Sacred Road Action Plan

In this video we get an inside of the pine ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. We get the opinions of the reservation of what the government is doing to help this Native Americans with the suicidal rates. The person being interviewed is Pastor Leon 'Blunt Horn' Mathews former member of the pine ridge reservation. He is credible because he has lived in this reservation his whole life and has witnessed multiple suicides. He also have worked with those who wanted to commit suicide. This information gives my research more meaning because we hear the reason of these suicidal throughout this reservation. This video is to share information on the suicidal crisis going on this reservation. It also teaches us that Native Americans need help emotionally

Native American tribal communities are one of the most disadvantaged and socially vulnerable groups in the United States. Widespread poverty, alcoholism and lack of services are common throughout Native American tribal lands, leading to high social vulnerability on many levels. In addition, tribes and their indigenous traditions may be particularly vulnerable to damage caused by environmental change, as “tribal cultural practices and religious beliefs are rooted in the

Have you ever thought about people who need help in your community and ways you could help? In Aniak, Alaska, there was a need in the medical field because the town only had one doctor. A team of teenagers saw this need and decided they could do something about it and formed a team called the Dragon Slayers. On the other side of the country, Cassandra saw a different kind of need in her community. Because of harsh Rhode Island winters, fuel for heating homes is really important. She and her friends learned about biodiesel and how it could help her community. In the two articles, Defeating Dragons and Food That Fuels, young people saw community needs and helped bring positive change in unique ways.

People often go through life without knowing what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. Many outsiders view the United States today, as an undemanding country- with its citizens being able to have jobs and money whenever they need it and living life to it’s fullest. This is the commonly depicted idea of America, though this is not the lifestyle for many living here. Specifically, the Native American community has it the hardest currently. Native Americans have been consistently struggling with life since the Removal Act of 1830- causing mass groups of Natives to be forced onto reservation, ‘till the modern world of today- the 21 century. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, articles “Why Are Indian Reservations So Poor? A Look At The Bottom 1%” by John Koppisch,“The Absence of Native American Power” and “Drinking Behavior and Sources of Alcohol: Differences Between Native American and White Youths” they explain what the average Native American has to go through. Today, being Native American means to constantly struggle with poverty, alcoholism and loss of to try and get by in life.

Over the past two years (2014-2016) I have participated in the National Junior Honors Society. As a member, I commit to completing community service and to learning among my peers in order to develop into a superior leader. I have taken part in activities such as fundraisers, team building activities, and several forms of community services such as working in a soup kitchen, daycares and organizing social events. Recently, I volunteered for a week as a vendor at a temple in Tacoma, raising money for the establishment during the Cambodian New Year festival.

There are plenty of things that are important to me, but there is a specific thing that holds a special place in my heart. For the past three summers, I have spent a week in Shiprock, New Mexico. Why is this town important? Shiprock is on the Navajo Reservation. My church takes a small group of people out there to put on a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the children at Shiprock Church of Christ. I love seeing the children and getting to know them better. The town of Shiprock is a town full of wonderful people. At first glance, the towns on the Navajo Reservation aesthetically resemble towns in Missouri, but that is not necessarily a beneficial thing and it is important to me that everyone learn about the realities of the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Throughout the years there has been a consistent need for people to reach out to help the Native American community. This is due to the fact that statistics tell us that there are many Native Americans who abuse drugs and alcohol. This sometimes leads to addiction and the consequences they have to deal with are, losing their families, becoming addicted, or hurting their families. It should be taken into consideration that although there are many things Indian country needs to work on, there are also many ways we can help create better spaces for these people to heal from such traumatic experiences. There are many programs available for those going through such circumstances and they should look for help when needed. I believe it is important

As with many races and ethnicities, Native Americans have had the front row seat in social injustices related to gender and race from the social institutions in the United States. Native Americans faced much discrimination along with other groups when it came to educational institutions and businesses. In education, many young children had lower math and writing skills leading to fewer high school diplomas (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). In labor, Native Americans had high unemployment rates and a lower labor force than the rest of the demographic population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). They also have problems with poverty since more than twenty-five percent of this group live below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Additionally, there are high rates of violent victimization and contributing factors such as childhood trauma that lead to overall high deaths. A major contributing factor to these deaths is alcoholism which exceeds the US rates by seven times (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). Many of these statistics indicate great injustice. Furthermore, according to the Indian Health Services, American Indians have lower health and life expectancy when compared to the rest of America (2015). These staggering statistics point out some prevalent inequalities in modern social institutions that exist with Native Americans.

Native American people have a unique struggle in society. This stems from cultural epidemics like drug addiction, alcoholism, obesity, and rampant suicide, but also systemic racism and a sort of cultural lag. This is not meant to be a critique of culture, simply an observation of the condition of the families I have helped serve over the course of this internship. To be “Native” has become a slew of stereotypical representations. Stereotypes do not represent reality, but they do affect how individuals view themselves, and limit their ability to become anything but what they are expected to be. This is called the self-fulfilling prophecy. If Native American children grow up in a closed network, such as a reservation or a boundary, they are presented

With regards to this, healthcare workers also identified a number of emerging positive attitudes across Indian country. Tribes of Native American communities, for example, report that they are taking steps themselves to eliminate abuse. The feeling is growing that the best--perhaps only way--to overcome Indian alcohol and substance abuse

            In this article Denise Martinez-Ramundo, talks about what she saw on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She talks about how much and how severe the alcohol abuse is on the reservation. She says that children as young as five or six years old have had alcoholic drinks. She also gives us the staggering statistic that 80-90% of adults on the Reservation have severe alcohol abuse problems. Lining the streets of the Pine Ridge

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status of the American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A comparison and contrast of AI/ANs with the national average regarding the health status such as heart disease and strokes will be presented. Multifactorial barriers limiting health, and the overall factors affecting health within this population are identified. Current health status will be presented including health promotion and disparities among this US population. Primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotions will be discussed along with one approach to promoting health offered.

The diabetes epidemic within this demographic is being combated via multiple channels by a host of characters. The federal government, for one, has been active in addressing this issue. The CDC currently works to reduce diabetes-related health disparities in Native American communities by funding and supporting national organizations to engage and collaborate with local partners in nearly twenty communities (CDC, 2014b). For instance, the CDC provides funding to the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP), which works closely with communities in Louisiana, Michigan, and Kansas to create culturally appropriate and long-term diabetes interventions. One intervention in Kansas, the Better Health Cooking Skills Class, teaches community

In spring of 2016, my youth group and I began planning a trip to a neighboring city. This wasn’t just any trip however, we were going on a mission. Each of us there were bound and determined to

Firstly, the geographic community of my hometown, Holyrood, has had a particular significance in my life. This small town, where I lived from childhood until my early twenties, has played an enormous part in the person I am today. I grew up having been involved in town affiliated children’s groups, social programs, and events. This extensive, positive involvement lead me to then seek out my first employment and volunteer experiences within the town; leading me to work with and teach those same programs and events which I enjoyed as a child. Throughout this full circle experience within my hometown to