Rainey Enjady

MESCALERO APACHE ELDER

Rainey Enjady, a proud Mescalero Apache woman, has devoted her life to the sacred path of peacemaking. Although she has carried the role of peacemaker within her family and community since youth, she formally embraced this calling in 2019, when she began leading efforts to bring Indigenous peacemaking processes into the Mescalero Tribal Court. Her leadership began with guiding an internal assessment with the Mescalero Apache Tribal Council and Tribal Court leaders to explore the role of traditional peacemaking as a formal option for settling disputes. 

Since then, Rainey has become a respected voice and guide in the peacemaking movement, supporting and co-facilitating Indigenous Peacemaking 101 trainings throughout Native communities across the U.S. and beyond, including with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Wabanaki Territory in Maine, the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans in Wisconsin, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake in California, the University of Hawaii at O’ahu, and Indigenous communities in Canada and Germany. Her focus in each gathering has been to share the wisdom of Indigenous dispute resolution practices that have existed since time immemorial, while empowering communities to reclaim and adapt these processes for contemporary use. 

Rainey is also an integral member of Life Comes From It, where she has supported the planning and execution of the annual Peacemaking Colloquium as both a facilitator and featured speaker. Previously, she served with the University of New Mexico’s Native American Budget & Policy Institute, advancing tribally centered research and systemic policy change. She also brings over two decades of leadership experience in executive-level accounting, human resources, and administration within a small community hospital.