Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP) Certification

The National Native American Human Resources Association (NNAHRA) and Drummond Woodsum have joined forces to provide tribal human resources professionals with the practical knowledge and skills they need to handle the unique employment challenges facing tribal governments and their enterprises.  Our suite of virtual and in-person training events include:

THRP I

NNAHRA and Drummond Woodsum have joined forces to provide Tribal Human Resource Professional (THRP) training to HR Professionals in Indian Country. This course is offered as an in-person (3-1/2 day) event, as well as virtual (2 days per week for 3 weeks). It provides HR Professionals with the practical knowledge and skills they need to handle the unique employment challenges facing tribal governments and their enterprises.

Participants will learn and apply employment laws, with a specific emphasis on protecting sovereignty. Topics will focus on issues HR Professionals grapple with every day, including discrimination, wage and hour issues, employee discipline, investigations, evaluations, leaves of absence, union activity, Indian Preference, and more. Participants who successfully complete the final exam receive the NNAHRA Tribal Human Resources Professional Certification.

Rave Reviews!

Here’s what your colleagues are saying about Drummond Woodsum’s Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP) Certification Summit!

“This was one of the best trainings I have been to in a long time.”

“I came here knowing very little about the law and am walking away with a treasure trove of information.”

“Being new to HR, I found this course very informative, and I felt it gave me the knowledge to do my job more effectively.”

“Fun, interactive, great material…it exceeded my expectations!”

“We covered many aspects in the HR world. It was explained thoroughly and with understanding and dedication.”

Great experience – I can’t wait to get back to work and implement my new ideas to organize our workplace!”

 

THRP II

THRP II is here! This 3.5 day course builds on the concepts covered in THRP I and provides HR Professionals with in-depth legal and practical knowledge and skills to help them handle the unique employment challenges facing tribal governments and their enterprises. The topics covered in THRP II include the legal and practical issues related to hiring, onboarding, employee privacy, employee benefits, employment contracts/agreements, and HR ethics, as well as the way in which these issues are affected by sovereignty and sovereign immunity. This workshop will provide lectures and group exercises to reinforce learning. Its goal is to provide an understanding of many of the underlying laws and practical and concrete solutions to the challenges that HR professionals face daily.

Prerequisites & Certification Credits for THRP II

 

Prerequisites for THRP II

Participants are required to complete our level one THRP course before registering for THRP II. Please contact NNAHRA at info@nnahra.org to confirm your current THRP status.

Recieve THRP Recertification Credits 

Credit hours from this program qualify for recertification of your Tribal Human Resource Professional certification.

Tribal Leadership in Employment

There are many roads to effective Tribal leadership in employment, and while each Tribe defines for itself what is effective, over the last 30 years, we have listened and learned from the Tribes we work with, and we want to share what we have learned from them and our experience about the common factors that tend to define effective Tribal Leadership in employment and the role Human Resource Departments play in that exercise of leadership. In essence, we hope to share a system for assessing or building an effective employment leadership model and how to successfully utilize Human Resource Departments in that model.

This one-day workshop will review the authority Tribal leadership has over employment, the role of Tribal leadership and HR in assessing/establishing goals for employment, reviewing/creating effective HR rules that carry out leadership’s goals, and the challenge of leadership to follow its own rules that may limit its own authority. While there are no absolute answers to these issues, we hope to share what we have found to be effective tools to be a highly functional employer and how to assess effectiveness in employment systems.

Faculty

NNAHRA’s THRP training is provided by Drummond Woodsum attorneys and consultants in collaboration with Attorney Rick McGee. Our team has frequently presented at NNAHRA conferences and for individual tribes. We advise many tribes across the country on HR, labor, and employment issues.

S. Campbell Badger, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Brandon K. Bitsuie,  Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Michael L. Buescher, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Anna B. Cole, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Erick J. Giles, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Michael-Corey F. Hinton, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Brian Lewis, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Richard G. McGee, Attorney, Law Office of Richard G. McGee, LLC

Daniel J. Rose, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

A. Joseph Sarcinella, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Christina R. Simpson, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Christopher Stevenson, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Kathleen L. Wade, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

THRP Certification & Recertification FAQs

 

How to Become THRP Certified

Participants will take an examination at the end of the program to test their knowledge of the materials. Participants who earn a passing grade will receive written notification that they are certified by NNAHRA as a Tribal Human Resource Professional.

Maintaining THRP Certification

Your certification is valid for two years from the date it is issued. To maintain certification, you must:

  • Attend at least 24 hours of approved, qualified training before your certification expiration date; and
  • Submit a certification maintenance form by the expiration date. Students who have registered for upcoming classes that start up to 2 months beyond the month their certification expires will be granted an extension. Students will still need to submit the certification maintenance form by the expiration date. They must note on the form that the class is upcoming and, upon class completion, resubmit their certification form.

Qualified Classes include any of the following:

  • The NNAHRA Annual Conference
  • Any NNAHRA sponsored trainings
  • Drummond Woodsum or Rick McGee-approved trainings
  • Accredited higher learning courses with emphasis on Human Resources and Human Capitol
  • All other trainings, seminars or conferences must be approved by the NNAHRA Board of Directors.

Training certificates of completion and/or other similar documentation shall accompany the certification maintenance form.

**THRP Summit registration must be paid prior to the first day of attendance.
**Current NNAHRA Members seeking THRP certification must maintain active NNAHRA membership.