Unheard Alaska: Culturally Anchored Participatory Action Research on Sobriety with Alaska Natives (original) (raw)
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This report presents case studies of nine successful programs designed to reduce alcohol and substance abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives. These case studies highlight effective solutions developed within tribal communities and combining Western and traditional approaches to build upon the strengths of the respective Indian communities. Three types of policy initiatives are reflected: efforts that control the availability of drugs and alcohol within a tribal jurisdiction; educational and treatment efforts; and efforts that reduce social and environmental risk factors for the individual and the community. The programs fall into eight categories: public policy initiative, tribal courts, corrections, community and law enforcement initiatives, youth prevention, youth intervention, adult intervention, and comprehensive programs. Each program includes services providing a link to the spiritual beliefs of the Indian person, services that are culturally reflective of the Indian community, and services that strengthen the relationship of the Indian person to his or her community. Each program description includes the problem(s) addressed, strategies used, administrative support, results, and outcomes. Also included are points for replication and a contact person. A resource section provides contact information and summaries for 46 public, nonprofit, and private agencies addressing alcohol and substance abuse in Indian communities. A bibliography contains 109 entries. (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Substance abuse continues to be one of the most damaging and chronic health problems faced by Indian people. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) substance abuse prevention and treatwent.programs *lust be framed within the broader context of the widening health disparities between AI/AN communities and the general population. Successful treatment and prevention of health problems, including substance abuse, must be driven by community needs and blend complementary strategies from Western medicine and traditional healing practices. This collection of works by substance abuse
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2016
American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) exhibit high levels of alcohol and drug (AOD) use and problems. Although approximately 70% of AI/ANs reside in urban areas, few culturally relevant AOD use programs targeting urban AI/AN youth exist. Furthermore, federally-funded studies focused on the integration of evidence-based treatments with AI/AN traditional practices are limited. The current study addresses a critical gap in the delivery of culturally appropriate AOD use programs for urban AI/AN youth, and outlines the development of a culturally tailored AOD program for urban AI/AN youth called Motivational Interviewing and Culture for Urban Native American Youth (MICUNAY). We conducted focus groups among urban AI/AN youth, providers, parents, and elders in two urban communities in northern and southern California aimed at 1) identifying challenges confronting urban AI/AN youth and 2) obtaining feedback on MICUNAY program content. Qualitative data were analyzed using Dedoose, a team-based qualitative and mixed methods analysis software platform. Findings highlight various challenges, including community stressors (e.g., gangs, violence), shortage of resources, cultural identity issues, and a high prevalence of AOD use within these urban communities. Regarding MICUNAY, urban AI/AN youth liked the collaborative nature of the motivational interviewing (MI) approach, especially with regard to eliciting their opinions and expressing their thoughts. Based on feedback from the youth, three AI/AN traditional practices (beading, AI/AN cooking, and prayer/sage ceremony) were chosen for the workshops. MICUNAY is the first AOD use prevention intervention program
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 2019
American Indians and Alaska Natives experience pervasive mental, behavioral, and physical health disparities, yet access to culturally relevant and evidenced-based programs (EBPs) are severely limited. The purpose of this research is to describe the process of conducting a rigorous and culturally sensitive research approach, which was used to inform the development of a familybased substance abuse and violence prevention program that promotes resilience. The focus of this article is on the process of this development, rather than the intervention itself. We utilize a convergent mixed-methods design with distinct tribes in the Southeast that included 436 research participants across individual, family, and focus group interviews, field notes and existing data, and a quantitative survey (n = 127). This community-engaged, culturally sensitive, and rigorous research methodology provides a road-map for developing culturally relevant interventions.
2012
This chapter reviews the literature on substance abuse and prevention efforts in Native communities. The first section describes demographic characteristics of America's indigenous people, including tribal and government definitions, interaction and validation styles, and rural-urban differences. It concludes by warning that use of broad ethnic glosses to describe any ethnic group in a research venture is poor science, and that research involving American Indians must consider the cultural variations and numerous subgroups that have distinct lifeways. The second section presents an overview of the substance use and misuse field, noting that the research on prevention is very limited. Topics covered include setting, rates and patterns of substance use, etiology and correlates of use, prevention, social skills, peers, family, school-based programs, policy, community-wide efforts, community readiness, and cultural sensitivity. Conclusions drawn include: the family is central in Ame...
This chapter reviews the literature on substance abuse and prevention efforts in Native communities. The first section describes demographic characteristics of America's indigenous people, including tribal and government definitions, interaction and validation styles, and rural-urban differences. It concludes by warning that use of broad ethnic glosses to describe any ethnic group in a research venture is poor science, and that research involving American Indians must consider the cultural variations and numerous subgroups that have distinct lifeways. The second section presents an overview of the substance use and misuse field, noting that the research on prevention is very limited. Topics covered include setting, rates and patterns of substance use, etiology and correlates of use, prevention, social skills, peers, family, school-based programs, policy, community-wide efforts, community readiness, and cultural sensitivity. Conclusions drawn include: the family is central in American Indian culture and must be involved in prevention approaches; peer influence is significant, but to a lesser degree than among non-Natives; cultural identification is not directly related to substance abuse prevention, although it may be critical in treatment; many factors affecting youth in general also impact drug use among American Indian youth; much more is known about risk than about resiliency factors for American Indian youth; and evidence of the effectiveness of school-based programs is very limited. Seven recommendations are given for the advancement of prevention strategies, themes, and research among American Indians and Alaska Natives. (Contains 72 references.) (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2019
Although alcohol misuse is a priority for health care systems serving Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) people, stakeholders' perceptions of misuse are understudied. Patients (n ¼ 34), providers (n ¼ 20), and leaders (n ¼ 16) at a Tribally owned and operated health care system reported that alcohol misuse results from the interaction of factors, including colonization, structural factors, social alienation, social norms about overdrinking introduced at the time of colonizing contact, coping with emotions, and beliefs about ANAI people and alcohol. Childhood exposure to alcohol misuse leads some ANAI people to avoid alcohol altogether, shedding light on the high levels of abstinence observed in ANAI communities.
Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2009
Alcohol and drug abuse are major areas of concern for many American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Research on these problems has often been less than successful, in part because many researchers are not sensitive to the culture and traditions of the tribes and communities with which they are working. They also often fail to incorporate tribal customs, traditions, and values into the interventions developed to deal with substance abuse. We describe the use of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Tribal Participatory Research (TPR) approaches to develop a culturally sensitive substance abuse prevention program for Native youth. This project, The Community Pulling Together: Healing of the Canoe, is a collaboration between the Suquamish Tribe and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington.
2020
This chapter explores motivating and maintenance factors for sobriety among older AN adult participants (age 50+) from across Alaska. Alaska Native Elders are motivated to abstain from, or to quit drinking alcohol through spirituality, family influence, role socialization and others' role modeling, and a desire to engage in indigenous cultural generative activities with their family and community. A desire to pass on their accumulated wisdom to a younger generation through engagement and sharing of culturally grounded activities and values, or indigenous cultural generativity, is a central unifying motivational and maintenance factor for sobriety. The social work implications of this research indicates that family, role expectations and socialization, desire for community and culture engagement, and spirituality are central features to both Alaska Native Elders' understanding of sobriety, and more broadly, to their successful aging. Social workers can use motivational interviewing techniques to explore Elders cultural motivations to encourage and support relapse prevention and support older Alaska Native adults' desire to quit drinking and attain Eldership in their family and community. Sobriety can put older Alaska Native adults on a pathway to successful aging, in positions to serve as role models for their family and community, where they are provided opportunities to engage in meaningful indigenous cultural generative acts; roles they have learned about across their lifetime.