Work to Protect Tribal Women in VAWA". Newsroom (News Releases). Office of United States Senator Senator Patty Murray (Press release). Washington, D.C.: United States Senate. March 6, 2013. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  56. Parker, Deborah (December 6, 2012). Deborah Parker Addressing 13th National Indian Nations Conference (Video). 13th National Indian Nations Conference: Justice for Victims of Crime. Agua Caliente Reservation, California: Tribal Law and Policy Institute (published June 22, 2013). Event occurs at 11:50–14:55. Retrieved July 21, 2018 – via YouTube. Title of speech: "Strength from Within: Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Mobilizing Tribal Government".{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  57. Forde, Brian; Gilman, Hollie Russon (July 29, 2013). "Honoring Open Government and Civic Hacking Champions of Change". Blog. The White House of President Barack Obama. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018 – via National Archives and Records Administration.
  58. Montreuil, Brandi N. (August 6, 2013). "Deborah Parker honored as a White House Open Government Champion of Change". Local News. Tulalip News. Tulalip Tribes of Washington. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  59. Hotakainen, Rob (October 13, 2016). "Campaign ad features Washington state woman who disclosed sexual and physical abuse". Politics & Government. San Luis Obispo Tribune. Washington: Ken Riddick. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  60. "Sliver of a Full Moon to be staged for world leaders". Native American Times (Press release). September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018. Professional actors will join them to portray Congressman Tom Cole, Eastern Band Cherokee Councilwoman Terri Henry, and Tulalip Tribe's Vice-Chairwoman Deborah Parker.
  61. McConnell, Charles (October 6, 2015). "Tribes: Domestic violence program 'very successful,' but challenges remain". Legal. Cronkite News. Arizona PBS. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  62. Parks, Maryalice (June 10, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Goes Home to Contemplate What's Next". Politics. ABC News. Burlington, Vermont: American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018. Deborah Parker, a Native-American tribal leader and one of Sanders' picks to the platform committee, said Thursday during the senator's rally in Washington, D.C., that she hoped to 'honor' Sanders and 'represent his vision' on the committee.
  63. "Sanders Campaigns Priority Amendments to Democratic Platform". Friends of Bernie Sanders (Press release). July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018. 10. KEYSTONE PIPELINE AMENDMENT – By Deborah Parker[:] On Page 19, Line 26, after 'We support President Obama's decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline' add: ', and we support the test he used to arrive at that decision: whether or not a policy would "significantly exacerbate" global warming. A similar test should be applied across all relevant federal agencies and decisions.[']
  64. "Sen. Bernie Sanders joins opposition to Dakota Access Pipeline". News. Indianz. Ho-Chunk Inc. August 25, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018. While Sanders did not win the Democratic nomination for president, his tribal allies secured a provision in the party platform that calls on the federal government to ensure that its actions do not contribute to climate change. The language was proposed by Deborah Parker, the former vice chair of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington.
  65. Parker, Deborah (June 24, 2016). Democratic Platform Drafting Hearing – St. Louis – Day 1 PM section (Video). St. Louis: Democratic National Convention. Event occurs at 8:01:55–8:12:39. Retrieved June 16, 2018 – via YouTube.
  66. Abdelaziz, Laila (July 10, 2016). "To those who were here before us". Mondoweiss. Center for Economic Research and Social Change. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  67. "2016 Democratic Party Platform – DRAFT – July 1, 2016" (PDF). Democratic Platform Committee. 2016 Democratic National Convention. Democratic National Committee. July 1, 2016. pp. 14–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  68. "2016 Democratic Party Platform – July 21, 2016" (PDF). Democratic Platform Committee. 2016 Democratic National Convention. Democratic National Committee. July 21, 2016. pp. 21–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  69. Guttenplan, Don David (August 25, 2016). "Returning to His Roots, Sanders Launches 'Our Revolution'". Election 2016. The Nation. Katrina vanden Heuvel. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018. But, as Sanders reminded his supporters last night during the national launch of Our Revolution, the new organization founded to carry forward the work of his 'political revolution,' by every other measure they succeeded far beyond what anyone (including the candidate himself) would have deemed possible even a year ago.
  70. "Our Revolution Announces Formation of Board" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Our Revolution. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  71. Winters, Chris (September 16, 2016). "Tulalips support Standing Rock Sioux protesting oil pipeline". Local News. The Daily Herald. Tulalip: Josh O'Connor. ISSN 2332-0079. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. On Friday, about 100 Tulalip members took part in a rally and march in downtown Seattle, said Deborah Parker, a former Tulalip board member who went down with her family.
  72. "Native women lead massive march to White House to stop Dakota Access Pipeline". News. Indianz. Ho-Chunk Inc. November 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018. [Eryn] Wise, who is from the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Laguna Pueblo, was joined by three other Native women leaders—LaDonna Brave Bull Allard (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), Deborah Parker (Tulalip Tribes) and Judith LeBlanc (Caddo Nation)—for the #NoDAPL Day of Action. After staging a sit-in at the headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, they led the crowd of about 1,000 people down the streets of Washington, even passing by the newly opened Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
  73. Cornwell, Paige (January 20, 2018). "Seattle's Women's March: How it unfolded". Seattle News. The Seattle Times. Frank Blethen. ISSN 0745-9696. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018. Update, 10:55 a.m.: [...] Former Tulalip Tribes vice chair Deborah Parker recounted marching in Washington D.C. last year but said 'it's good to be home' this year. 'Last year I had the time of my life in D.C. because there was so much love,' she said. 'Millions of women and supporters all came together and it was the most peaceful march and one of the most peaceful times to stand united.' 
  74. Curry, Colleen (March 10, 2017). "Native Girls Rise". Girls & Women. Global Citizen. Global Poverty Project. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018. Just this January, at the Women's March on Washington, a loosely organized coalition called Indigenous Women Rise popped up as an umbrella group for activists who have, until now, been working separately on a variety of issues important to Native communities: voting rights, job opportunities, environmental concerns, ending violence against women. Together under one banner, the women are launching a movement that seems to be gaining momentum.
  75. Parker, Deborah (April 20, 2018). "Stop this pipeline". Environmental Protection. Countercurrents. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  76. May, Diane (April 20, 2018). "Our Revolution Calls on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Stop Trans Mountain Pipeline". EIN Presswire (Press release). IPD Group. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  77. Wall, Dennis (December 2013). "Traditional Knowledge: Safeguarding Indigenous Knowledge". Tribes & Climate Change (Tribal Climate Change Profile). Northern Arizona University. Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
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