WELCOME TO THE TESTIMONY TOOLKIT
TRIBAL LEADERS - HAVE YOU CONSIDERED PROVIDING TESTIMONY?
WHO TESTIFIES?
If you are an elected tribal leader or authorized designee from a Federally Recognized Tribe, you can submit testimony at the 19th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation.
If you are unable to provide testimony you may authorize a delegate to provide testimony on your behalf.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO AUTHORIZE A DELEGATE?
A Tribal Leader can choose to have another individual testify orally or in writing on their behalf. A Designee must submit written authorization from the Tribal Leader to fulfill this role. The written documentation should be in the form of a letter, on official letterhead, with the Tribal Leader’s signature designating the individual as their representative.
HOW CAN I SHARE MY TESTIMONY?
There are 3 ways your testimony can be shared.
- Pre-recorded and played live during the Consultation or via the Virtual Event Platform following the Consultation.
- In-person during Consultation and streamed live to the virtual audience.
- In a written format and submitted through email to tribalconsultationsupport@chickasaw.com. You may submit both oral and written testimony if you choose.
WHAT IS DONE WITH MY TESTIMONY?
All testimony, recorded, written and oral is summarized and compiled into an official Tribal Consultation Summary Report following the consultation. If you wish to view past reports you may do so by visiting https://www.justice.gov/ovw/tribal-consultation.
HOW DO I PREPARE MY TESTIMONY?
The purpose of each consultation is to solicit recommendations from tribal government leaders on the following topics:
- Administering tribal funds and programs;
- Enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking;
- Strengthening the federal response to such crimes; and,
- Improving access to local, regional, State, and Federal crime information databases and criminal justice information systems.
- If applicable, respond to Framing Papers.
Testimony is a time to choose what you feel is most important to share with federal government leadership regarding tribal communities. We have compiled this toolkit to further assist you as you prepare your testimony. Below are structural guidelines that the toolkit uses to assist you in building your testimony. Your testimony is important and needs to be heard. The goal of this toolkit is to help you structure your testimony in a way that is impactful and to advise improvement within the federal government's response to the issues as they relate to the topics above. The toolkit outlines four styles regarding how testimony can be structured as follows:
- Providing insight and recommendations by responding to the main topics posed as the purpose for the Consultation.
- Responding to the questions posed in one or all of the Framing Papers for this year’s consultation. There are 4 current framing papers posted for 2024. These can be found on the Resources page.
- Choosing a topic that is of most concern or importance to you and your tribal community.
- Sharing a personal experience or story relating to the main challenges your tribal community faces that ties into the 4 themes of consultation.
There are additional details within this toolkit to help you define your testimony style.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY ORAL TESTIMONY?
Tribal Leaders or Authorized Designees from federally recognized tribes may submit testimony.
- All oral testimony requests should be submitted through the online submission portal which will be provided during your registration for the consultation.
- If you need help structuring your testimony you can use the suggested Testimony Templates or Outline resources found on the Resources page. We also have additional tools available to help you prepare.
- If you prefer to pre-record your testimony to be played live during the consultation we’ve provided a few tips on how to successfully record your testimony on your own either via your computer or smartphone. You may also schedule help with your recording from the support team by indicating the request during your testimony submission request through the online submission portal. Click here for tips on recording on your computer or tips for recording on your mobile phone.
- If you plan to provide your testimony live during the consultation we’ve provided some tips that may assist with your presentation.
Tips:
- Oral testimony varies by individual however, we request you keep your oral remarks to 15 minutes to allow for all tribal leaders to be heard, and supplement your oral statement with written testimony.
- Use a highlighter to identify your key points on paper to reference during your oral statement.
- Practice timing your remarks to ensure you are within the allotted timeframe of 15 minutes.
- Use the provided outline templates as a road map for your oral comments to keep you on track.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY WRITTEN TESTIMONY?
- If you only wish to provide written testimony please send your written statement to tribalconsultationsupport@chickasaw.com.
- If you need help structuring your testimony you can use the suggested Testimony Templates or Outline resources found on the Resources page. We also have additional tools available to help you prepare.
- For written testimony, please save as a .pdf or word document on tribe letterhead and send to tribalconsultationsupport@chickasaw.com
STILL NEED HELP?
We have a team ready to assist you as you prepare to provide your testimony. If you need help we are happy to provide assistance. Contact us at tribalconsultationsupport@chickasaw.com or reach out to your local Tribal Coalition here.
Building Your Testimony | Resources
