TRIGGER WARNING, SENSITIVE DISCUSSION TOPICS OF PROBLEMATIC SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN YOUTH
Sacred Circle of Wisdom: Aunties and grandmothers have wisdom about the sacred circle not found in this toolkit resource or mainstream publications. We met with four Native women to learn more about how they keep their circles sacred and prevent problematic sexual abuse. These women have respected positions in their tribes and families. In this podcast, these women share stories about their lives and families. They answer frequently asked questions based on their own experiences in tribal communities. 

Dr. Dewey Ertz is an enrolled member of of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in north central South Dakota. Dr. Ertz began providing mental-health services in 1974 as a licensed clinical psychologist. In this podcast he reflects on his work with youth, families, and addressing PSB.  Working with a mixed racial family and adopted kids, including African American and American Indian, he walks us through the restorative practices they went through to address PSB. This podcast includes six chapters with several topics about treating youth and families with PSB in Indian country. Dewey ends with his advice for professionals working in the field to restore the sacred circle. 

Kaycee Martinez, Northern Cheyenne Tribal member, mom of four, auntie to many, and leader of the Family Spirit Program at the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Cheyenne nation talks about her work to support youth and families and their basic needs. Many families do not have access to reliable transportation, phones, housing, or food. These same families struggle at times with keeping their circle sacred. She reflects on the gaps that she sees and what must be done to prevent PSB. Childcare providers on the reservation do not have any policies or guidelines, they need video cameras, background checks, and education. At the same time, parents need to know the signs of sexual abuse, what to watch for, and what to do if they suspect PSB or child sexual abuse. There are also traditional roles and understanding how to talk about sexual development and reproductive organs. Some parents and families are not comfortable, and more than half of the parents Kaycee works with cannot read or write. Kaycee has been involved in the Restoring the Sacred Circle toolkit and resource for several years, she thinks back to when she first learned about this resource, it was the first time she heard of PSB. Today she is much more vocal about PSB, she wants resources and healing from toxic and intergenerational trauma. She reminds us that culture is a foundational part of prevention and restoring the sacred circle. 

Healer Phil Stevens (Dine’) works with youth and families on the Wind River Reservation and Doya Natsu Healing Center. In this podcast Phil talks about his life growing up on the Navajo Nation and the powerful influence of his grandmother who was born in the 1800s. She raised him and taught him the traditional Navajo teachings: keeping a home, the hogan, keeping a fire at the center of the home, and the meaning of sun shining through the door and spider webs representing a blessing. Phil reflects on these teachings and the youth and families today—many are not taught about traditional practices to keep the circle sacred. His work focuses on bringing these teachings back to Native youth. Phil’s stories about grief, loss, spirituality, and prayer are part of the sacred circle each of us keep. Phil’s message to everyone is… to always walk in beauty. 

Tristin Wolfname (Chosen One) is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and a transgender woman. In this podcast she describes her experience living as a trans woman in a discriminating world. She reflects on what it was like growing up on the Northern Cheyenne reservation, the daughter of a Northern Cheyenne Chief. Everyone thought she was gay, but she was not. As young as the age of 2 or 3 years old, she felt like she was born in the wrong body. She was female but not aligned with her sexual reproductive organs. This conversation has major implications for how we view and treat others in our world.

Regina S. Ertz, Ph.D. is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in north central South Dakota and is a licensed health service psychologist. She started her work with school-aged children and adolescents who have engaged in problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) when she completed her internship/residency with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). Dr. Ertz is currently working at an outpatient tribal clinic located in central Oklahoma and has continued working with American Indian children/youth who have engaged in PSB. It is not uncommon for these issues to be highly present within Native communities as this behavior has been present within intergeneration trauma. American Indian cultural and traditional teachings/methods are often incorporated in services, if appropriate. Dr. Ertz is honored to be able to provide effective evidenced-based treatment for children/youth and their families to offer healing from this cycle of PSB and promote the concept of wellbeing.


Dr. Dewey Ertz began providing mental-health services in 1974. He began working with children and adolescents who display problematic sexual behaviors in 1985 and he gained his clinical membership in ATSA during 1994. Treatment has been provided to both victims of abuse and abusers by Dr. Ertz. He is the current Chairperson of the Great Planes Region Indian Health Services Institutional Review Board (IRB), and he is a member of the National Indian Health Service IRB. Dr. Ertz is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in northcentral South Dakota. One of his current research interests is to develop and validate culturally appropriate interviewing techniques for American Indian children and adolescents who are victims of inappropriate sexual activities and/or individuals who display problematic sexual behavior.

David has worked on the White Earth reservations as a law enforcement officer for many years. He is advocating for the community to come together and use traditions, culture, and community-based services to help youth get back on the right path and promote the safety and wellbeing of our Native children.

Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD., is a child psychologist by training who hold the Presidential Professorship within the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Since 1994, she has directed Project Making Medicine, a clinical training program to train mental health providers in the treatment of child maltreatment using culturally based teachings. In 2020 she was awarded the National Suicide Prevention Resource Center, providing training and technical assistance throughout the country on suicide prevention efforts. With the establishment of the Indian Country Child Trauma Center in 2004, she was instrumental in the cultural adaptations of evidenced-based child treatment protocols. Under her guidance, four Evidenced Based Treatments were enhanced for American Indian and Alaska Native families in Indian Country, titled the Honoring Children Series. One of the four treatment models is Honoring Children – Mending the Circle, a cultural enhancement of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, for use with American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families. Dr. BigFoot is a member of the national TF-CBT Trainer Network.

 Honoring Children, Honoring the Future is a suicide prevention toolkit.

She has over 15 published articles and chapters, including serving as the lead author of the recent publication, Adapting Evidence- Based Treatments for Use with American Indians and Native Alaskan Children and Youth. Dr. BigFoot has served as PI on sixteen federally funded projects. She currently serves on the federal Commission on Native Children, whose mission is to make recommendations to improve conditions affecting American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children and their families. Dr. BigFoot has over 30 years of experience and is knowledgeable about the concerns of implementation and adaptation of evidenced based practices being introduced into Indian Country. Dr. BigFoot is an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma with affiliation to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana where her children are enrolled members and the recognition that her children were raised in the Cheyenne traditions and ceremonies. Equity, inclusion, cultural identity, and belonging are values she promotes and practices. She values her role as mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, auntie and mentor as being her calling and the pathway that brings others into the circles of cultural teachings. Her faith sustains her as she is a disciple of Christ. She was the wife of the late Cheyenne Chief and tribal historian John L. Sipe Jr. and the mother of C. Ah-in-nist Sipes and his siblings.

Bridget Williams was raised in Wagner SD, one of ten children. Having been exposed to trauma both in her childhood and adult life, Bridget has personal experience with how horses can help us heal from trauma. Horses have been a part of part of Bridget’s life as long as she can remember. Bridget is very familiar with reservation life and Native culture and is honored to have experience working with many children, families, and communities on the Rosebud, Pine Ridge, and Yankton Reservations. She holds a master's degree in Community Mental Health and School Counseling from the South Dakota State University and is a licensed mental health professional in the state of SD. Bridget specializes in working with individuals with trauma. She is certified as a Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapist, is certified in Project Making Medicine, a culturally adapted (Native American) TFCBT, trained in treating Youth with Problematic Sexual Behaviors, and has certification in EAGALA, an equine assisted growth and learning association. 

 Her career includes assisting in the development and implementation of the Lakota Circles of Hope, a 2nd to 5th grade prevention program that targets drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and promiscuity. Bridget also served as clinical director of Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi for five years and was a critical player in the program’s start-up and development as a Lakota Based Mental Health Program, developing the clinical manual and helping start and maintain the equine assisted psychotherapy groups for youth and families. Her work includes veterans programs and law enforcement agencies from Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Rapid City. Red Horse Healing’s main focus is on helping children, individuals, families, and communities heal from trauma, encompassing the imp act of historical, generational, and vicarious trauma. Bridget also works at the Trauma Center through Youth and Family Services in Rapid City and provides mental health services through White Buffalo Calf Women’s Society on the Rosebud reservation. 

 Bridget currently lives in Piedmont, SD, where she established Red Horse Healing, a program providing equine-assisted learning and therapy to individuals and organizations in western SD. Bridget and her husband, Dr. Mike Williams are proud parents of 5 children and 2 grandchildren.

Ah-in-nist has been working in Indian country as a facilitator and consultant for many years helping to promote education and healing of a wellness way of life.

Clifford "Ah-in-nist" Sipes is currently a youth specialist at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and works with The National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth. He specializes in getting youth and young adults involved in training the professionals that serve them and creating youth advisory groups. He regularly trains mental health and non-mental health professionals on how to work with young people including law enforcement, educators, and caregivers. He is an indigenous person with family ties in both Oklahoma and Montana.

C. Ah-in-nist Sipes, is by profession a Youth Engagement Specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Administration. He has extensive experience in establishing, recruiting, preparing, mentoring, sustaining, facilitating, and training youth advisory participants at the local, state, and national level. All the youth that are part of the advisory youth boards he has responsible for are those with lived experiences. As a youth he worked with the DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) tribal youth programs, Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) grantees, IHS Meth-Suicide programs, B&GClubs, cultural camps, and trauma treatment programs. In his current position, he recruits, screens, and works intensely with youth to develop leadership and advocacy skills as well as promotes trauma informed principles, and supports safe and growth enriching environments as youth with lived experiences find their voice and passion. He is not a therapist but is a great youth facilitator and trainer. He is the Youth Advisory Board facilitator for the National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth. This center is a comprehensive program for children and adolescents who have engaged in problematic or illegal sexual behaviors and those youth who are involved in the courts or probation. He established the first youth advisory board with the center which has created many products and policy changes. As the son of a Cheyenne Chief and Pipe Carrier John L. Sipe Jr, his own lived experience is of traditional teachings and being raised on the stories of his elders. He is a husband to Megan and the father to their two children. He lives in Oklahoma and is active in his faith.