Supporting Native American Families of Persons with Developmental Disabilities

INTRODUCING OUR STAFF

Doosha (Hidasta: Hello/How are you?/Glad to see you)

I am Evelyn Klimpel an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. I am a Hidasta and Crow Indian. I have been an educator for the past 24 years. I taught in the public school sytem for nine years before moving on to higher education.

My focus changed in 1992 when our youngest son was born with a rare bone condition (Olliers Disease). At the time I was working for the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities. My job was to write grants in response to the prioities and preference of ethnic minorities with disabilities in North Dakota.

Since our son's diagnosis, I have become a parent advocate for children with disabilities. I served on the Federal Interagency Council to change laws and policies regarding services to children and their families. I currently serve on the ND Children's Special Health Services Advisory Board and ND Family Voices Board. Also, I am a parent trainer and parent learning coach for the Hilton Early Head Start SpecialQuest Project (Phrase I & II).

My day job is Coordinator of Disability Services for Minot State University. I coordinator accommodations for college students with disabilities. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are in Elementary education.

Finally, my husband Gaylon and I have three sons ranging from 12 years of age to 29 years of age. We have a grandson and granddaughter who keep us quite busy when they come over to our home. We have made Minot, ND our home for the past 28 years.

Erich Longie is an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, father of five children and grandfather of three. He is Project Coordinator for the federally-funded Even Start Project on the Spirit Lake Reservation, as well as President of Spirit Lake Consulting, Inc. Erich is a certified elementary school teacher, has a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and is ABD for his doctorate in Educational Leadership. He was recently elected to the Four Winds School Board. He has also served as a board member on the Indians into Medicine (INMED) and Recruiting American Indians into Nursing (RAIN) program. Prior to founding Spirit Lake Consulting, Inc., he was President of Cankdeska Cikana Community College.
ANNMARIA DE MARS

I have been working on the Spirit Lake Reservation since 1990. Back then, I wrote the first federal grant to tribes for Early Childhood Tracking with special education staff from all the reservations in North Dakota.

. I also wrote and taught the first course offered over the Internet by a tribal college. I think the fact that I was first on these things proves mainly that I am getting old.

 I have four children, aged six to twenty-one. My second child has epilepsy, which was diagnosed when we were living in North Dakota. She takes medication daily to prevent seizures. Since this works pretty well, she does not considered herself to have a disability unless it looks like it might get her out of helping around the house,

“I can’t do the dishes. I’m disabled, remember, I have epilepsy!”

In case you are wondering, this line does not work and she still has to do the dishes.

I have a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California. I lived in North Dakota for seven years, but moved back home to California after my husband died. I live in Santa Monica and usually work with my partners back in North Dakota by fax and email, but I do come to the reservation five or six times a year.

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