Bonnie Clairmont (Ho-Chunk) of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) has been honored with the prestigious 2025 Tillie Black Bear Women Are Sacred Award during this year’s Women Are Sacred (WAS) Conference in Milwaukee.

     The award celebrates Clairmont’s decades-long, grassroots dedication to ending violence against Indigenous women and supporting survivors with compassion, sovereignty, and cultural grounding.

     The Women Are Sacred Conference, hosted every two years by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, is one of the most significant gatherings of Native advocates, survivors, tribal leaders, law enforcement, and community-based programs committed to ending domestic and sexual violence in tribal communities.

     For more than 25 years, Clairmont has been at the forefront of efforts to support Native survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse.

     Her work has spanned from frontline services to national policy conversations, always centering the lived experiences of survivors, particularly those from American Indian communities.

     Bonnie's philosophy of advocacy is guided by the cultural understanding that survivors are not “cases,” but relatives. Whether conducting trainings for law enforcement or hosting healing-focused survivor gatherings, she models what it means to treat victims as mothers, daughters, sisters, and nieces.

     “Bonnie has the ability to connect with people,” the Tribal Law and Policy Institute shared. “She treats them with such compassion, acknowledging the harm done to them, meeting them where they are at on their healing journey, providing a comfortable and safe space by thinking through potential privacy needs and concerns.”

     Before joining TLPI as a Victim Advocacy Specialist in Minnesota, Clairmont worked at Sexual Offense Services of Ramsey County, helping develop Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) and protocols for more culturally-informed services.

     She coordinated the Strengthening the Circle of Trust conference, which courageously tackled the issue of abuse perpetrated by spiritual leaders, bringing to light a deeply hidden issue in Indian Country.

     Clairmont also co-edited Sharing Our Stories of Survival, an anthology amplifying the voices of Native women who’ve experienced violence.

     She provided key technical assistance for Amnesty International’s Maze of Injustice report, which exposed systemic failures in protecting Native women from sexual violence, a report that remains a cornerstone in the fight for justice.

     The award that now bears Tillie Black Bear’s name honors women who continue the movement she helped spark.

     A Sicangu Lakota leader often referred to as the Grandmother of the Movement, Tillie Black Bear spent nearly four decades transforming how the U.S. addressed violence against Native women.

     Like Tillie, Clairmont leads with integrity, love for her people, and an unwavering belief in justice that honors culture, sovereignty, and survival.