Native Connections - The Northern Arapaho Tribe seeks the FY2023 Tribal Behavioral Health Short Title: Native Connections (Standing Funding Announcement) for Hinono’eino’ Heetoxnenii3i’ Cee’kohei3i’- Arapaho Families Rising, The Healing Village within the Traditional Practices to Wellness Office of the Wind River Family and Community Healthcare System (WRFCHCS), Northern Arapaho Tribe proposes to enhance Traditional Practices to Wellness Office intergenerational family wellness focused group work. Hinono’eino’ Heetoxnenii3i’ Cee’kohei3i’ and The Healing Village will strengthen tribal youth members Arapaho (Hinono’ei) identity and resilience against suicide and substance misuse in an integrated public health model approach to improve behavioral health disparities and lay the foundations for a coordinated network of health professionals, tribal programs, and community partners such as law enforcement, hospitals, and court systems serving tribal youth. Through a community needs assessment and community readiness assessment and leadership support, a tribal strategic action plan for universal prevention, selective and targeted prevention, and indicated prevention strategies and postvention protocols. The Traditional Practices to Wellness Office within WRFCHCS will coordinate all service providers around culture and language and strong connection to tribal elders, Beesneeniteeno (old people) to increase cultural humility, healing and braid traditional practices to wellness with evidence based practices. The Wind River Family and Community Health Care System is the Public Health Authority of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the provider of direct health care services through an Indian Self-Determination and Education Act contract with the Indian Health Care Services. The Traditional Practices to Wellness Office at WRFCHCS will partner with all the WRFCHCS service providers and with the other tribal programs of the Northern Arapaho Tribe including the Northern Arapaho Language and Cultural Commission, whose members will also serve on the Advisory Council. The behavioral health disparities faced by the Northern Arapaho Tribe are significant, higher that national figures and highest in the State of Wyoming. The Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR), home to the Northern Arapaho Tribe, has the lowest average of death in all of Indian Country at age 53. Those who abuse drugs and alcohol die even younger with an average age of death of 32 despite the WRIR having the lowest consumption of alcohol in the state of Wyoming. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scores rank at the top end of the scale due to this mortality and the trauma of early death within families and the reason those deaths occur. Trauma is a major cause of addiction and substance misuse as is the poverty found at Wind River where the health disparities of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer strike down those who do not die due to the injuries that are a major cause of death (homicide, suicide, and substance involved motor vehicle crashes.) Research has shown that Tribal practices that build resiliency and connections American Indians to community, family, and culture, can over time, reduce risk factors for suicide and substance misuse. However, many youth for whom alcohol/drugs has become their culture are unfamiliar with who they really are. Many others have lost family over time who did not or could not convey the strength and healing that our culture, language and traditions contain. This Tribal Practices approach provides for shared knowledge between western providers of health care and traditional and ceremonial Elders. Through consultation, peer group, family heritage and language learning activities, they will connect cultural teachings to health, resilience, strengthen cultural connectedness, wellbeing, and enable intergenerational learning that supports wellbeing and resilience. $250,000 per year is being requested for a five-year program total of $1,250,000.
