Jane Lancaster

I am President of the Albuquerque Chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness. NAMI is a grass roots, volunteer organization of families of the mentally ill, people with severe mental illness, and mental health care providers. We have a number of programs, notably: Family to Family, an eight week training for families with members with severe mental illness; In Our Own Voice, an anti-stigma presentation by consumers in recovery; Provider Education, presentations to mental health care providers by consumers in recovery; a weekly Support Group, and monthly Education meetings. Our current initiative is to lobby for passage of an Assisted Outpatient Treatment law in New Mexico. We are one of eight states with no such provision.

Joe Watkins

In 2003 and 2004 I worked with the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department to increase public awareness of the legal situation regarding unmarked American Indian human burials in New Mexico. As Moderator of the “Protecting the Spirits of Our Ancestors” conferences in 2003 and 2004, I worked to integrate scientific and public perspectives of the issues regarding the excavation and reburial of American Indian human remains. For this I received a “Protecting the Spirits of Our Ancestors Award” in 2005. Additionally I continue to provide public lectures on Indigenous people's issues with anthropology. In 2005 alone I gave public talks in Nevada, Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. These talks opened up the discussion of the issues to non-academic and academic publics alike, allowing a more public dialogue on American Indian issues.

 

 

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