Restoration Magazine

Lorraine Edmo Retires

 December 6, 2017—To a standing ovation and accolades  from tribal leaders, advocates, and officials, Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs Lorraine Edmo gave her final remarks at the 2016 VAWA-USDOJ Consultation. After dedicating 10 long years, a decade of her life, to the implementation of the VAWA across American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages, Ms. Edmo decided to join her family in their move to Taos, New Mexico.

Ms. Edmo served as the first statutorily created Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs of the Office on Violence Against Women under VAWA 2005. She was charged with the overall development and management of the tribal grant program as well as providing expert advice and guidance on grants administration, policy, and program development; supervised a staff of program specialists dedicated to tribal issues; and directed technical assistance and training initiatives on issues of violence against Native women. Ms. Edmo also led in the successful implementation of the annual VAWA consultation provision from 2007 to 2016, among other initiatives.

 

"In 2016, when Lorraine joined OVW, I knew she was a Native woman who understood federal Indian law because she had grown up on her tribal lands and lived her life as a Shoshone-Bannock woman. Her mother and father, grandparents, and siblings all were steeped in the politics of sovereignty. I say thank you, Lorraine, for all you have done.”
—Juana Majel Dixon, Co-Chair NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women

It was under Ms. Edmo’s care that the Indian title became reality from the creation of a tribal division within OVW, the transition from a multiple grant program to a single one, the development and institutionalization of the annual VAWA tribal consultation, and so many other historic markers.

Ms. Edmo joined the Department with more than 25 years’ experience working on behalf of American Indian and Alaska Native people in both the federal and nonprofit sectors. Ms. Edmo has advocated for American Indian and Alaska Native programs on national and regional levels.

 

Charged with the responsibility of the implementation of the VAWA annual consultation Ms. Edmo led the 2007–2016 consultations. Pictured left to right: 2007, 2008, and 2016.

She has managed three national Indian education organizations, including the federally chartered National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education at the U.S. Department of the Interior; the National Indian Education Association in Alexandria, Virginia; and the American Indian Graduate Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was also a Research & Policy Specialist at the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, where she worked on implementation of E.O. 13096. She has served on a number of national boards, including AIGC, NIEA, and the Committee for Education Funding and the Washington Internship for Native Students.

Lorraine descends from a long line of relatives who have served in leadership positions within the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe of the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, including her parents and siblings who have been involved in tribal government, and her grandfather who served as a tribal judge. In 1970, after graduating from the University of Montana, she founded the Sho-Ban News. The tribal newspaper is still in publication today.

Throughout her career, Lorraine Edmo charted a clear path of serving Indian people and Indian nations. She is deeply respected for her contributions, and we wish her well.

 

 
 
“We were moved to honor Lorraine for all she accomplished to increase the safety of Native women. While there were many high moments, there were just as many low points and everyday challenges that Lorraine overcame. She persevered, and we appreciate the long nights and many miles she traveled to do her best and make sure VAWA reached Indian tribes and helped change the everyday lives of Indian women.”
—Carmen O’Leary, Director, Native Women Society of the Great Plains