Sovereignty through gentle action
We apply traditional ways of knowing and being while bringing forward innovative ways
to address contemporary issues for Native and underserved communities
GENTLE ACTION THEORY
“Roles are known by all, and owned by none”
Through Gentle Action, roles are shared understandings held in relationship, not power; they guide responsibility without possession, allowing systems to flow, adapt, and serve people, land, and purpose collectively.
OUR SERVICES
Applying Gentle Action Theory across Native Communities:
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Co-creates community-led programs by listening deeply, aligning values, clarifying roles, and designing adaptable structures that grow capacity and sovereignty collectively.
TRAINING
Delivers relational, trauma-informed training that builds shared understanding, practical skills, and confidence to apply Gentle Action within complex systems together.
PROGRAM REALIGNMENT
Guides programs back into alignment with purpose, community voice, and values, using small, respectful shifts rather than disruptive overhauls intentionally.
STRENGTHING COMMUNITY
Supports cross-cultural understanding by honoring Indigenous worldviews, addressing power dynamics, and cultivating trustful collaboration across communities with care.
CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING + DEVELOPMENT
Applies Gentle Action to complex societal challenges, centering relationship, accountability, and healing responses that reduce harm and support long-term change.
SOVEREIGNTY GOVERNANCE + LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Develops sovereignty-centered governance and leadership by remembering ancestral wisdom, cultivating a sovereignty culture, governance and leadership through Gentle Action principles.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT RELATED TO SOCIETAL NEEDS
Strengthens community by nurturing relationships, clarifying shared roles, and supporting collective capacity to care for people, land, and future generations.
FOSTERING INNOVATION SOLUTIONS
Fosters innovation through Gentle Action by creating conditions for experimentation, learning, and emergent solutions rooted in community wisdom and practice.
RELATIONAL STEWARDSHIP
Consults private, public, and non-profit entities providing training and skill building, bridging cultural gaps and enhancing collaboration.
LEGAL LIAISON
Works with non-Native attorneys representing Native American clients
EXPERT WITNESS
Expert witness on issues integral to Native American people, with the skills and experience to speak on Native Societal Issues.
Carma applies traditional ways of knowing and being while bringing forward innovative ways to address contemporary issues for Native People
Dr Carma Corcoran
Cree-Chippewa
Dr. Carma Corcoran (Cree–Chippewa) is a nationally recognized leader in Native wellness, justice reform, and systems change whose work bridges academic research, community practice, and cultural restoration. She is a leading practitioner of Gentle Action Theory, an Indigenous framework for fostering deep, relational transformation within complex social systems.
Dr Corcoran serves as Adjunct Professor of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University, where she integrates Indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary legal and policy education. As Director of the Indian Law Program at Lewis & Clark Law School, Dr. Corcoran cultivated a generation of advocates committed to justice and sovereignty for Native Nations. Her scholarship and teaching emphasize trauma-informed leadership, community empowerment, and the restoration of balance through culturally grounded approaches.
Dr. Corcoran is the author of The Incarceration of Native American Women: Creating Pathways to Wellness and Recovery through Gentle Action Theory (Lexington Books, 2023), a groundbreaking work that explores how Indigenous women can reclaim wellness and dignity through community-based, restorative practices. She serves as a board director of Sovereignty Rises, a Native nonprofit supporting cultural, economic and health sovereignty for Native communities. Her decades of work in using Gentle Action to address trauma, inequity, and systems of oppression inform its commitment to safe, restorative, and culturally-rooted community development.
Before entering academia, Dr. Corcoran spent nine years at General Electric (GE) managing multi-million-dollar budgets and leading organizational development initiatives—experience that has uniquely equipped her to navigate and transform large-scale systems with both strategic and compassionate leadership.
Dr. Corcoran has long been at the forefront of community-led justice initiatives. She is the former Board Chair of Red Lodge Transition Services, an organization supporting Native women transitioning from incarceration to community life, and has served on the Native American Student and Community Center Board at Portland State University. She currently serves on the boards of The Women’s Justice Project, The Law Enforcement Contacts Policy & Data Review Committee (LECC), and Transforming Justice for Victims and Survivors, a national partnership advancing victim assistance and restorative justice.
Throughout her career, Dr. Corcoran has embodied the principle that healing is both personal and systemic — that true change emerges from gentle, sustained action rooted in relationship, respect, and reciprocity. Her work continues to inspire new models of Indigenous leadership, wellness, and justice that honor the interconnectedness of all beings.
Copyright 2026