National Indian Health BoardSPRING 2014
Visions: A Tribal Perspective on Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention 
In This Issue
Spotlight Story: White Skye Hope Center
Featured Program: Project F.A.M.E.
Project Management Series: Staff Turnover
ReEntry Series: Warrior Down
Have you Heard ... 

  

UPCOMING EVENTS
 

Youth Coping Skills Webinar

Indian Health Service is hosting a webinar titled When Bad Things Happen: Helping Children and Adolescents Cope.  The webinar will be held on

Wednesday, 

May 21, 2:00pm-3:00pm Eastern Time

, and will be conducted by Dr. David Graeber. There is no need to pre-register for the webinar.  
Please log on to the webinar HERE and use the passcode "child".

  

  

Trainings Offered by White Bison 

White Bison is a non-profit organization with offices in Colorado Springs, CO and Washington, DC.  They host the Wellbriety Training Institute, which supports training, technical assistance and support for Tribes and organizations hosting Wellbriety activities.  They have several trainings coming up on a variety of Wellbriety topics.  Please call 

(719) 548-1000 or visit White Bison's Website for more detailed training information and registration links.  

  • Mending Broken Hearts - Adults - June 11-13, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Sons of Tradition - July 23-25, Grand Rapids, MI
  • Daughters of Tradition I & II, July 23-25, Grand Rapids, MI
  • Families of Tradition - July 28-30, Grand Rapids, MI
 
For practical, "how to" training on systems of care for children, youth, and young adults with mental health challenges and their families, be sure to join the Georgetown University Training Institutes, the Children's Mental Health Network and many others from July 16 - 20, 2014, in Washington, DC. Georgetown University has an incredible conference planned with 30 Institutes, 30 Workshops, 20 Professional Development Seminars, General Sessions with exciting featured speakers, and a RockStar Youth Leadership Track.  

 

 

CDC Announces Upcoming Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced the next face-to-face meeting of the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC).  The meeting will be hosted by the Tribes of the Bemidji Area and will be held August 12-14, 2014 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa by Traverse City, Michigan.  The CDC will be sending out a Dear Tribal Leader Letter soon.  This is a good opportunity to consult with Tribal leaders about challenges and successes with health and public health systems and programming, funding, access to information and data, and other related topical areas in order to funnel this information to the official Area TAC representative.  As the agenda has not been published yet, it is not known what portions of the meeting will be closed and what will be open, however, attendance is encouraged and a wonderful opportunity to provide live testimony and to listen to the testimony of others. 

 

 

Quick Links
Vist the NIHB web page
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
 
The 2014 Dr. Duane Mackey "Waktaya Naji" Award 
The Dr. Duane Mackey "Waktaya Naji" Award was established by the National American Indian & Alaska Native ATTC in collaboration with the SD Prairielands ATTC Advisory Board to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the addiction field in one to three areas: education, research and service. Nominations should include the nominee's name, job title, contact information, affiliations, curriculum vitae, and a brief description of the nominee's involvement with Native American people and the addiction treatment field and three letters of recommendation.
Nomination Deadline: June 15, 2014 
For more information contact:
Anne Helene Skinstad at [email protected]
or mailed to:
National American Indian & Alaska Native ATTC
Attn: Jacki Bock
1207 Westlawn
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
 
 
SAMHSA New Tribal Suicide and Substance Use Prevention Grant: Native Connections
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2014 Tribal Behavioral Health (Short Title: Native Connections) grants. The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce suicidal behavior and substance abuse and promote mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native young people up to and including age 24.
This program will help grantees reduce the impact of substance abuse, mental illness, and trauma on AI/AN communities through a public health approach. In addition, this grant will allow AI/AN communities to support youth and young adults as they transition into adulthood by facilitating collaboration among agencies.
Learn more and download application materials here. Applications are due Tuesday, June 17 2014
The pre-application webinar which took place on May 2, 2014 was recorded and is posted on the
 

Voices for Health Kids: Strategic Issue Advocacy Campaign Funding

As part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association's new initiative to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S.-Voices for Healthy Kids, the Voices Strategic Campaign Fund and Rapid Response Fund are awarding grants to state and local organizations and coalitions to support advocacy campaigns aligned with Voices policy priorities, including reducing unhealthy food marketing in schools, improving the nutritional quality of restaurant children's meals, providing healthy snacks in schools, and taxes on soda and other sugary drinks.  For more information, please visit their website. 

TOOLS & RESOURCES

MSPI Common and Shared Practices Released

NIHB has recently release this resource after working with a small sample of partners to create a profile of some common or shared elements that appear across multiple partners; this brief seeks to highlights those practices and activities. While this is not a comprehensive review of all of the activities amongst all MSPI partners, this document presents the programmatic components that appear across MSPI Partners.  NIHB hopes that Tribes and Tribal programs can utilize this information to inform their own local programmatic development, enhance what they are current implementing, or present options for overcoming barriers that may have been encountered.

The brief is organized into four parts that thematically explore area of value to Tribal MSPI Partners: Primary Programmatic Activities, Program Outcomes, Successful Components, and Strengthening Future MSPI Programs.

This brief may be accessed and printed from our website. The brief appears within the MSPI Practice Guide on NIHBs Behavioral Health webpage

 

 

Follow NIHB Up-to-Date Resources: Behavioral and Public Health Alerts

NIHB tries to disseminate information to all of our Tribal partners.  We have created some mechanisms in order to do that and want to make sure that all of our MSPI Partners are able to take advantage of this.  NIHB posts new and timely information regarding topics such as: training, webinars, funding, publications, conferences, meetings, legislation, Tribal consultation, and open comment periods all on our website as Behavioral or Public Health Alerts.  NIHB operates two separate alert lists to appeal to specific audiences.  We encourage you to check these posts often to remain abreast of current information and ensure that you have access to material in a manner that is timely enough to allow you to plan for it.  
Please bookmark:
Quick Links
Vist the NIHB web page
Mission of the National Indian Health Board
One Voice affirming and empowering American Indian and Alaska Native peoples to protect and improve health and reduce health disparities.

About this Publication
This publication features information on suicide prevention, intervention, postvention and methamphetamine prevention, treatment and aftercare. We welcome your suggestions, questions and comments and invite you to submit materials for future publications.
WHITE SKY HOPE CENTER LOOKS TO COMMUNITY, CULTURE AND LAND TO SUPPORT HEALING
 
The White Sky Hope Center is located on the Rocky Boy Reservation of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, an area rich in cultural heritage and tradition. The Center was originally called the Rocky Boy Chemical Dependency Center, but was later renamed to honor a great Tribal leader - White Sky. The mission of White Sky Hope, as an addiction recovery center, is to address community substance abuse through collaborative provision of culturally competent, holistic prevention, intervention, and treatment services to community members. Like many Tribal communities, the effects of substance abuse and behavioral health issues are far reaching into the adult and youth populations on the Rocky Boy Reservation. Through the support of the community and the development of robust MSPI activities and strategies, the White Sky Hope Center is making changes and empowering people to "achieve sobriety and to reach their fullest spiritual and cultural potential."

While the Center uses many contemporary, evidence-based treatments techniques, White Sky Hope relies upon the medicine wheel approach as its primary treatment modality. The wheel provides a circular healing model to treatment. White Sky Hope defines the medicine wheel model as "a holistic, right-brained, spiritual approach to wellness that targets the dysfunctional behaviors and promotes a circular model that embodies mental (thinking), emotional (feeling), physical (movement), and spiritual (connection)". The Center provides many services geared toward this model of healing such as talking circles, traditional ceremonies, seasonal cultural events, dances, and many others. Mike Geoboe is a staff counselor at White Sky Hope and has heard many stories of success from patients. He mentioned, "many of our patients that have gone through our programs have really enjoyed our holistic and circular model of treatment, but what makes our program unique and successful is the utilization of local people and local resources". Mr. Geoboe highlighted the importance of "promoting our local people, the information and wisdom that they carry can help others and can revitalize our connection to our own culture".

For example, White Sky Hope in collaboration with the Tribal historic preservation program held a tour to historical sites around the Rocky Boy Reservation and surrounding areas in an effort to educate patients. Other similar events involved archeologists taking groups to sacred sites to further instill the importance of understanding "who we are" and identification with their cultural heritage. There were seasonal outings for participants to learn how to harvest and braid local sweet grass for personal use, to gather cedar, and to harvest local bear root all under the guidance of local community members. Beading lessons from a local artist allowed participants to create earrings and participate in art therapy. Recently, horses were donated to White Sky Hope and efforts are underway to incorporate equine therapy into their program.


In keeping with their belief of utilizing local resources, in 2011, White Sky Hope collaborated with their local radio station KHEW (Golden Eagle) to begin airing public service announcements about meth and suicide awareness. Through this joint effort, five audio clips were created and broadcasted throughout an 80-mile radius. The PSAs 
created were culturally relevant and identifiable to the intended community audience with quotes such as "Meth is not a part of our culture and never will be" and "My addiction will no longer rule my destiny". Another PSA intended for youth set the listener in a post-apocalyptic scene ravaged by a zombie take-over until it is revealed that the zombies are actually meth users - educating the listeners of the health consequences of methamphetamine use.

Innovative and collaborative ideas such as these are allowing the White Sky Hope Center to be successful and best serve its community and patients. Chief Rocky Boy said, "Love one another and take care of each other" and that's what White Sky Hope Center strives to uphold.
 
For more information about the White Sky Hope Center and their MSPI activities, contact Mike Geboe at [email protected] or for information about KHEW PSA project contact Jonathan Eagleman at [email protected].
FIGHTING AGAINST METH EVERYDAY
 

Project F.A.M.E. (Fighting 

Against Meth Everyday) is an program that has been designed by the behavioral health team at the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska to address the rising issue of methamphetamine use. During the fifth year of the Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI) funding, Carl T. Curtis decided to use their resources in a new way to address an issue in their community that had formally not seen as much attention as they deemed necessary -community-based outreach and education for methamphetamine use and, most importantly, aftercare services. 

 

Project F.A.M.E. was launched in September 2013 after a community assessment by Carl T. Curtis. The assessment revealed an increase prevalence of methamphetamine within the community. In addition, the community assessment indicated that the use of methamphetamine had not only grown among the adult population, but the effects were entering the lives of many children. With this in mind, the Behavioral Health Department Guidance and Development center put plans in action to heal the community as a whole. Project F.A.M.E. approaches the issue in two phases: educating the community on the realities of methamphetamine addiction; and providing intensive outpatient program services to support people returning home from a treatment facility.
 

As a new program, Project F.A.M.E. has been remarkably successful in engaging the community, especially the youth. The Meth Awareness Assembly hosted by Project F.A.M.E. is a prime example of an activity that captured the attention of many local junior high and high school students. The assembly included cultural presentations, participation of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), an appearance from the Omaha National Law Enforcement K-9 unit (who brought two police dogs in to meet the students), and a comedian who shared his experiences as a recovering meth addict through a humorous message that resonated with the youth. The outreach and education portion of Project F.A.M.E.'s programing most directly focuses on youth, leading the community in various events including cultural activities such as hand games, gourd dances, couples events and a variety of others. The project team continues to collect evaluations, assess activities and research promising practices in order to provide a variety of services and activities that are meaningful, effective and reach community members from all angles.  

 

Project F.A.M.E. has designed their programming to engage a variety of resources throughout the community. This model of community collaboration is also key in Project F.A.M.E.'s approach to assuring greater access to treatment for those suffering from addiction to methamphetamine. One mission of this project is to seek out key stakeholders and Tribal entities to provide and support youth and adult referrals for treatment. These partners include, but are not limited to Tribal courts, law enforcement, Umonhon Nation public school, child protection services, Omaha Tribal Ambulance Department, and alcohol programs. By mapping out this model, Project F.A.M.E. is not only improving the efficiency of their programing, but is also building a sustainability framework for this project. Project F.A.M.E. also shared that within this model, it is important to gain buy-in from the Tribal Council and support from Elders. 
 
Two key collaborators in the project's efforts have been the Behavioral Health Specialists, Inc. resident treatment center in Norfolk, Nebraska, and the Umonhon Alcohol Program halfway house. Project F.A.M.E. works closes with both the residential treatment center and the halfway house to complete chemical dependency evaluations before community members enter treatment, exit interviews once clients leave treatment, and to develop Individual Case Plans (ICP) to plan for longer-term aftercare. Within the structure of an aftercare plan, many of the community partners mentioned above are once again engaged in the process. 
 
In structuring this aftercare program, Project F.A.M.E. has implemented the evidence-based Matrix Model for Meth Treatment. What was originally a yearlong program, Project F.A.M.E. adapted to reflect 16 weeks of structured intensive outpatient care and programing and an additional 16 weeks of continued care with patients and their families. 
 
The structure of the project relies on key staff of the F.A.M.E. team, including a Behavioral Health Specialist, the Behavioral Health Tech, and the Meth Prevention Tech, who all work together to provide the wide array of prevention and therapeutic services. While the Behavioral Health Specialist focuses on the edufcational and therapeutic components of the aftercare program, the Meth Prevention Tech is integral in reaching out to build awareness in the community as well as connections with the community partners key to their project. Together the team works together to form a smooth running operation. 
 

So far, Project F.A.M.E. is seeing an increasing interest in their aftercare services and has successfully cared for a number of individuals. Project F.A.M.E. shared that while many men in the community have been identified as potential clients, and that youth are a target population of this programing, the strong majority of participants have been women. As a new project, the team is looking toward engaging and healing more of the community as whole.

 

 
The National Indian Health Board would like to thank Rosalie Two Bulls and Siva Pula with Project F.A.M.E. for participating in an interview and supplying all of the materials necessary to write this article.  For more information or any questions about Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center's Project F.A.M.E. programing, please contact Guidance and Development program associate Siva Pula at [email protected] or 402-837-5381 ext. 124. 

 

When Staff Turnover Makes 

your Stomach Churn: 

Risk Management Lessons from the Field

 

Question: As a new project manager, high turnover appears to be high.  It seems like there is always new staff coming in and other staff moving on.  What can I do to lower the stress this causes in the workplace?

 

The responses below to this questions were gathered from professionals in the field who have faced this issue, and would like to offer some practical tips.

 

Answer: Staff turnover is going to happen.  While there may be ways to address and improve retention, it is also important to manage the impact that shifting staff and responsibilities can have on a project - particularly one that has regular contact with community members.  Community members, especially those participating in projects that discuss sensitive topics like suicide or substance use, build rapport and trust with staff members, and that trust can be hindered when the staff members are frequently shifting or when new staff are introduced.  These are some strategies that can be put into place to help minimize the effect of staff turnover.

 

Shadowing

Having staff shadow each other during project activities is a good way for staff to directly observe the other in action, and to learn how to perform certain tasks.  This will also allow staff to openly introduce and acknowledge the other staff member to community members.  Shadowing is not exactly training.  It is more about observational learning then hands-on learning.  A staff member sits in the background or off the side, generally in silence, to observe and take details notes on performance, interaction, style, and gain some insight into how to perform the task being observed.  Shadowing can also be done at regular intervals with different staff members.  Shadowing is a good practice for supervisors to use when seeking to evaluate performance, as well.  But staff members can also shadow their supervisors to observe what goes on in management meetings or with calls with funders.  It is a way to ensure that all staff members have at least minimal familiarity with the tasks of other team members. 

 

Cross-Training

Formal cross-training takes shadowing one step further.  This is where more than one staff member is trained to do the same task.  The end result  is that more than one staff member knows how to write grant reports, enter data into a spreadsheet, facilitate the group, present a Meth 101 educational session, etc.  Should one staff member not be able to perform this task (for whatever reason), then another one is able to step in and complete the task with no lapse in service.  Staff can be cross-training in various different ways, and shadowing can be a component of that.  However, holding staff in-services, having staff train each other on tasks, having staff attend formal training events, and including staff cross-training as a listed job responsibility in a job description are all good practices to ensuring that knowledge is shared across team members. 

 

Co-facilitation

Having staff co-facilitate project activities will assist with staff cross-training, as well as ease staff burden.  Co-facilitation is the sharing of responsibilities of moving through some process - normally sharing the responsibilities of running a group session or conducting some project activity.  The benefits of creating a co-facilitated project far outweigh the challenges.  Co-facilitation can help to build a team synergy as team members look to each other to capitalize upon individual strengths.  Co-facilitation also permits team members to work more closely together and rely upon each other.  And of course, co-facilitation prevents one person from bearing too much responsibility and too much of the workload - and should that team member move on for any reason, the co-facilitator can more easily step in and perform his/her duties.  Challenges include finding staff that meld well enough to effectively co-facilitate, allowing staff the time and space to create a co-facilitation relationship that works for them, and being prepared to intervene should any problems arise between co-facilitators.  Supervisors will need to actively work with their project staff to identify proper facilitation pairs (or teams) and regularly check-in on the relationship. 

 

Transition Documents

Since we have already admitted that staff transition will happen, supervisors should plan for it.  A standardized transitional document that departing staff can complete and review with existing or incoming staff is a good tool to ensure that historical knowledge is not completely lost.  Such a document should information on:

  • Current activities
  • Pending activities
  • Challenges
  • Contact information
  • Timelines
  • Resources
  • Specific insight and guidance

And supervisors should mandate time during the final two weeks of any employee's tenure for mandatory team meetings, cross-training, introductions, file reviews, and the sharing of transitional document.

 

Documentation

Having your documents and files in a single place and ordered properly can help any new staff coming in to locate things quickly and can minimize the initial learning curve.  So be sure that if any staff leaves, that he/she takes time to organize their files and then make sure those files are organized before any new person starts.  Don't make a new person scream out loud on the first day when you show them piles of mismatched papers and unlabeled files laying around their new office. 

 

Additional Resources

For more tips and resources on staff turnover, professional development and personnel management, feel free to visit these sites:

Answering the Cry of our Warriors: 
Programming to Support Native Americans 
Re-entering the Community 

 

Native Americans and Incarceration

In 2010, 3,331 American Indians or Alaska Native (AI/AN) people were incarcerated in a federal prison as sentenced by federal court.[i]  While AI/AN people comprised only 3% of the total people incarcerated in federal prison, this number represents a 5.1% increase since 2001 - the largest percent increase of any race or ethnicity (tied with Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders).[ii]  The same report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 38.7% of AI/AN people who are released from a federal prison return within three years.[iii]  While this may allude to the need for reform within the federal justice system, it more clearly speaks to a need to support the growing number of American Indian and Alaska Native men and women who are struggling upon their return to the community after a mandated removal.

 

What is Warrior Down?

There are few Native-specific re-entry programs that are in place and supported to fill this need.  However, White Bison, Inc., a Native American, non-profit organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO, has created and is actively diffusing a program that supports re-entry for Native Americans using a multi-faceted and traditional approach.  The program is called Warrior Down.  "Warrior down" is a cry used to signify that a warrior has been wounded or incapacitated in some way and needs help.  The Warrior Down program seeks to provide resources, programming, and a supportive team comprised of trained peers that provide recovery support, recidivism prevention, and community referrals for those re-entering the community from treatment or various forms of incarceration. 

 

Warrior Down was launched in 2005 as a pilot project and quickly spread to twelve new sites in five states.  Initial implementation witnessed 80% of participants successfully maintaining sobriety and avoiding further, additional or new judicial or criminal activity. And while the program was originally created to support incarcerated and returning men, the program now works with women returning to the community as well.

 

Components of Warrior Down

The Warrior Down program has many different components and is highly adaptable to different communities, resources, levels of incarceration, and length of incarceration.  However, there are three primary areas of intervention and support:

 

Support in the Prison Setting.  People in prison are invited to attend two separate (yet related), structured programs developed by White Bison, Inc. titled The Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps for Men/Women and Fathers/Mothers of Tradition.  The Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps for Men/Women helps men discuss their road to recovery by utilizing the lessons and direction provided by the medicine wheel, while Fathers/Mothers of Tradition addresses issues of Native American identity, what is means to be a Native American man/woman and the role of fathering and mothering in Native American culture.  As social support is a critical component in behavior change and relapse prevention programs, participants will also be trained to create a network of social, emotional, and spiritual support that they can tap into upon release to help maintain sobriety and prevention recidivism. All participants will take new found knowledge to understand and construct a Wellbriety Plan that they can implement during their time in prison, during and after release.

 

As men and women are going through these programmatic components inside of prison, programming is created for families as well. This support helps families to cope with incarceration, deal with the absence of a loved one, and prepare for their return.  Families in the community (whether urban or reservation-based) are offered a variety of programs that directly compliment what people are learning inside of prison (including The Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps), which may be tailored to women, men, daughters, or sons.

  

Pre-release Support. Should a release program include a mandatory stay in halfway houses or pre-release centers, Warrior Down supports programing at this phase of re-entry as well.  This becomes an environment where newly released can begin to practice their new found skills, explore the efficacy of their planned support network, and continue to participate in The Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps meetings.
 
 

Returning to the Home Community. As returning to the community is a very challenging step for recently released individuals, their families, friends and communities, there is a lot of activity to support reconnecting with families, cultural traditions, and communities.  Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps meetings are held, as are meetings for family members.  Wellbriety plans are implemented, and men and women enter the supportive tutelage of Recovery Coaches that can provide daily support and guidance.  Family members also create a Wellbriety Plan in this phase of the programming that will help them readjust to the father returning to the family.  Referrals are provided for all participants to assist with community re-acclimation (e.g., social services, employment services, assistance with applying for a driver's license, finding appropriate housing, locating spiritual support).  And support is also provided to help all family members reconnect with each other.

 

Outcomes

The Warrior Down program has structured impact and behavioral outcomes that can assist with program planning, grant writing, and aligning programmatic components to community need.  Warrior Down seeks to achieve the following immediate outcomes (the following represent a few of the outcomes that can be achieved by Warrior Down, and is not a complete list):

  • Develop skills and values that support recovery and prevent relapse
  • Increase knowledge of how to avoid relapse and recidivism 
  • Create social support networks to encourage recovery journey
  • Increase connections to cultural and spiritual practices that support healing
  • Increase participation in culturally appropriate 12 Step meetings
  • Create structured environments that help ease a recently released person into making their own decisions

Achievement of the immediate outcomes leads to the fulfilment of the intended intermediate outcomes, including: development of social skills, life skills and leadership skills; and the creation of a community-based, system-wide culturally relevant network to support recovery, wellness and re-entry.  Ultimately, Warrior Down seeks to realize a larger, broader impact - to reduce recidivism and relapse rates by at least 80% for participants. 

 

What Makes Warrior Down Successful?

As the most widely diffused and supported, Native-specific re-entry program, Warrior Down has many features that make it not just innovative, but also promote cultural specificity and support effectiveness.

 

Peer to Peer Programming. One of the hallmarks of the Warrior Down program is the use of peers as recovery and support coaches. These are people that have been in prison or in treatment and are now in the process of rebuilding their own lives.

 

 

Use of Traditional Healing.  Communities are encourage to invite Elders and spiritual advisors to participate in support and relapse prevention processes.  Spiritual and traditional practices and ceremonies (e.g., pipe ceremonies, re-naming ceremonies, sweat lodges, drumming, dancing) can be important components in individual and family Wellbriety Plans.   

 

Continuous Support from Prison to Release.  Warrior Down provides supportive and similar programming for men during incarceration and all the way through reconnecting with their families and communities.  This continuous support system grows and adapts as the needs of the men change with their changing environments.  The program itself becomes a very important and consistent source of support. 

 

Complimentary Programming for Family Members.  Family members also experience anxiety and distress when a loved one is incarcerated, and reconnecting after a prolonged absence can be equally difficult and confusing for family members. Therefore, supportive services are offered to families in order to help re-examine roles and relationships during post release phase and ultimately create a vision for a healthy family. 

 

Conclusion

The Warrior Down program is a step-by-step supportive program that aligns to community resources and traditional practices, while still implementing evidence-based components of re-entry programming.  Its adaptability, coupled with the support and technical assistance provided by White Bison, Inc. and its network of trained coaches make it accessible.  It is an example of what can be created at the individual and community level to meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native people re-entering our communities, and can be taken as a model for other communities to explore.

 

The National Indian Health Board would like to thank Don Coyhis and Kateri Coyhis with White Bison, Inc. for participating in an interview and supplying all of the materials necessary to write this article on the Warrior Down program.  For more information on the program and to receive training on Warrior Down, please visit  www.whitebison.org. 

 


[1] Motivans, M. (January, 2014). Federal Justice Statistics, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fjs10.pdf

[1] Ibid.

[1] Ibid.
  

The National Indian Health Board welcomes your input!  If you would like to submit materials for consideration, please contact the NIHB Public Health Department through Acting Director of Public Health Programs and Policy, Robert Foley at [email protected] or (202)355-5494.