Fostering Tribal Relations
Cynthia LaCounte, Director, Office for American Indians,
Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians
April, 2015
Let’s start by changing how you think a bit:
Let’s talk about any context of building a relationship.
It begins with courting and building a friendship… then progresses
to hanging out together or dating… then sometimes marriage or a
deepening, lasting friendship… and finally growing old together
with the satisfaction of a lifetime of work, accomplishments and
happy thoughts.
That’s what I’m going to discuss here today. It’s way past time that
States and other entities work with Tribes build a lasting lucrative
relationship.
Overview
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Coordinating in Indian Country? How do I begin?
How should the initial contact be made?
Am I clear about what I can offer?
Am I willing to listen to their ideas?
Am I willing to consider that my methods might need to be
changed to work with this special population?
• Am I willing to stay for the long haul and make a difference?
• Am I willing to listen and work hard more than talking,
while still offering my expertise?
Overview, cont.
• If not. Don’t start.
Coordinating in Indian Country? Where do I begin?
• Accept that tribal population for our elders 60+ are
included in your State population.
• Familiarize yourself with the targeting factors in the OAA.
• Title VI or casinos do not replace a state’s obligation to
provide services to tribal members both on reservations
and in urban areas.
• Work with your policy makers to assure that your state is
meeting their obligation to serve American Indians.
Coordinating in Indian Country? How do I begin?
• Become familiar with the Tribes in your area…read…attend
events…and learn about their issues.
• Introduce yourself to the Tribal Senior Services Director to
learn about the senior program. Invite that person to your
office, and request a follow-up meeting to see their facility
and to meet some of their seniors.
• Maintain that relationship. Include the tribes in training
events, in Board meetings, ask them to do presentation
about their program.
• Find out what is needed and how you can help.
How should the initial contact be made?
• Normally the first point of contact is through the highest
elected official’s office (Tribal Chairman, Tribal President,
Governor, Chief…).
• Request to come onto tribal land and bring “x” services
to tribal members.
• Offer to send written information.
• Offer a face-to-face meeting.
• Ask who to work with further.
• Promise to maintain frequent contact with the leader’s
office…AND DO IT!!!
How should the initial contact be made?
• Making your life easier!!!
• Contacting Leadership is essential. Their knowledge and
blessing of your involvement is absolutely critical.
• At the same time you may also want to contact the Aging
Programs Director to make the same introduction, provide
the same information, alert them that you have notified
tribal leadership and have/have not had a response. They
can assist to elevate your request.
• This is when you need to show that you have a very good
idea that you think would work in Indian Country…and be
willing to keep your mind open to find those ways to help
change the program to be culturally relevant.
Coordination in Indian Country
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Follow-up
Patience
Follow-up
Patience
Follow-through
Patience
Now you’re bought in!!!!
Next steps:
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Am I clear about what I can offer?
Am I willing to help them determine if it meets their needs?
Am I willing to listen to their ideas?
Am I willing to help them determine how the service can
become culturally appropriate, and actually “give it to
them” to do that?
• Am I willing to try to understand why those cultural
differences matter?
• Am I willing to continue offering guidance and expertise?
Promising Prevention Practices in Indian Country
• Tribes have identified concerns with “traditional” evidencebased programs and the evidence-based approach since
the conduct was first identified in the aging world.
• The Oregon DHHS identified those concerns as:
– Model programs are not always adaptable in Indian
Communities
– Developer training & fidelity testing are often alien
processes, and not always available to Tribes.
– Loss of familiar and accepted practices/programs can be
traumatic for the Tribe
Promising Prevention Practices in Indian Country, cont.
• Cost is prohibitive.
• Mandate is in conflict with principles of sovereignty,
consultation and government-to-government relations.
Caroline Cruz (OR DHHS) Comparison between science & culture
Scientific Validated:
Transparency – evidence?
Replication?
Standardization to be reliably
replicated.
Replication – more than once
Cultural Validated:__________
Does practice have longevity in
in historical tribal history?
Practices that are culturally
relevant, appropriate &
designed in the Indian Way.
Replication, development, &
implementation the Indian
way can be adapted per
tribe and culturally
replicated.
Caroline Cruz (OR DHHS) Comparison between science & culture
Scientific Validated:
Research – accumulated
knowledge that should be
published.
Outcomes to show that they can
help consumers to reach goals
& outcomes related to risk factors.
`
Cultural Validated:__________
Meet tribal principles -- Experts
in AI/AN communities are the
Elders. They provide the basis
for understanding what works &
why in tribal communities. These
teachings have been the basis for
healthy communities for many
centuries.
Outcomes in Indian Country – Do people
continue coming & bring others? Do you
hear about it in the community? This is
the program story. It can be documented,
tracked & changed over time.
Caroline Cruz (OR DHHS) Comparison between science & culture
Scientific Validated:
Cultural Validated:__________
Fidelity – scale used to verify
Our elders within our
that intervention
community, our teachers,
is implemented in a manner
& the “3 elder women test”
consistent with the treatment is our fidelity scale. The
model – or the research that
Elders are our gauge for
that produced the practice.
how we are doing.
The scale has been shown to
be reliable & valid.
HISTORICAL TRAUMA IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Historical trauma is cumulative emotional and psychological
wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating
from massive group trauma. AI/AN have, for over 500 years,
endured physical, emotional, social, and spiritual genocide from the
policies of European and American colonialist society.
Contemporary AI/AN life has adapted, such that, many are healthy
and economically self-sufficient. Yet a significant proportion of
Native people are not faring well. The effects of historical trauma
include unsettled emotional trauma, depression, high mortality
rates, high rates of alcohol abuse, significant problems of child
abuse and domestic violence.
HISTORICAL TRAUMA IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Our purpose is to heal from the historical unresolved grief that many
indigenous individuals and communities are struggling with. Historical
unresolved grief is the grief that accompanies the trauma. The historical
trauma response is a constellation of features in reaction to massive
group trauma. This response is observed among Lakota and other Native
populations, Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants, Japanese
American internment camp survivors and descendants. (Brave Heart,
1998, 1999, 2000)
Research of the historical trauma intervention approach has shown
significant reduction in anger, sadness, guilt, and shame. (Brave Heart,
1996-1998). A number of excellent Native American researchers have
begun conducting strong research and teaching that is beginning to create
a more unified approach towards healing.
Historical Trauma in Indian Country
Understanding the experiences of community is important towards
beginning the healing process. Genocide, imprisonment, forced
assimilation, and misguided governance has resulted in loss of
culture and identity, alcoholism, poverty and despair.
Accepted components in working to resolve historical trauma
include:
confronting the trauma
understanding the trauma
releasing the pain of historical trauma
transcending the trauma
Historical Trauma in Indian Country
Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart offers model:
three major hypotheses for intervention:
1. Education increases awareness of trauma,
2. Sharing effects of trauma provides relief,
3. Grief resolution through collective
mourning/healing creates positive group
identity and commitment to community.
It could be a possible solution:
Tribal leadership, scholars, program staff and communities
have long identified historical trauma as a negative force
behind generational problems that have impacted our families
and communities for many generations. We speak in Indian
Country of the effect that each action and decision has lasting
impact on the next seven generations. Current social factors
such as suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, low
educational attainment, poor health status, etc. are all blamed
on historical trauma.
It could be a possible solution, cont.
What if we could design a Practice Based Evidence Program that would
focus on the negative impacts of historical trauma while re-building &
strengthening our communities? What if that program had as its “center
pole” the elders & historical trauma? What if branching out from that we
had suicide prevention for our youth with elder
involvement….alcohol/drug abuse with elder involvement…early
pregnancy intervention with elder involvement…language & cultural
retention with elder involvement…elders mentoring young veterans as
they return home…encourage/tutoring with school with elder
involvement…members helping other members guided by elders? Think
creatively of all the branches that could come off that center pole…all to
rebuild our people and our communities and all involving the elders to
once again elevate their status as the experts in our communities?
A Challenge & Ask from Indian Country
Help us to design a cultural evidence-based program (Practice
Based Prevention) that will work to address historical trauma
and it’s impact in our communities: We heal as a community,
not as individuals. Help us to design a program that centers
around our Elders and historical trauma. Help us to involve
our Elders thoughout our communities to heal us from
generations of trauma.
Summary
For more information about ACL
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Washington DC 20201
Phone: 202-357-0148 Fax: 202-357-3249Email: [email protected] Web: www.acl.gov or www.olderindians.aoa.gov