THE WAY FORWARD:

A FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE ACTION

PREPARED BY:

Michael Bopp, PHDAND

Phil Lane, Jr., MPA, MED

WWW.FWII.NET

July 18 – August 26, 2005

Adopted Unanimously by

The United Indians of All Tribes Foundation Board of Directors

October 31, 2005

The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center

The Spiritual Foundation

Then I was standing on a highest mountain of them

all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop

of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than

I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was

seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in

the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must

live together like one being. And I saw that the

sacred hoop that made one circle, wide as daylight

and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty

flowering tree to shelter all the children of one

mother and one father. And I saw that it was

holy.Then as I stood there, two men were coming

from the east, head first like arrows flying, and

between them rose the Daybreak Star. They came

and gave an herb to me and said: “With this on earth

you shall undertake anything and do it.” It was the

Daybreak Star herb, the herb of understanding, and

they told me to drop it on the earth. I saw it falling

far, and when it struck the earth it rooted and grew

and flowered, four blossoms on one stem, a black, a

white, a red, and a yellow; and the rays from these

streamed upward to the heavens so that all creatures

saw it and in no place was there darkness.

Black Elk

June 29, 2005

Staff MembersUnited Indians of All Tribes FoundationBox 99100Seattle, WA 98139

Dear Staff Member,

On behalf of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF) Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce that Phil Lane, Jr. and Four Directions International have been contracted to serve as UIATF’s Transformation Coordinator from July 11th, 2005 – Feb 28, 2006. The Board’s Executive Committee, after careful and thoughtful consideration of its current needs, dreams and expectation, felt that Mr. Lane could address each of these important areas during the transition and the search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. During this transition and transformation process, Judy Guthrie will serve as Phil’s Executive Assistant.

Background information on Phil’s perspectives and past work are attached. Phil’s lifelong, dedicated work in service to Indigenous peoples and the Human family speaks for itself. This includes Phil’s work as Planning Director, Education Division Director and Assistant Director of United Indians from 1973 – 1980.

1. Phil and Four Directions International will provide services and technical assistance focused on:

a. Developing a vision and plan for the ongoing development of UIATF.b. Assessing the current state of the organization and its capacity to carry out the

new vision and plan.c. Planning, designing and implementing interventions focused on building UIATF’s

overall capacity to achieve its goals and objectives toward an organization with a unified community, board and staff, a strong enduring infrastructure and smoothly operating financial systems.

2. During this transition and transformation process, Phil will utilize the Four World’s Model for Human and Community Development as an integrative scheme of thought - a holistic framework for participatory development. This model includes Principles for Consultation and Talking Circles, Guiding Principles for Building a Sustainable and Harmonious World and Developing Service and Wisdom in the Workplace.

3. In his role as Transformation Coordinator, Phil is empowered and authorized by the UIATF Board to:

a. Call, convene and conduct mandatory meetings of all UIATF staff and agents to develop, recommend and implement the approved transformation work plan.

b. Conduct community forums and trainings to help build understanding of and broad community support for the transformation work plan.

c. Recommend restructuring or realignment of program, staff, volunteer and committee duties and responsibilities to enable support for and commitment to the transformation planning process.

d. Recommend allocation of financial and capital resources through the UIATF budgeting process so as to ensure that appropriate Foundation resources are focused on successful implementation of the transformation work plan.

4. Phil’s work will be carried out under the direct supervision and authority of the UIATF Board of Directors via the UIATF Executive Committee. The Chair of the Board or his designate will serve as the official liaison of the Board to Four Directions.

Beginning immediately, the UIATF Board of Directors looks forward to the full and unreserved support and cooperation of the UIATF staff in supporting Phil and Four Direction’s mandate. This includes providing any human resource, program, financial and other related information requested for undertaking a comprehensive and detailed review of all UIATF operations.

Your respectful and full assistance, participation, cooperation, patience and understanding during this stage of transition and transformation at UIATF are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Ed Claplanhoo, ChairUnited Indians of All Tribes FoundationBoard of Directors

The Way Forward: A Framework For Action

What follows are recommendations for what can be done (beginning with the next six

months) to transform United Indians of All Tribes Foundation from the present crisis

circumstances to one in which the organization is well on the road to full recovery, and

real growth and development is underway.

Please note that each of the lines of action briefly described below represents a

significant investment in time, energy and creativity. Every one of them is

transformative in nature, and will bring change, both within and around the Foundation.

Each line of action will require its own work plan and its own champions. While all of

these lines of action are important, it is the synergy between them that will contribute the

most in propelling the Foundation towards its true potential.

1. Community Consultation and Revisioning

Consultations will be held with the Native American communities of Seattle and

surrounding area. These consultations will utilize different formats and approaches

depending on the needs of the group that is being consulted, and will include a

consultation with elders, a broad based community situation analysis (the community

story framework) and focus group discussions with sub-groups within the Native

American community such as parents of Head Start children, youth, groups interested

in promoting Indigenous arts and culture, and entrepreneurs (to cite a few examples).

It is important to understand that consultations will be broad based, will address a

wide variety of interest groups, and will aim to involve as many parts of the Native

American community as can be engaged in all parts of the city of Seattle and

surrounding area as well as with communities that are within an easy driving range of

Seattle. Essentially, the Foundation needs to reach out to the Native American

community, and to listen to them very carefully. The purpose of these consultations

is to re-establish a living connection between the Foundation and the community it

was created to serve.

The outcome of this consultation process will be:

a. A much deepened understanding of the nature and the roots of the current

relationship between the community and the Foundation;

b. A community-generated analysis of current Native American community

needs and aspirations; and

c. A renewed vision and mission for the Foundation that is rooted in the

community it was established to serve.

2. Development of a Ten-Year Program Plan

Based on continuing community consultations, a ten-year framework for action

will be developed suitable for guiding the Foundation’s program development work.

This plan, (which will need to be finalized and approved by the Board of Directors)

will provide a guiding framework for program and facilities development that is truly

connected to the needs and aspirations of the Native American community (and the

other communities that it serves), and will as well describe a development path for the

Foundation’s institutional stability and sustainability. From our perspective, this

means revitalizing current programs, facilities and land to their full potential before

pursuing the People’s Lodge buildings. As quite a number of people commented, “If

we can’t maintain what we have, how can we be expected to manage the planning,

development and maintenance of the People’s Lodge complex?”

3. Internal programs and Staffing Review

A comprehensive review of all the Foundation’s programming and personnel will

be conducted, leading to more cost effective and collaborative work teams and the

generation of new program opportunities for the Foundation. This will involve

individual staff performance reviews, the evaluation of the effectiveness and

relevancy of programs and services in light of current community realities and needs

and best known professional practices, and (where appropriate) a re-organization of

work teams to generate maximum collaboration and synergy between individual staff

assignments and program initiatives, as well as to encourage important linkages to be

made between types of programs (such as youth and elders, personal growth and

healing and community economic development, etc.). From this work, a long-term

staff development plan will be produced.

4. Staff Development

All staff will be engaged in a formal, mandatory program of personal growth,

healing, reconciliation and learning for improved performance related to the core

vision, mission and program development requirements of the Foundation. This will

include four inter-related four day training modules related to: (1) personal growth

and healing; (2) building healthy relationships and organizations; (3) community

development; (4) and developing relevant and effective programs. These four

modules will be linked to new program development, teamwork plans and individual

staff assignments, thus strategically bringing together staff development and the

development of the whole Foundation. These courses will be academically accredited

for those staff members who are pursuing Higher Education.

5. Personnel Policy Review and Selected New Policy Development

A review of the Foundation’s personnel policies will be conducted, with particular

attention to the development of an employee code of ethics and to the current hiring

and firing procedures. Discussion and written input in this area has already been

initiated with staff who are members of the newly formed Leadership Team. The

policy area being focused on is backbiting and gossiping.

6. Financial Recovery

The development of a financial recovery plan will be completed (in collaboration

with the Executive Council of the Board of Directors), and a thorough review of the

Foundation’s management system will be conducted to ensure complete transparency

and accountability, as well as practical utility for day-to-day management and

decision-making both at the program and Foundation level. This will mean, for

example, that program managers will now have access to their own program budgets

and will also have responsibility for managing those budgets as well as financial and

program reports to funders. Administration will be there for technical support where

needed, but the ultimate goal in this area is staff and program self-sufficiency. It will

also mean that the Board of Directors will be able to receive monthly reports on the

financial status of each program and of the entire Foundation, check-run reports and

any other specific financial information that is required in order to maintain complete

transparency and accountability.

Financial Considerations

a. The Yale Building, Option 1

The Yale Building is (by itself) now worth at least $2 million, and United

Indians was recently offered somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million for

the building and related land. This related land is owned free and clear by the

Foundation. It is situated in a district that is undergoing rapid urban renewal

and so its value is considerably greater than a comparable building in another

area of the city. One possibility is to sell the Yale Building and move

programs now housed there to a less expensive neighborhood. We estimate

that this could free up between 800,000 and 1 million dollars.

b. The Yale Building, Option 2

Another consideration is to borrow against the related property next to the

Yale Building that is owned free and clear by United Indians with the

reasonable anticipation that property values are likely to go up considerably

(some say double) in that neighborhood in the next five years.

c. The Yale Building, Option 3

Another option that was recently suggested to the Foundation was the

possibility of an investor who would work with United Indians to replace the

Yale Building with a four story office building and underground parking that

would provide enough space for all of the Foundation’s programming on one

floor and three other floors which would provide rental revenue to the

Foundation (and of course to the investor). Of course, there are also other

financial approaches to this possibility that would allow United Indians to

initiate this development without needing an outside investor.

We are not recommending that any of these steps be taken just yet, only that they

be considered and further investigated as we implement other measures. If such steps

are taken, careful consideration will be needed regarding honoring the Foundation’s

program obligations.

7. Preparation of a Development Plan

A short and medium term development plan will be prepared for the Foundation

(in collaboration with the Executive Council of the Board of Directors) and

implementation will begin immediately. This plan will describe a strategy for a major

fund raising campaign and a comprehensive plan for the Foundation’s growth and

development for at least ten years into the future.

8. Renewing the Foundation’s Support Network

A systematic mapping of and reconnection with the extensive support network for

the Foundation that existed in the past will be undertaken. As well, an extensive

effort will be made to make new friends and allies through personal connections and a

systematic public relations campaign.

9. Re-indiginization

A thoughtful and respectful (to all people) process of re-indiginizing the programs

of United Indians will be initiated, beginning with the Head Start and Youth

programs. This will involve intensive staff development to prepare existing and new

Native American staff for professional advancement with an aim to significantly

increase the number of Native American managers and directors throughout the

Foundation within the next two to three years. It will also involve systematic

investigation of all the Foundation’s programs in order to build into them a solid

foundation of Indigenous cultural values, knowledge and wisdom. This, we believe,

is certainly important for the Spanish-speaking children in Head Start programs (most

of whom have some Indigenous background). Therefore, some exposure to all the

Indigenous cultures of the Americas is very important for our children.

10. Board Development

Support will be provided to the Board of Directors to conduct a thorough self-

assessment and to develop a Board development strategy that needs to include

financial resources for the Board to do its work (probably coming out of the

Foundation’s administrative costs budget).

Final Remarks

We are confident that the analysis of the challenges facing the United Indians of All

Tribes Foundation presented in this document paints an accurate picture of the current

situation. At the same time, what we did was a Rapid Participatory Assessment.

Although we have a high level of confidence in the general shape of the analysis, we are

also certain that more detail will come out as we engage staff and the Native American

community in the recovery and development process to follow and we will, of course,

adjust our strategy for renewal accordingly. (This is already occurring with the

Transformation Coordinator spending six intense weeks at United Indians).

We are also confident that measures we are recommending, if implemented

consistently over time, will contribute to a major improvement in the Foundation’s

circumstances and prospects for the future. The focus of this proposed intervention is the

development of a solid infrastructure, impeccable financial systems and a united vision.

It is now clear to us however, that the remedial work undertaken by Phil Lane, Jr., and

Four Worlds will not be completed by March 1, 2006. We estimate that an intensive

process of development lasting approximately 24 months will be required. Nevertheless,

we are confident that by March 1, 2006, a new and much more hopeful and positive

pattern of growth will be underway.

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The diagram below summarizes the issues and challenges we believe need to be

addressed in order to transform United Indians from a culture of crisis and survival to one

of transformation, growth and success.

United Indians

Key Issues and Challenges for

Transformation and Growth

Reversing the cycle of deficit spending,

cutbacks, layoffs and reduced capacity and disintegrating assets

The Leadership Vacuum

Re-connection to the Native American

Community

Reconnection to Key Support Networks

Regaining the Confidence of

fundersRe-indiginizing United Indians

Establishing Internal Collaboration and a Wholistic Systems

Approach

Re-invigorating the Board of Directors

Toxic and Dysfunctional Human Relations

Loss of Vision

SUMMARY: LINES OF ACTION

FOR ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

This diagram summarizes the (proposed) steps to be taken in order to transform

United Indians from the present crisis, to one in which the organization is well on the

road to full recovery, and real growth and development is underway.

Transformational Actions to be

Taken

Community Consultation and

Revisioning

Internal Program and Staffing

Review

Staff Development Initiative

Personnel Policy Review and New Policy Development

Financial Recovery Plan

including community economic

Development

Development of a Ten year Plan (i.e.

Framework for Action)

Preparation of a Foundation

Development Plan

Renewing the Foundation’s

Support Network

Re-indiginization

Board Development