About Us
Native Action Network (NAN) is a nonprofit organized to promote Native women’s full representation, participation, and leadership in local, state, tribal, and national affairs. NAN achieves this by hosting intergenerational leadership forums, youth academies, 10-month Legacy of Leadership cohorts, leadership luncheons, nonprofit capacity building workshops, as well as other community development and civic participation activities. All of NAN’s programming and resources are intended to empower Native women of all ages.
Spanning across generations, Native Action Network creates vital connections by honoring our community’s positive impacts and empowering the next generation to truly create the social and economic world they envision. We create empowering, nurturing, and safe spaces.
We recognize that gender is both fluid and expansive. Our goal is to create safe and brave spaces for all Native womxn, including those who identify as two-spirit, trans women, and genderqueer.
Mission
Native Action Network’s mission is to enhance the beauty, strength, and integrity of American Indian and Alaskan Native communities through personal empowerment and civic participation.
Our Vision
We are committed to building collective Native power through self-determination and action. At Native Action Network we:
Unite generations of Native women and celebrate their service to family and community.
Dedicate sacred space for sharing and preserving Indigenous knowledge.
Encourage community-centered economic growth and leadership.
Nurture future leaders by upholding community values rooted in culture and tradition.
Honor legacies of Native women’s leadership and contributions to land and community.
Mobilize our communities and BIPOC relations to support necessary social change.
Transform the future we imagine and desire through strengthened relationships and fierce advocacy.
History
Native Action Network was founded in 2001 by Claudia Kauffman (Nez Perce) and Iris Friday (Tlingit).
NAN’s greatest inspiration comes from the founding members of the American Indian Women's Service League who recognized early on the social issues Native people would face when the federal government passed the Indian Relocation Act in the early 1950s. Thousands of Native Americans across the U.S. were relocated to major cities and Seattle became a stopping point along the way. The American Indian Women's Service League welcomed Native newcomers to the area, and provided resources including food, clothing, and shelter, along with a wide range of health and human services.
Recognizing this vital legacy inspired NAN's founders to document the strength, endurance, and contributions of Native women through the first annual Native Women's Leadership Forum and Enduring Spirit Honoring Luncheon in 2002, and more programs soon followed. NAN received the Bernie Whitebear Unity Award in 2003 and the Flying Eagle Women Award for Community-based Philanthropy in 2011.
Community Advocacy
Our board members and staff are active advocates for Native communities. NAN advises and serves as a member organization in the Seattle Urban Native Nonprofits Collaborative, Ms. Foundation’s Girls of Color National Advisory Board, Communities of Concern Commission, Seattle Indian Services Commission, South King County Native Coalition, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation Board, Partners in Change: Equity in Education Coalition, Washington Census Alliance, and as part of other groups across the state.
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Iris Friday, Tlingit, is a Native American Program Specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Performance and Planning in headquarters. She works to bring affordable housing and homeownership opportunities to tribal communities and Native families both on and off reservation.
Iris has served as a past chair of the Center for Women and Democracy, on the Seattle Tlingit and Haida Community Council delegate, and on the Kake Tribal Corporation Board of Directors. Currently, she serves as Treasurer of the Seattle Indian Services Commission.
She is a past recipient of the Antone Minthorn Economic & Community Development Award, Excellence in Public Service Award, NWIHA HUD Employee of the Year, HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Volunteerism, Flying Eagle Woman Award for Community Based Philanthropy, Heritage Keepers, Bernie Whitebear Unity Award, and, is a past graduate of Leadership Kitsap. She’s participated in international delegations to Morocco, Rwanda, and Panama.
Iris has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington and an MPA in Tribal Governance from Evergreen State College. She resides in Bremerton, WA with her husband, four children, and granddaughter.
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Claudia Kauffman (Nez Perce) was elected and served as the Washington State Senator from the 47th Legislative District in 2006 and was re-elected in 2022.
Claudia’s dedication to the community is found in her long history of community involvement projects, nonprofit boards, and fierce advocacy and public service. She has been foster mother to ten foster children, and advocates for foster children, for children with developmental disabilities, and for the improvement of our education system.
Claudia has received numerous awards including the Anne Foy Baker Award from the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Association, the Adeline Garcia Community Service Award from Seattle Indian Health Board, the Governor’s Award of Excellence for a Lifetime of Volunteering from Governor Gregoire, and the Ruby Award for Women Helping Women from the Soroptomist Int’l.
Claudia resides in Kent, WA, with her husband Larry Cordier, and is mother to three children.
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Larry Cordier is from the Sicangu Band of the Lakota Nation. He has resided in Washington state for more than 40 years. Larry was most recently the Tribal Organizer for the WA State Democrats and a Housing Stabilizer with the Chief Seattle Club. He worked as campaign manager for Claudia Kauffman in her successful bid for the State Senate. He was a volunteer on Jay Inslee’s campaign for U.S. congress. Larry participates in powwows as a traditional dancer and the lead singer of his drum group. He serves on the board of Native Action Network, and is the founding member of the Oyate Association a nonprofit organization. Larry earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College. Larry lives with his wife Claudia Kauffman in Kent, Washington.
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Cheyenne Sanders is a member of the Yurok Tribe, a descendant of the House of Tse-kwel from the Village of Weitchpec. Cheyenne received her B.A. from the University of Washington and her J.D. from Cornell Law School. Cheyenne is an attorney specializing in Federal Indian and tribal law. She currently works as in-house counsel for a Southern California Tribe.
Born and raised in Kirkland, Cheyenne has deep roots in the area. Cheyenne first volunteered for Native Active Network in 2010, working alongside Iris and Claudia on the first annual Young Native Women's Leadership Academy. Throughout the past ten years, Cheyenne has kept in contact with the Native Action Network community and been witness to its tremendous growth. Cheyenne is excited about joining the Board at this time, and is committed to supporting Native Action Network's mission and goals.
Cheyenne is passionate about supporting Native women and has previously served as President of the North Coast Women Empowering Women for Indian/Indigenous Nations (WEWIN). Cheyenne is also proud to serve on the Executive Committee of the Indian Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association.
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Melanie Montgomery is a member of the Quinault Indian Nation and currently works with the Shandel Group, a boutique consulting firm based out of Seattle, WA. Within this role, she guides individuals and organizations on their journey of leadership development, executive coaching and organizational development initiatives. After spending 17 years dedicated to a career in Hospitality and Gaming, Melanie recently transitioned into consulting to pursue her passion, leadership!
Before joining the Shandel Group, Melanie served as the Executive Director of Hospitality at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino (QBRC), located in Ocean Shores, Washington. Within this position, she oversaw the Food & Beverage and Hotel Departments. She was also able to explore her passion of leadership more deeply, being able to make a positive impact on the success of her team and the culture and morale of the organization. Throughout her career in the Hospitality and Gaming industries, she gained experience in many different roles, including Hotel Management, Human Resources and Vacation Rentals. She also served for 3 years on the Quinault Nation Enterprise Board, as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, prior to returning to QBRC in her previous capacity.
Melanie is dedicated to being a lifelong learner and continues to emphasize education as an important component of her growth. In May of 2020, she earned her Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership, with a concentration in Change Leadership from Gonzaga University and has participated in many continuing education programs, such as the University of Washington certificate program focused on Tribal Gaming and Hospitality, and Leadership Grays Harbor. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality Business Management from Washington State University in 2010. Melanie is an alumna of the third Legacy of Leadership Cohort.
Finding opportunities to stay involved in the community has always been important to Melanie, as she took on many roles throughout her education and career. While pursuing her undergraduate education, she served as the Treasurer of Native Americans at Dartmouth as well as the Treasurer of AISES. She also recently served on the Incident Command Team for the Quinault Indian Nation, a team developed to plan for the emergency response to COVID-19. She enjoys being able to give back and impact her community in a positive way and intends to build her career around making a difference.
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Misha Rodarte (Averill) is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation but grew up and attended school in the Pacific Northwest. In 2013, Misha received a Bachelor of Arts in American Indian studies with a Diversity Studies minor from the University of Washington, Seattle. While at the University of Washington, Misha joined Alpha Delta Pi sorority; joined as a student of the Office of Minority and Diversity Affairs (OMDA); and received the Mary Gates Leadership Scholar award in Autumn of 2011.
Misha has been employed as a Commercial Real Estate Broker at a firm in Bellevue, Washington. Her duties include serving as real estate broker for the management and asset retention of more than a million square feet of commercial real estate throughout the US and Canada. Prior to her current employment, Misha previously worked as a paralegal for a real estate law firm and escrow office. While there, she helped families reorganize their finances, and many times saved homes from going to foreclosure, and prepare legal case filing in the US Federal Courts.
In 2013, Misha graduated from the NAN Youth Academy and loved everything NAN represented! In 2014, Misha returned to volunteer with NAN as the Youth Academy Facilitator. Misha enjoys the annual forum and youth academy and loves to engage and give back to her community and encourage native youth to keep pursing educational goals. It is most rewarding to see growth in students in professional settings, improving their public speaking skills, their introductions, and networking with other Native women leaders in their communities!
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Mikayla is an enrolled member of the Puyallup Tribe and of Mexican descent. She is the granddaughter of Barbara Richards (Puyallup) and Lee Stafford (Seneca), Nancy Alfaro and Joe Flores, as well as Peggy McCloud (Puyallup). In 2012/2013, she completed over 200 hours of community service throughout Pierce County as Chief Leschi Schools’ 2013 Daffodil Princess. Mikayla attended the University of Washington-Tacoma, she studied Communications. 2017 to 2021, she worked at the Puyallup Tribal Court as a Court Clerk. As of October 2021, she’s been a part of the Communications department at the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, working as a Communications Coordinator. She is a 2022-2023 Legacy of Leadership Cohort member. A majority of her childhood was spent playing sports, participating in Tribal Canoe Journeys and learning other traditions from her cultures on both sides of her family. In her spare time she is a volunteer coach with the Puyallup Jr. Vikings Football & Cheer program and the assistant high school cheer coach at Chief Leschi Schools. She is the mother of 3 children and 1 bonus child, her teenage sister-in-law.
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Irene McCloud is an enrolled member of The Puyallup Tribe of Indians and has many ancestral ties to the Nisqually, Chehalis, Quinault and Quileute people. Irene began learning the Southern Lushootseed language in 2017 from consultant and mentor Zeke Zahir. She received her First Peoples' Language, Culture and Oral Traditions Certification in 2020. Irene currently works as a Lushootseed LanguageTeacher for the Puyallup Tribal Language Department. Irene is passionate about the Lushootseed language and has dedicated herself to ongoing efforts towards language revitalization.
Irene has a passion for Native children and families. She has worked in childcare for 9 years where she developed skills in curriculum building and creating strategies for implementing the Lushootseed language in the classroom. Irene became a member of the T.E.L.L. Project in order to fulfill objectives of a federal grant that supports Native American language survival. Recently, she accepted a role to teach Lushootseed to the Puyallup tribal community and surrounding Lushootseed speaking tribes through online classes, traditional storytelling nights, in-person classes, and conversation.
Irene also enjoys entrepreneurship and is continually exploring avenues of business. Irene is the curator of the Native streetwear clothing brand, Hutxh. Hutxh is a fashion wear brand that aims to infuse culture and language into the clothing space. Irene uses her knowledge in speaking, learning, weaving, singing and dancing to uplift her people.