CDP holds 11th annual Tribal Nations Training Week
The 11th annual Tribal Nations Training Week Sept. 13-18, with 282 students, representing 65 tribal nations.
FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) held its 11th annual Tribal Nations Training Week Sept. 13-18, with 282 students, representing 65 tribal nations.
The theme of the week – “Strengthening Indigenous readiness, Honoring Sovereignty, and Achieving Resilience Through an All-Hazards Approach” – was established by a working group comprised of tribal nations responders and representatives from the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium and the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NPDC), which includes the CDP. The group identified training gaps, then selected courses from the respective partner catalogs for the week which could help close those gaps.
The week began with a formal opening ceremony and training presentations on Sunday. Monday, students separated into 11 course tracks, designed to provide them with disaster preparedness and emergency response information and skills.
For the first time, Tribal Nations Training Week included a hazardous materials track and three tracks which touched on law enforcement topics – one on emerging threats, one regarding explosives and another covering public order and public safety topics.
In the evenings, students were encouraged to network with each other, building relationships across tribal and state boundaries to assist with disaster preparedness. Evening training sessions included an Emergency Management night and an evening session with the Indian Health Services leadership.
For students in the healthcare tracks, the week of training concluded with a large-scale mass casualty exercise.
During the closing ceremony, students were joined virtually by FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton.
In the coming months, the CDP will convene a focus group for the 2027 Tribal Nations Training Week.
CDP training is completely funded for state, local, tribal and territorial emergency responders to include roundtrip airfare, meals, and lodging. For additional information about the center and its training opportunities, visit www.cdp.dhs.gov.