For Immediate Release
Cournoyer-Bruguier is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and former Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition board member
Chiara Cournoyer-Bruguier was among the organizations grassroots participants before it officially became the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition (NICWC.) Cournoyer-Bruguier first encountered NICWC when she was working with Iowa DHHS as the state tribal liaison, meeting with Nebraska tribes and other agencies in Sioux City, Iowa.
She officially became part of the coalition as a founding board member. She later began facilitating the Motherhood and Fatherhood is Sacred classes with NICWC in 2020 in response to the pandemic, which she will continue to do alongside her duties as administrative manager.
“We are thrilled to have Chiara join our NICWC team,” said Deborah Dancer, executive director. “Chiara brings a focus on wellness, joy, comfort, and warmth that is welcomed as an administrative manager.”
Dancer said Cournoyer-Bruguier has a people-centered perspective that will enhance NICWC along with her career experience, including her facilitation skills as a content expert in Motherhood and Fatherhood Is Sacred training.
“I am personally excited to have her join the team because she brings a certain calm to every situation and I look forward to positive changes in our organization as a result of her influence,” Dancer said.
Growing up Cournoyer-Bruguier's father was a social worker and the Indian Child Welfare Act director for their tribe. She always admired how he helped children and families in need.
“We also were family caregivers for cousins, and so we always had extra kids in our family home,” Cournoyer-Bruguier said. “I didn't know the extent of the situation until I grew up and could better understand why my cousins lived with us. It’s so important for me to see our Native families healing together whenever possible and to have our Native families whole.”
Cournoyer-Bruguier was among the first Native American cohort of students to receive funding to attend the Siouxland Indian Child Welfare Traineeship Program and earn a social work degree from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. This experience helped build her professional network, she said, and opened opportunities that she never imagined. She also has a business degree from the University of South Dakota.
Cournoyer-Bruguier was previously a tribal consultant with extensive experience in the human services field, specializing in tribal child welfare administration, ICWA, and diligent recruitment. She worked as a tribal child welfare specialist for the Capacity Building Center for Tribes, providing technical assistance and consultation to tribes across the United States.
Prior to that, she held positions as a tribal human services director, social services program manager, grant coordinator, child welfare caseworker, and many other frontline positions within the human services field.
Her position with NICWC will see Cournoyer-Bruguier assisting with and implementing all activities in support of NICWC’s strategic plan, mission , and vision; being responsible for financial management, budgeting, coordinating audit-readiness activities; assisting with human resources activities; as well as fundraising and grant writing.
A mom of four children ranging in age from nine to 24, Cournoyer-Bruguier also has two grandsons and resides on her home reservation in southeastern South Dakota where she enjoys spending time with her family and hiking the trails along the Missouri River.
The vision of the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition is to ensure that all Native American children are raised by loving Indian families, surrounded by the people, culture and heritage that they know best.