Kawerak Regional / 33rd Annual Rural Providers’ Conference
August 2 - 5, 2016 Nome, Alaska
Table of Contents Welcome Letter.........................................................................................1 Conference Information...........................................................................2 Keynote Presenters...................................................................................4 Evening Performances..............................................................................6 At-A-Glance Agenda...............................................................................8 Workshop Descriptions............................................................................12 Presenter Bios............................................................................................18 Acknowledgements...................................................................................28 Sponsor Acknowledgements...................................................................Back Page
About the Conference Kawerak, Inc. and RurAL CAP combined their annual conferences to host the Kawerak Regional/33rd Annual Rural Providers’ Conference (RPC). The RPC is an annual gathering of community members, substance abuse service providers, youth, Elders and family interested in celebrating a culture of wellness. The RPC embraces and unites traditional Alaska Native knowledge and modern methods in the battle against substance abuse and the promotion of wellness. The RPC features ceremonies, talking circles and cultural events. Workshops and general sessions are geared toward families, those in recovery, Elders, youth, clinicians and service providers in rural Alaska.
Ru
rAL CAP
The 2015 and 2016 RPC is jointly sponsored by the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP) and Kawerak, Inc. The theme “Carving a Path to Wellness” recognizes the strength to a traditional and cultural knowledge in creating healthy communities. The majority of the RPC will be held at the Nome Elementary School, located at 1057 East 5th Avenue. Evening events will occur at the Nome Recreation Center, located at 208 East 6th Avenue. Logo Artwork We would like to thank Bill Jones, Sr. of Shishmaref. His ‘Spirit Dancers’ carving inspired the conference logo. About this Program Please note, the conference is subject to change. Any changes to the schedule will be announced each morning.
Welcome to the 2016 Rural Providers’ / Kawerak Regional Conference! Welcome to the 2016 Rural Providers’/Kawerak Regional Conference. This is the second year of the two-year partnership between RurAL CAP and Kawerak to co-host the conference. The two-year theme is “Carving a Path to Wellness.” We are excited to be co-hosts with our partner RurAL CAP. Over the next three days, we will have the opportunity to connect and to share with each other, maximizing our strengths and resources as individuals, families, agencies, communities, and as a people. The conference has a wide variety of workshops and there is something for everyone – including our youth, service providers, community leaders, and respected elders. In addition to workshops, we have scheduled evening events to renew our spirits through cultural celebration. No one agency or program can solve all of the difficult issues, but by pulling together the wisdom of our elders, the vision of our leaders, the resolve of our service providers, and the energy and fresh perspectives of our youth, we stand together to carve a path toward wellness. We hope that you will enjoy our time together. Thank you for honoring us with your presence. Kawerak Board of Directors and Management
Kawerak Board of Directors and Management (left-right): Front row (seated): Johnson Eningowuk, Larry Kava, Charlie Fitka, Jr. and Merlin Koonooka. Second row: Melanie Bahnke, Ruby Nassuk, Elsie Cheemuk, Kirsten Timbers, Emily Hughes, Janice Doherty, Blanche Okbaok and Ahna Ozenna. Third row: Michael James, Buster Douglas, Frank Katchatag, Robert Keith, Benjamin Payenna and Chase Gray. Back row: Anna Oxereok, Lucy Oquilluk, Mike Simon, Jack Fagerstrom, Thomas Kirk and Axel Jackson. Photo by Esther Pederson
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Conference Information Transportation
TAXI CAR RENTAL The Conference will provide free transportation. Checker Cab: 443-5211 Stampede Car Rentals: 443-3838 Vans are available from 7:15 am on August 2nd EZ Enterprises: 443-3000 Dredge No. 7 Inn: 304-1270 through 2:00 pm on August 5th. Transportation Mr. Kab: 443-6000 will be available until evening entertainment has concluded. If you need a ride, vans will continuously be parked outside of hotels and conference venues or please call dispatch at: (907) 304-4059. Other transportation is available at your own expense.
Meals
Complimentary continental breakfasts will be served each morning before general sessions with lights snacks served each afternoon. Coffee, tea and water will be available during the day. All other meals are on your own, except a Salmon Bake/potluck on Wednesday evening sponsored by Norton Sound Seafood Plant. Traditional foods and other side dishes are welcome.
Exhibitors and Vendors
Many local and statewide artists and organizations will have displays. We urge you to visit them and enjoy the information, educational opportunities, and arts and crafts offered during the conference.
CIRCLE TALKS - SHARING AND REFLECTION
Circle Talks, also known as listening circles or talking circles, serve as a forum for attendees to discuss the keynote address or conference messages. It is a time for attendees to share personal stories and experiences and process what they have learned. Circle Talks will be moderated by long time RPC Stakeholders.
Open Mic
For those who want to share further their feelings in a moderated discussion about what they’re experiencing as a result of the conference, or talk about their success or struggles with sobriety have the opportunity between 4:30-5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Justice Track
The Tribal Justice Track raises awareness of the unique healing and therapeutic needs of communities, families, adults, youth and children impacted by the justice system. Workshops facilitated by John Bioff will focus on tribal court capacity building as well as identifying potential partnerships and collaboration opportunities for culture-based justice systems throughout western Alaska. State and Federal agency partners will also provide opportunities for workshop participants to share their knowledge and experiences regarding criminal justice, restorative justice, public safety and national security, and other issues affecting rural Alaska. Justice Track sessions include D4, G4, H3 and I4. John Bioff is the General Counsel for Kawerak, Inc., the Native regional non-profit consortium for the Bering Strait region. Mr. Bioff serves as in-house corporate counsel for Kawerak, and also provides legal services to the 20 federally-recognized tribes in the region in areas including development of tribal laws and policies and tribal justice systems, assistance with ICWA proceedings and general legal representation and assistance. He served Kawerak and tribes in the Bering Strait region in this capacity for twelve years. Mr. Bioff also served for three years as the General Counsel for Norton Sound Health Corporation, the tribal health care organization which provides health care services throughout the Bering Strait region.
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Conference Information Youth Track
Youth ages 14 to 18 from will attend both the general conference and the Youth Track. There will be fun and interactive sessions geared directly to youth for these ages. This track will hold its sessions at the Katirvik Cultural Center.
Evening Events - August 2nd-4th
All evening performances will be held at the Nome Recreation Center, located at 208 East 6th Avenue. Everyone loves dancing and there will be five traditional dance groups performing in the evenings. Other performaners will be Arlo Hannigan and Byron Mutoyuk, Byron Nicholai, and Samuel Johns. On August 4th, there will be a Salmon Bake/potluck. Please bring a dish to share. See back page for schedule.
Kawerak Elders Advisory Committee
The Kawerak Elders Advisory Committee will host the Elders General Assembly (EGA) for Elders from this region. They will present two guest speakers from the Bering Strait region: Panganga Pungowiyi, Director of Kawerak Wellness Program, and Dan Harrelson, VPSO of White Mountain. Ms. Pungowiyi will speak on the root causes of drug addiction and prevention. Mr. Harrelson will speak on drug effects on self and the community. Elders will have the opportunity to discuss in small groups how to help their own communities, and how drugs have affected families and Panganga Pungowiyi the villages. There will be an EGA committee member to facilitate each group.
Vincent Pikonganna
Vincent Tocktoo, Sr.
Don Harrelson
Merlin Koonooka
Nome Beltz Choir - Alaska Song/National Athem
Nome-Beltz High School Choir enjoys the opportunity to perform in community events throughout the school year. The Choir has participated in the Volunteer Fireman’s Carnival, 40th Anniversary Dinner and the Opening Ceremony for the new Norton Sound Regional Hospital and many Kawerak Regional Conferences. They also perform at seasonal concerts, fundraisers and school related activities as a regular part of their school schedule.
Commitment Ceremony See description on page 11.
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Keynote Presenters August 2nd: Marjorie Tahbone – Inupiagurunga - I am Inupiaq Marjorie Tahbone grew up in Nome, Alaska, an active student who participated in Native youth organizations and spoke at conferences as well as leading her student council. Summer weekends were spent hanging fish to dry at her family’s camp and working as a fishery technician, helping to restore Nome’s rivers.
Marjorie Tahbone, Inupiaq/Kiowa, was named the 2011 Miss Indian World at the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This wasn’t Tahbone’s first crown. She had recently been crowned Miss Arctic Native Brotherhood in Nome and Miss World Eskimo-Indian at the Olympics in Fairbanks. This presentation will bridge from previous year’s keynote; it would highlight topics from presentations by Lucy Apatiki, Darlene Trigg and Donna Barr. This presentation will be in Inupiaq and then English. Marjorie will highlight that we are fully capable to live our Inupiaq lifestyle in this modern time. She will challenge the saying of “living in two worlds”, because we live in one world where we can be Inupiaq and live by our values and celebrate our traditions. Marjorie will also illustrate how people today are achieving wonderful things and still live with their Inuit values and traditions, as well as successes in our region and see just how strong we are and what we are capable of doing. Through her keynote, she will motivate and inspire people of all ages to live their life full and happy with the Inuit values and traditions; they do not need to choose between a “modern” lifestyle and a “traditional” lifestyle, it is all interconnected and should be viewed as such.
August 3rd: Lucy Apatiki – Intergenerational Historical Trauma; Past is Present, What Now? Lucy Apatiki is from Gambell, Alaska. Her family roots are deep in this village community since her father’s father traveled from Siberia to Gambell and the family grew. Currently, Lucy is a graduate student, working towards her Master’s Degree in Social Work. Lucy and her late husband, Morgan, are the parents of one daughter and two sons and six grandchildren. All of the children and grandchildren live in Gambell. Lucy is also involved in committees that bring services and hope to her communities. She is a Co-Chair for Liitfik’s Cultural Committee and is part of the Native Connections Steering Community. Lucy identifies her guiding value or principle in life as “to glorify God”.
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Keynote Presenters, continued August 4th: Linda Chamberlain – Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Alaska: What We Know Can Change Our Future Scientist, author, professor, dog musher, and founder of the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project, Dr. Linda Chamberlain is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and advocate for health issues related to domestic violence, adverse childhood experiences, brain development and trauma, and the amazing adolescent brain. She is known for her abilities to translate science into practical information with diverse audiences and convey a message of hope and opportunity.
Dr. Chamberlain holds faculty appointments at the University of Alaska and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She earned public health degrees from Yale School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University. For the past decade, her work has focused on creating tools that combine the latest science with best practices and practical strategies that service providers, parents, and communities can incorporate and adapt into daily practices. The scope of Dr. Chamberlain’s work has expanded into the field of mind-body practices to identify self-care strategies to manage stress, promote healing and optimize health. She is a certified practitioner of Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE). Her publications include the Amazing Brain Series, a nationally acclaimed resource to educate caregivers about healthy brain development and the implications of early trauma. Awards and recognition for her work include a National Kellogg Leadership Fellowship, an Alaska Women of Achievement Award, and serving as the Inaugural Scattergood Foundation Scholar on Child Behavioral Health. She lives on a homestead with her husband and dog team outside of Homer, Alaska, and teaches graduate courses and lectures on teamwork and leadership based on her experiences as a dog musher.
August 5th: Samuel Johns – Making A Difference
Samuel Johns is a positive rap musician and performer, mentor and motivational speaker. He is the founder of the new Facebook Group, ForgetMe-Not. Samuel lives in Anchorage, Alaska and has been blessed with an amazing wife and kids. He comes from Copper Center, a beautiful community off of the Richardson Highway, full of beautiful people. Samuel’s grandfather, Harry Johns Sr., was the traditional Chief and Pastor of the church and a major influence to him and his cousins. He was a man well known and respected across Alaska. Samuel remembers all of the plaques on the walls with his grandfather’s name on them and a building that was dedicated to him in Anchorage. As Samuel got older and his grandfather had passed, he realized that no one could ever fill his grandfather’s shoes. Samuel made up his mind that he wanted to create his own legacy. Today, Samuel is a little different; he is not so concerned about creating his own legacy, rather he wants to inspire people to make the right choices in life and for each to realize they can help make a difference.
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Evening Performances Arlo Hannigan and Bryan Muktoyuk
Fresh Water is an exploratory and experimental album from lifelong friends Arlo Hannigan and Bryan Muktoyuk. From Nome, Alaska the group combines Hannigan’s melodies, lyrics, and guitar with Muktoyuk’s Native vocables and Iñupiaq drum. Muktoyuk has a history of drumming and singing with the King Island Eskimo Dancers while Hannigan brings experience having worked on various projects as a singer/songwriter. Their separate backgrounds come together in Fresh Water, harnessing a unique musical voice. A digital album is available for purchase for you or as a gift at: https://arlohanniganandbryanmuktoyuk.bandcamp.com/releases and includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Qughsatkut Dance Group
The Qughasatkut Dance Group is from Gambell. In 2003 Shem Rose helped to get the youth dancing and today they sure still love to dance! This group has travelled ad performed at Stebbins, twice, Teller, four times, Nome, Fairbanks, and Savoonga! They value their tradition profoundly and are excited to have been invited to perform at the Kawerak/Rural Providers Conference.
Nome/St. Lawrence Dance Group
The Nome/St. Lawrence Island Dancers are a Nome Siberian Yupik dance group made of descendants that originated from Gambell and Savoonga. They were reconnected in January 2014 and there are both beginners and veteran dancers in the group. Their goal is to create opportunities for the Nome Siberian Yup’ik community to come together to learn, maintain and share their traditional culture with others through Native dance and potlucks.
Samuel Johns
See description on page 5.
King Island Traditional Singers and Dancers
King Island Dancers come from King Island, which is located in the Bering Strait approximately 40 miles due south of Cape Prince of Wales and the village of Wales. The village site on King Island is located on the south side called Ugiuvak. Since the early 1960’s the King Island dancers and drummers have traveled to many parts of the Lower 48, Washington DC, Japan, Russian Far East, and various villages in Western Alaska for many cultural festivals. The group is world-renowned for performances that feature traditional stories and legends of village life. King Islanders enjoyed “The Time of Drumming,” celebrated in the weeks before the winter solstice in December and onto January of the New Year. There were competitions between the four qagzrit or community houses, where Islanders gathered to dance, sing, and feast. New songs were composed that belonged to family members. The songs could be about teasing cousins, hunting, picking greens, or just a fun dance for people to join in.
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Evening Performances, continued Kotzebue Northern Lights Dancers
Our motto: “Dancing in the shadows of our elders.” Inupiat Dancing has been a part of our culture for centuries. We are the Qikiktagruk Northern Lights Dancers. Our dance group is embraced of many descendants from the original Northern Lights Dancers who originated from Kotzebue, Kivalina, Pt. Hope, Pt. Lay, Wainwright, and Barrow. During the early 1950’s in Kotzebue, Alaska the community would come together to dance, sing, and drum as entertainment during special events. Formed in the late 1950’s, the Kotzebue Dancers enlighten tourist through the Wein Air Alaska Tourism season. In 1973 during the first Inupiaq days in school; elders went into the classroom to teach our Inupiaq culture, one of which was dancing. Students of all ages learned of these dances and carry them on to this day. In 1979, the dancers were invited to attend Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) in Anchorage. Because the dance group didn’t have a formal name, students from Kindergarten through 12th grade selected the name “Northern Lights Dancers” for the group of students and elders who were attending.
Byron Nicholai
Growing up in a village of only 800 people, Byron felt small with more than 663,000 square miles of Alaska surrounding him. In his mind, his future was predetermined; his destiny was to become like the people of Toksook Bay. However, his passion for music drove him to pursue his dreams and go far beyond what was expected of him. Today, he goes wherever his music takes him, with one goal in mind: to share his culture with the rest of the world and continue the legacy of his ancestors. Byron began creating music in fifth grade when his cousin asked him to join Toksook Bay’s traditional singing group as a drummer. His music has become an inspiration for young teens across Alaska seeking to embrace their culture. His music is showcased on his “I Sing. You Dance.” Facebook page, named after one his most popular songs. “Regardless of where you come from and your age, all you have to do is believe in yourself. If people doubt you, prove them wrong and show them who you are. You can do whatever you set your mind to.”
Inaliq Traditional Dancers
Inaliq Traditional Dance Group from Diomede has a strong history of surviving through generations. Through traditional dance gatherings we celebrate life, passing of our love ones, community gatherings, honoring our elders, our children and our future. It remains the biggest part of our lives knowing it helps us heal, celebrate, and honor who we are. We are a small community that is proud to carry on our traditions through singing and dancing. Diomede songs are widely used throughout our region; a reflection that other communities feel the same way.
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At-A-Glance Agenda
The majority of the RPC will be held at the Nome Elementary School, located at 1057 East 5th Avenue. Evening events will occur at the Nome Recreation Center, located at 208 East 6th Avenue. Special Welcome by Judge Eric Smith, Retired (prior to A1) Judge Smith will introduce himself to conference attendees and will make himself available throughout the day to speak to community members and leaders about the Restorative Justice Program in the Vendor Table area. Please be sure to stop by.
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At-A-Glance Agenda, continued
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At-A-Glance Agenda, continued
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At-A-Glance Agenda, continued
Commitment Ceremony The Commitment Ceremony in Nome was introduced as a Staking Ceremony by the Rural Providers’ Conference (RPC) in 1985 to signify the commitment to sobriety. The involvement in the ceremony is a public declaration of one’s intention for sobriety, because it is made in public with those one respects or honors. In this year’s ceremony, participants are invited to declare their commitment to sobriety. The small stakes in the ceremony symbolize a warrior’s lance. It is a way of “tying” oneself to the lance and facing the enemy – alcohol
and drug abuse. The stakes are always decorated with black, white, yellow and red, which have become known as the sobriety colors. All participants will be given a stake to take home that reminds them of their commitment to sobriety for themselves and their loved ones.
The first ceremony had one couple representing each Alaskan culture, and included an original bundle of stakes. The first holders of the bundle were Doug Modig of Ketchikan and Amy Lohr of Tanacross. In June 1991, they widened the circle to include John and Teresa Pingayak of Chevak. Other Stakeholders include Reggie and Linda Joule of Kotzebue, Violet Hunt and Randy Mayo of Stevens Village, Ed and Priscilla Peele (d.) of Sitka, Jennifer and Tom Young (d.) of Sitka, Fred and Irene Coyle of Wasilla (previously Kodiak), JD and DeeDee Bennis of Dillingham, Carol Rose of Fairbanks, Shirley Holmberg of Fairbanks, Amanda Peele of Sitka and Thomas Tilden of Dillingham. We encourage all participants to commit to wellness, but if you would like to make a more formal commitment to wellness and sobriety, please participate in the Commitment Ceremony.
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Workshop Descriptions A1 - Water and Sewer Reform Dialogue Senator Dan Sullivan, Steve Weaver, Admiral Gary Hartz, Tami Fordham and Bill Griffith This dialogue will examine a path to reforming the management and finance of sewer and water construction in rural Alaska. Five villages in the Bering Strait remain unconnected to running water and sewer: Diomede, Wales, Shishmaref, Stebbins, and Teller. In Golovin, Gambell and St. Michael, 30% to 50% of the homes in the communities still need to be connected to existing systems. Ongoing sewer and water upgrades and maintenance remain concerns in Elim, Koyuk, Savoonga, Shaktoolik, Unalakleet, White Mountain, and Brevig Mission. A2 – Circle Talks RPC Stakeholders Circle Talks, also known as listening circles or talking circles, have been an integral part of the RPC. Circle Talks serve as a forum for attendees to discuss the keynote address or conference messages. It is a time for attendees to share personal stories and experiences and process what they have learned. Circle Talks will be moderated by long time RPC Stakeholders. B1 – Modern Healing Systems Catching up with Alaska Native Traditions Doug and Amy Modig Pain and grief was a regular part of our historical past and there were many traditions in helping people move through them. Some of those ways are now being found as scientifically sound. In an interactive format, participants will understand how our ancestors were forging a path to wellness that has stood the test of time. B2 – Safe in the Village (SITV) Healthy Relationships Cornelia Jessen and Jaclynne Richards SITV is a video program to help start conversations about topics such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and healthy relationships. SITV is for Alaska Native youth ages 15-19, but can also be used with younger teens, including middle school aged youth, or older youth. SITV role models safe behaviors to deal with peer pressure around relationships, friendships, and alcohol. It also shows how decisions affect one’s future and the importance of having trusted adults and goals in life. SITV has two main parts to open up discussion with youth; the first part is the video itself that addresses: friendships, relationships, making good decisions, sexually transmitted infections, how alcohol can affect goals and decisions and having a trusted adult such as an elder to talk to. The second part consists of interviews with SITV actors who discuss how these topics relate to their own personal lives. The workshop will provide an overview of the program and provide training on how to implement it with youth. B3 – Nome Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) & Emergency Shelter and Housing Bridie Trainor and Sue Steinacher The Nome Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) began in 2009 with a handful of volunteers, and has grown into a community and grant supported 501(c)(3) non-profit. The primary role of NEST is the operation of a warm and safe overnight shelter for any adult in need, regardless of their level of inebriation, during the six colder months of the year. As one of the few “wet shelters” in the country providing shelter to intoxicated individuals, NEST reduces impact on the emergency room, the police, families, the jail and the court system – and saves lives! A secondary effort of NEST has been to seek solutions for other urgent housing-related needs, such as homeless prevention, emergency lodging, sober housing and advocating for more low-income housing in Nome. In this workshop you’ll learn how NEST began and has grown, its challenges and its successes, and how a community and its agencies have come together to support those in need.
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Workshop Descriptions, continued C1 - Leadership for Results: Capacity Building in Response to Sexual Violence and Interpersonal Violence Debbie Demientieff and Elsie Boudreau The workshop will provide an overview of the Leadership for Results: Capacity Building in response to Sexual Violence and Interpersonal Violence program. The program was provided to three tribal communities in 2015. The focus includes community change projects focusing on domestic violence or sexual assault and individual leadership development. Evaluation data will be included. C2 – Mindfulness Training for Providers Jay David Training to help Providers be more present, alert, and attentive when providing services to their clients. Skills learned will include: Concentration techniques; emotional self-regulation skills for both providers and clients during difficult discussions of domestic violence, suicide, and other traumas; enhanced listening and attentiveness to nonverbal communication; and better use of provider’s own life experience for increased understanding of the challenges in the client’s life. Mindfulness skills will include breathing techniques, proper posture, guided visualizations, observation of one’s thoughts and emotions, and ability to separate passive and active listening. D1 – Treatment Strategies for Intergenerational Trauma of Alaskan Natives Lucy Apatiki and Jay David There has been much talk and recognition of the impact of intergenerational trauma for Alaska Natives, but few methods or strategies have been suggested or implemented on how to remedy this situation and all the suffering that continues today. Two clinical providers working together since 2004, a Native woman from the Village of Gambell, and a nonnative male will share their collaborative work on how Natives and nonnatives can work together to remedy this situation. We will present the dynamic and challenging process of creating the “third space”, a method of gaining greater insight and taking of personal responsibility for healing now, in the present. Working in the present with mutual respect, honesty, communication, and a strong willingness to learn from one another, the “third space” of understanding brings resolution to the legacies we are challenged by our ancestors to resolve. D2 – Circle Talks RPC Stakeholders See description for A2. D3 – PC Cares Panganga Pungowiyi, Diane McEachern, Lisa Wexler and Roberta Motto Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) is a community education and mobilization model that starts where community members are and builds new understandings about how they can work in their lives for suicide prevention. Over the course of 9 monthly learning circles, local people—villagebased counselors, health aids, VPOs/VPSOs, tribal leaders and others develop and carry out culturally-based, scientifically-informed strategies to prevent suicide and enhance wellness. The presentation will share what we’ve learned from the first 9 months of implementing PC CARES in rural Alaska.
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Workshop Descriptions D4 – A Cultural Center for the Bering Strait Region Lisa Ellanna and Amy Russell-Jamgochian This session will serve as an opportunity to share about the cultural education programs that will take place at the Katirvik Cultural Center, and share the status of several projects we are currently working on. We will enter into a discussion with participants about how strengthening one’s cultural identity can have positive effects on wellness, both individually and for the community. E1 – Traditional Knowledge Exchange: The Supernatural Environment Julie Raymond-Yakoubian, Lucinda Wieler and Amy Johnson This workshop will provide an overview of Kawerak’s ongoing project about the Knowledge, Beliefs and Experiences of the Supernatural Environment project, and provide an opportunity for group discussion on the topic of the supernatural. The majority of the workshop will be spent in discussion facilitated by the 3 copresenters, divided into three main parts. There will be opportunity for workshop attendees to share their personal stories or traditional stories on this topic. We will have several elders or other region residents that will be ready to share their knowledge with the group and support individuals that also want to share. This session will take place in a low light setting and floor mats for sitting (as well as chairs, for those that want or need them). Children are invited as long as an adult accompanies them. E2 – Consultation on Draft US Fish & Wildlife Services Alaska Native Relations Policy Doug Burn The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is developing a new chapter of the Native American Policy, which is meant to be tailored to the uniqueness of the Alaska Region. Alaska Native peoples have lived from, with, and as part of the environment since time immemorial, and as such, have a direct connection with the Service mission. The Service will present an overview of the Draft Alaska Native Relations Policy, and requests tribal governments review, feedback, and participation in a discussion during the workshop consultation event. Tribal government representatives are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions during this workshop. E3 – Facing, Healing and Moving Forward from Historical Trauma Esther Green Yup’ik Elder, Esther Green, will share her thoughts and experiences with surviving and moving forward from historical trauma. She will share how culture and subsistence life have been the foundation of her healing and how they continue to provide her with a strong sense of health and well-being. F1 – Traditional Knowledge Exchange: The Supernatural Environment Julie Raymond-Yakoubian, Lucinda Wieler and Amy Johnson Part 2, see description for E1. F2 – Healing from Native Language Loss Bernadette Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle The Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council (ANLPAC) have published their recommendations to the Governor’s office and the Legislature. The recommendations are based on people’s testimony at the listening sessions during other major conferences and conventions. The Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska (ICC-AK) Education Project is in the process of facilitating Education Think Tanks to decolonize Native education in the ICCAK regions. ANLPAC and the ICC-AK Education Project have similar themes in improving language education and cultural curricula for schools. Yaayuk will share the information and speak on historical trauma of language loss and identity. Our new generations weren’t spoken to in our Native language due to Western education and religions. Participants will have a chance to share their own experiences and hopes for language learning and revitalization.
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Workshop Descriptions, continued F3 – Garden of Roses – Camp for Girls Debbie Demientieff, Shirley Moses, Elsie Boudreau and Rita Blumenstein The workshop will provide an overview of the Garden of Roses-Camp for Girls. The Garden of Roses is an overnight week-end free camp for girls for Alaska Native girls ages 8-17 who have been sexually abused. The camp can accommodate up to 12-15 girls who are paired with an advocate for the day. The camp is staffed by trained and experienced staff including a Traditional Doctor, advocates and a Licensed Master Social Worker with extensive experience serving Alaska Native children, adults, families and communities in the field of trauma, sexual assault and child protection. The camp utilizes healing circles that offer three main messages to the girls; 1. You are not alone; 2. The abuse was not your fault; and 3. The sexual abuse does not define who you are in life. Evaluation data will be included. F4 – Green Dot: Sharing Skills to Make our Communities Safer! Kari van Delden and Lisa Ellanna How can people send the message that violence, of any kind, is not okay in our communities? Green Dot is a program that explores strategies for keeping each other safe and making sure people know that, no matter where you are, violence is not acceptable. This program can be individualized to look at a community’s strengths, build on those strengths and continue to grow the efforts. It’s always hard to know what to do when we see somebody getting hurt or to know how to send a message that violence is not okay. During this workshop, we will use interactive activities to come up with strategies that fit ourselves and where we live. “A green dot is simply your individual choice at any given moment to make our communities safer...no one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something...What’s your GREEN DOT?” G1 – Health Research in Alaska; Why Alaska Native People Need to be Involved Timothy Thomas, Dr. Rosalyn Singleton, Abbie Wolfe, Connie Jessen and Terry Powell This workshop will include presentation of various research projects and illustrate some success stories; how research is reviewed and approved through AAIRB and ANTHC; elicit ideas on what people want to see research on; and an open discussion on concerns about research and how those could be addressed. Participants attending this workshop will obtain some understanding of research and the important research that has taken place in Alaska with Alaska Native people. Participants will also obtain understanding of the review and approval process for research within the Alaska Tribal Health System and have the opportunity to discuss concerns around research and propose ideas for research. G2 - Circle Talks RPC Stakeholders See description for A2. G3 – Healing Multigenerational Grief MaryJane Litchard Do you suffer from physical or emotional pain and are unaware of where it may came from? Do you worry a lot? Or have issues of depression? Guilt? Do you have unresolved fear or anger? Do you get confused or feel you are not yourself? Do you feel tired and wish you knew how to energize yourself without taking caffeine products? What do you do when you wake up with a stuffy nose? Is there another way for you to remedy healing yourself, especially if it stems from multigenerational grief or trauma? Our genetic memory cells remember past historical traumas, even from our ancestors. The good news is that you can help yourself get better just by the use of your hands. Learn how an ancient Japanese art of healing called “Jin Shin Jyutsu” can boost your immune system on yourself, on others, even babies! At the Healing Multigenerational Traumas workshop, you will learn how to position your hands on yourself to heal and open up blocked areas on your body for emotional and physical ailments. CARVING A PATH TO WELLNESS
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Workshop Descriptions G4 – Tribal Court/Restorative Justice Opportunities for Tribes Lisa Jaeger A discussion providing an update on the latest developments regarding tribal jurisdiction in Alaska, including opportunities for taking jurisdiction through a partnership with the State, transferring ICWA cases, Rule 11 Restorative Justice Agreements, and MOAs with the Department of Juvenile Justice. This will also include information on the nuts and bolts considerations for developing an active tribal court. G5 – Plant Medicine Basics Allison Kelliher and Mary Sears In part one of this workshop you will be provided an overview of local plants as food and medicine including: a. Learn to identify local plants as food (willow, rhodiola, lovage). b. Learn local plants as and medicine (willow, stinkweed, yarrow). c. Be able to identify and avoid toxic plants (hemlock, iris). H1 – Overcoming Change and Grief & Healing - in a Native Perspective Donna Barr, Edna Apatiki and Ellen Richard Health care and service providers located in the rural communities, and in the main hub of Nome see the firsthand impacts of unmet needs that affect the lives of the people. During the Rural Provider’s Conference held in Nome June of 2015, the discussion of “historical trauma” and presenting it publicly for the first time, the ability to recognize how trauma impacts the lives of our people was brought to the table. This workshop, will be a coordinates follow-up of this topic and engage with the participants in identifying grief. What does it look like? How does unresolved grief expand into other aspects in our communities? What are areas we can improve in our communities? How did our people deal with change? What are our strengths to create change? And, what will we do to make it happen? Presenters will share a timeline of historical change, what we have retained in our communities, and share ideas together to address positive involvement with those willing to initiate change in their communities. H2 – How to Facilitate Circle Talks 101 Shirley Holmberg and Dee Dee Bennis The Talking Circle 101 workshop will be a hands-on, teaching talking circle. Participants will 1) Be taught how to create atmosphere, 2) Learn the rules of the teaching talking circle, and 3) Learn the process of a teaching talking circle. Participants are taught step by step and that any one person can facilitate a talking circle. H3 – Part 1: Legal/Legislative Update Regarding Legal Issues Affecting Tribes Sydney Tarzwell and Chelsea Gregerson Alaska Legal Services (ALSC) attorneys work on legal issues on behalf of tribes throughout the State of Alaska. They are actively involved in litigation regarding such issues as the Indian Child Welfare Act, adoptions, and tribal jurisdiction. ALSC will provide an update on the current status of litigation and legislative developments affecting tribes. H3 – Part 2: Federal Resources for Your Community Steve Forrest The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been actively involved working in partnership with Kawerak in this region and seeks to continue that partnership and work with tribes in this region on issues such as national security. They are also there to assist tribes and individual with issues within their jurisdiction, and will provide information regarding their role and how they can work together in our region.
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Workshop Descriptions, continued H4 – Healing and Decolonization Panganga Pungowiyi and Kari van Delden Self-awareness and healing are essential to community well-being. Learn about activities to discuss the effects of Racism, Historical Trauma, and Colonization that can support both individual and community healing. Look at the process of Decolonization and what it looks like when communities are healing from Colonization. Join us as we also examine our own efforts and share how to be mindful in our work in order to promote community empowerment and sustainable wellness. Please note that this session is really a three-hour workshop and is presented over the afternoon break. We ask participants to commit to attending all four hours. I1 – Cultural Hands-On Activities Participants will be able to choose from a variety of tables with local residents offering to share how to make, sew, skin, cut or create a traditional item. Most tables will provide the opportunity for participants to make and take an item home with them. If you are interested in hosting a table to share a skill, please contact conference coordinator Barb Nickels before Thursday. I2 – Hands-On: Making Plant Medicines Allison Kelliher Learn to make teas and oils health and healing. a) Make a tea from yarrow b) Make medicinal oil from stinkweed c) Make medicinal capsules from willow bark. I3 – Hands-On: Backyard Medicines – Healing with Plants Close to Home Jennifer Nu Many plants that grow in and around our communities offer beneficial healing properties. I will do demonstrations of how to make chickeweed pesto, dandelion petal vinegar, and one other recipe TBA, using plants from my community. The workshop will include a facilitated discussion so that participants can share their experiences using plants from their own region for healing and for wellness. The discussion will conclude with ideas for how participants can promote local knowledge in their own communities to build wellness. I4 – Alaska Criminal Justice Follow up Session Susanne DiPietro The Alaska Criminal Justice Commission was created by the Alaska State Legislature in July, 2014; and The Commission, which consists of thirteen members, has a limited term. Its job is to evaluate and make recommendations to improve criminal laws and practices. The Commission participated in the conference last year by taking public testimony and responding to questions regarding the criminal justice system in our region. This year, after taking testimony throughout Alaska, the Commission made recommendations to the Legislature which then became SB 91, a bill reforming the criminal justice process in Alaska. Susanne DiPietro, Executive Director for the Alaska Judicial Council, will present on the criminal justice reform efforts happening in Alaska, and take your comments and suggestions for further work. I5 – Healing and Decolonization Panganga Pungowiyi and Kari van Delden See description for H4.
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Presenter Bios Bernadette Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle of Nome is the Kawerak, Inc. Eskimo Heritage Program Director. She has also worked as an Alaska Native education coordinator and classroom teacher, and as a teaching mentor with the Alaska Statewide Mentoring Project. Alvanna-Stimpfle is a member of the Alaska Native Education Preservation & Advisory Council (ANLPAC) and the Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska (ICC-AK) Education Project Steering Committee member. She also is a former member of the King Island Traditional Council. Alvanna-Stimpfle holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in Inupiaq Eskimo language from University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Edna Apatiki is St. Lawrence Island (Sivuqaq) Yupik. Edna is born and raised at Sivuqaq-Gambell, and has five older siblings, with two brothers left. Edna attended Gambell BIA day school, boarding school and graduated from a public school. She earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education and taught high school. Edna helped to open the first high school at Gambell Presbyterian Church in 1976. She later obtained her master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Edna taught and lead education on the mainland and eventually back to Gambell and moved to LYSD. She retired as an educational leader in 2009, but took a job two years later as a Village-Based Counselor (VBC) for Norton Sound Health Center Behavioral Health Services (NSHC BHS) program. With encouragement from late Teresa Perry, she attended a year of Rural Health Services at Fairbanks. NSHC BHS has an on-going progressive training program in mental and substance abuse programs. Edna conveys the importance of the impact of suicide, violence from alcohol and drugs and addiction, by presenting to the local school and neighboring school. She also serves on the BHS/Cultural Committee. The Committee’s important project is Liitfik, sobering center in the future for our region. Edna grew up in an era, where children are gathered around, to listen to history and traditional stories. With this strong background as a listener, stories and history are instilled in her, to carry on as part of her legacy. Edna cherishes children, youth, and Elders. Youth are our future leaders. Elders carry on the culture and wisdom for each of us to bear. Edna grew up going to south side of the St. Lawrence Island, big lagoon, up the river camp every mid-summer and autumn to set net for salmon and arctic char. Edna loves to pick greens and berries. Lucy Apatiki is from Gambell, Alaska on St. Lawrence Island. She is the daughter of Willis and Nancy Walunga, granddaughter of the late John Walunga, wife of the late Morgan Apatiki Sr., and mother of three beautiful children and grandmother of eight wonderful grandchildren. Lucy is a graduate student, working towards her master’s degree in social work and currently works at Norton Sound Health Corporation as vice president of Community Health Services. Lucy’s passion and desire is to see Alaska Natives restored to true honor and dignity and her vision is to see healthy Native communities all across the State of Alaska. Lucy identifies her guiding principle in life as “to glorify God” and believes to each is given an assignment to accomplish while here on the earth realm and her hope and prayer is that she fulfills her mission and encourages others to fulfill their destinies as well. Donna Barr is an Inupiaq Eskimo, born and raised in Shishmaref, Alaska. Oldest of six siblings, mother of five and grandmother of five, Donna redirected her life to gain understanding with the impacts of suicide, family violence, addictions, and family healing. She serves as an advocate for youth to engage in cultural activities and holds strong interests in grief, healing, suicide prevention efforts, and community awareness. She was raised by her grandparents, and was taught many traditional practices on hunting and gathering grounds. She believes the connection to our Native
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Presenter Bios, continued values can help strengthen our identities as Native people to overcome high risk behaviors in today’s living environment. Her background includes 12 years as a Headstart teacher aide, one year as a financial coordinator for the Shishmaref Dog Musher’s Association, previously served on many councils and boards around Alaska, is a volunteer grant writer for cultural activities, one of the founders and a member of the Shishmaref Wellness Committee, and the Village Based Counselor in Shishmaref, for Norton Sound Health Corporation, Behavioral Health Services. Her motivation to remain in this field is to encourage positive involvement with our communities to promote healing from within. Our responsibility is to pass on knowledge of life skills to the younger generations. She recently obtained an Associates of Applied Science Degree in Human Services, through the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel. Dr. Rita Blumenstein was born and raised in the Yup’ik village of Tununak on Nelson Island, Alaska. Her cultural heritage includes Yup’ik, Aleut, Athabascan, and Russian. Rita is currently the Program Manager for Native Ways of Knowing at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Behavioral Health and Rural Services (BHRS). She is instrumental in providing wisdom and support to programs within BHRS including the Behavioral Health Aides, suicide prevention, substance abuse, and other behavioral health related initiatives. She is a certified traditional healer and continues to practice using plants for medicinal purposes promoting mind, body, and spirit while working with individuals and healing. Rita is an active member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers for the next seven Generations. Elsie Boudreau, LMSW is a proud Yup’ik Eskimo from the village of St. Mary’s, Alaska. LMSW is a Licensed Master Social Worker. She is the president of Arctic Winds Healing Winds, a newly formed non-profit. Elsie helped establish and worked with the Alaska Native unit at Alaska Cares for six years. In that role, she provided advocacy services and therapy for Alaska Native and American Indian families whose child(ren) have been severely physically or sexually abused, and conducts forensic interviews with children. As a prior Children’s Justice Act Project Coordinator for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Elsie helped develop an educational video project highlighting child sexual abuse in Alaska, grasping the wisdom of Elders and identifying ways for healing to apply to traumatic experiences. She has also worked with law firms Manly & Stewart and Cooke Roosa Law Group as a Victim Advocate providing support to approximately 300 victims of clergy child sexual abuse in Alaska, South Dakota, Oregon and Montana. Elsie enjoys working with and for her people and strongly believes that all children have the right to grow up in a safe and loving environment. “Children are to be SEEN, HEARD and BELIEVED.” Doug Burn - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is developing a new chapter of the Native American Policy, which is meant to be tailored to the uniqueness of the Alaska Region. Alaska Native peoples have lived from, with, and as part of the environment since time immemorial, and as such, have a direct connection with the Service mission. The Service will present an overview of the Draft Alaska Native Relations Policy, and requests tribal governments review, feedback, and participation in a discussion during the workshop consultation event. Tribal government representatives are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions during this workshop. Linda Chamberlain, PhD - See page four.
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Presenter Bios Jay David, LCSW, has been a practicing psychotherapist/clinical social worker since 1986. From 2000-2015, he provided services for Alaskan Natives at Norton Sound Health Corporation through many roles including director, clinical supervisor and clinician. In addition, Jay has been studying Mindfulness Meditation since 1971, including graduate studies in Indian Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Finally, Jay served on the Behavioral Health Aid Review Committee for three years. Debbie M. Demientieff, AAS is special projects coordinator for Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Behavioral Health Department, and has an associate’s degree in human services. Debbie has previous experience working as a tribal family youth specialist and a tribal administrator. In that capacity she worked directly with families, tribal court and tribal programs. As the current coordinator of the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative for ANTHC, Debbie works directly with the tribal partners and a training team to coordinate trainings addressing domestic violence and sexual assault. She also coordinates the Garden of Roses-Camp for Girls and a leadership project with the Alaska Leadership for Results program. Susanne DiPietro is the Executive Director of the Alaska Judicial Council. The Alaska Judicial Council is staffing the work of the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. Before coming to the Judicial Council, Susanne worked as the judicial education coordinator for the Alaska Court System. She received her juris doctor (JD) degree from Northwestern University in Chicago and is a fellow of the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management. Susanne is the author of a number of reports and articles on criminal and civil litigation procedures. She has served as a consultant to the court systems in Albania and Mongolia. Lisa Navraq Ellanna is Inupiaq from Nome. Lisa is currently the Director of the Katirvik Cultural Center with Kawerak. Previously, she assisted in the administration of the Maniilaq Wellness Program through her firm, Sinuk River Consulting. Before working with Maniilaq, Lisa worked closely with the Community Alcohol Safety project for Kawerak Wellness in the Bering Strait Region, in which Green Dot was a local strategy. Tami Fordham is Deputy Director Alaska Operations Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since June of 2001. After graduating from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Resource Science, Tami relocated to the Anchorage, Alaska EPA Operations Office in September of 2003. Tami currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Alaska Operations Office. Prior to this appointment she served as the Alaska Resource Extraction Tribal Policy Advisor, where she provided lead tribal policy support on large resource extraction projects. Her work included implementation of tribal coordination and consultation processes, environmental justice, and support in working with Traditional Ecological Knowledge on agency actions related to resource extraction. Tami has also served as a tribal coordinator and project officer for tribes developing environmental programs through the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program.
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Presenter Bios, continued Special Agent Steven Forrest is the White Collar Crime Supervisor for the Anchorage Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The squad he is responsible for supervising investigates Public Corruption, Civil Rights, Complex Financial Crimes and Health Care Fraud. SSA Forrest has been employed with the FBI since 1986 and entered on duty as a Special Agent with the FBI in 1998. Upon completion of New Agents Training, he was assigned to the Buffalo Field Office where he investigated crimes against children, fugitives, bank robberies and other reactive crimes. For six years, SA Forrest was the Case Agent for the Buffalo Filed Office Innocent Images National Initiative which focused on the online sexual exploitation of children. In 2006, Special Agent Forrest became one of the original members of the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team which is responsible for responding to child abductions throughout the United States. Special Agent Forrest has been assigned to the Anchorage Division of the FBI since 2007. Chelsea Gregerson (at right) is the staff attorney for the Alaska Legal Service Corporation’s Nome Office. She is a graduate of Duke University School of Law. Before moving to Nome, Chelsea lived in Seattle where she volunteered at Northwest Justice Project. Esther Green (at right) is a Yup’ik Elder from the village of Nunapitchuk and currently lives in Bethel. Ms. Green is a retired elementary school Yup’ik teacher. She now works with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Kuskokwim campus as one of the key Elders working with the Rural Human Service (RHS) and Human Services (HUMS) Associate of Applied Science college programs. Admiral Gary Hartz - Gary J. Hartz, P.E., retired U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Rear Admiral, is the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) Office of Environmental Health and Engineering (OEHE). The IHS is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for American Indian and Alaska Native people. Mr. Hartz oversees health care facilities and staff quarters construction, facility maintenance and operations, and realty. He also has responsibility for a comprehensive environmental health program including institutional environmental health, injury prevention, and sanitation facilities construction services throughout Indian Country. Shirley May Holmberg, BA, MA was born in Tanana, AK and is from the Toneedze Gheltselne (Middle People) clan. She lives in Fairbanks, AK. Since March 2016, she has managed Tanana Chiefs Conference’s Circle of Care infrastructure and planning grant focused on children’s health and mental health systems of care; including quarterly trauma informed and systems of care trainings. For most of her work life, she has held positions with non-profit Native organizations. She has been a Rural Providers’ Conference single woman stakeholder for many years, has attended, facilitated, and assisted at numerous RPC’s. Shirley has been clean and sober for over 29 years and assists others in sobriety. As a young person, she learned to volunteer for many efforts involving clean and sober cultural events and is involved in teaching how to live a healthy lifestyle. Shirley received her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Rural Development – Health and Human Services Management and Masters of Arts degree in Rural Development. CARVING A PATH TO WELLNESS
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Presenter Bios Lisa Jaeger, BS, MA has served as tribal government specialist for the Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks since 1979. The Tanana Chiefs is a non-profit Native corporation that provides technical assistance and service delivery to 37 federally recognized tribes in the Interior of Alaska. Lisa has undergraduate degrees in biology and secondary education, and a master’s degree in Northern Studies-Indian Law from the Universities of Arizona and Alaska. She has traveled extensively into the villages of the Interior and other parts of Alaska assisting tribes in designing tribal government structures and procedures, drafting constitutions, ordinances, codes and policies, and assisting tribes on land issues and in the development of their tribal courts. Lisa has also been very involved in the development of Circle Peacemaking in Alaska, and collaborative efforts between the Alaska Court System and Alaska tribal courts. Lisa teaches Indian law and tribal government courses for the University of Alaska, National Judicial College, and through a wide variety of other collaborative training efforts. She has written handbooks for Alaska tribes on tribal government, code drafting, Alaska Native lands, and tribal court development. The tribal court development handbook for Alaska tribes is available online. Lisa is the producer of multiple films on tribal court development for Alaska tribes, of the documentary film entitled Tribal Nations, The Story of Federal Indian Law. Information, and of a documentary film called Alaska Tribes: The Story of Federal Indian Law in Alaska. Lisa has produced a website on Federal Indian Law in Alaska in collaboration with the University of Alaska which can be found at http://tm112.community.uaf.edu/, and a website for tribal court administration at http://tm115. community.uaf.edu/. Corneilia Jessen, MA has been with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) since 2007. Since 2010, she has managed the HIV/STD Prevention Program with a focus on adolescent sexual health, STD/HIV and violence prevention and healthy and safe relationship promotion. The Program currently addresses HIV and Alaska’s high STD rates through I Know Mine, a well-established statewide multi-media prevention education and outreach website primarily geared towards Alaska Native youth, providers and parents. The program has also been operating a successful statewide free at-home testing service for vaginal, penile and rectal CT, GC and trichomonas and has been engaged in the adaption and evaluation of youth-focused behavioral interventions. Ms. Jessen’s work experience at ANTHC has allowed her to collaborate with tribal and non-tribal partners in the pursuit of addressing and alleviating health disparities on a policy, research and programmatic level while also gaining an in-depth understanding of the issues facing Alaska Native people. She is a board member of the American Society for Circumpolar Health and is interested in the circumpolar context of health disparities, particularly as they relate to the health and wellbeing of indigenous peoples and sexual and reproductive health in the Arctic from a social sciences perspective. Ms. Jessen is currently a guest editor for the International Journal of Circumpolar Health Special Issue on Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion in the Circumpolar North. She completed her Masters in Applied Anthropology concentrating on Medical Anthropology and Public Health at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2009. Samuel Johns - See page five. Amy Johnson is the local assistant for Kawerak’s Social Science Program. She is a Solomon Tribal member. Amy works on the Supernatural Project with Nome-area Tribal members through interviews, focus groups, archival research, transcribing and other related work.
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Presenter Bios, continued Allison Kelliher, MD is a family medicine physician originally from Nome. She works at Vitae Integrative Medical Center and Southcentral Foundation’s Traditional Healing Clinic as a Tribal Doctor. Having apprenticed with healers since her teenage years, Dr. Kelliher uses conventional, physical, energetic, botanical and nutritional treatments. She is Koyukon Athabaskan and was raised close to the land in Nome. Dr. Kelliher earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from University of Alaska Fairbanks and a medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine. She completed primary care training at the Alaska Family Medicine Residency in 2009 and later achieved board certification in both family and holistic medicine. Dr. Kelliher enjoys spending time outdoors and is passionate about the value of traditional lifeways. MaryJane Litchard was born in Kotzebue and raised in Lost River, Teller, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Barrow and Nome. When she was born, her Akka (Grandma), Fannie Walluk, did a prayer ceremony by rubbing her newborn hands with rabbit fur, then in Inupiaq, asked the Spirit World to let MaryJane do many things with her hands. Her mother kept this a secret for 30 years, as she wanted to witness with her own eyes Akka’s blessing of MaryJane come true! Maryjane’s Akka took her at age three and five to train her in patience and witness her do healing work on others. MaryJane started massaging at age five, as her hard-working father let her rub his feet. MaryJane can intuitively feel where a person is having trouble on their body, just by being near them. While MaryJane was growing up, those around her did not understand her gift. As a child, she was once accused of being a witch. From that point on, she kept quiet about her gifts and at times wanted to perish until she grew into adulthood. MaryJane has acquired many certificates in healing techniques. Christopher Mandregan, Jr., a tribal member of the Aleut Community of St. Paul, Alaska, began his career with the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in 1986. As Acting Deputy Director, Mr. Mandregan oversees the operations of the Indian Health Service, and ensures that the quality of care through the IHS Direct Service health care program is fully integrated across all levels of the agency and engaged with other HHS Operating Divisions and external partners, including states and other federal agencies. Diane McEachern, MSW, LCSW, Ph.D has been a social worker in the Yukon Kuskokwim (YK) region of Western Alaska for over 18 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska, Kuskokwim Campus (KuC) in Bethel. Diane is the University of Alaska Fairbanks Program Head for the Rural Human Service (RHS), HUMS AAS degree programs and RHS/HUMS Lead Faculty at KuC, serving indigenous adult students from throughout the YK region. She is one of the coauthors of the PC CARES program and a PC CARES trainer. She can be contacted at
[email protected]. Amy Modig works for the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. as a community wellness coordinator. She has been involved with the Rural Providers’ Conferences since 1985 with her husband, Doug. Amy was born in Takotna, and has family ties in Shageluk, Grayling and Tanacross. She is a grandmother and a Deg Hit’an Athabascan and lives in Anchorage. CARVING A PATH TO WELLNESS
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Presenter Bios Doug Modig is a cultural consultant and has worked with Native people since the early 1970s and has been involved in the Rural Providers’ Conferences since 1985 with his wife, Amy. Doug still works with rural communities around the state and serves on several statewide boards. He is a grandfather and a Tsimshian of the Eagle Clan. He was born and raised in Ketchikan, Alaska. Shirley Moses - Biography not available at time of print. Roberta Moto is a resident of Northwest Alaska, counselor, social worker, wellness program manager, and member of the Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) research team. She has extensive experience with indigenous youth suicide prevention and a strong commitment to bringing about change in her region. Roberta has been involved in social work in Northwest Alaska for over 20 years, beginning as the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) coordinator in the Native Village of Deering and continuing as a village-based counselor and now as the manager of the wellness program for a regional tribal health and social services agency. As a member of PC CARES, Roberta has provided both research and programmatic support, including mentorship of four village-based facilitation teams, support of data collection in participating villages, providing feedback on program design, and facilitating PC CARES in her home community. She continues to support PC CARES with her extensive involvement in the design, research, and implementation of this intervention, as well as her background in rural human services and knowledge of the region and its people. Jennifer Nu has gathered and used local plants throughout Alaska for nearly ten years. She has a background in sustainable development, and she is also a freelance writer specializing in wellness, environment, and stories about people and community. Jennifer works as a research associate at the Center for Alaska Native Health Research in Fairbanks. She works on developing community-centered public health interventions and programs based on local foods and traditional ways of living well. Jennifer believes being connected to the world around us is an important part of wellness. She is very grateful to many people and plant friends that have shared their knowledge and wisdom with her. The recipes that will presented are ones she uses at home and come from a variety of published resources. Pangaanga Pangawyi is the program director for the Kawerak Wellness Program in Nome. Originally from Savoonga, she has been in the Human Services field for approximately five years. Pangaanga is a certified instructor for Green Dot, My Body My Life, REAL Men, Safe in the Village and Strengthening Families. She works to ruralize and indigenize training curricula in order to ensure the information is communicated in a culturally-appropriate manner. Pangaanga is also trained as a host for the ANDORE project (Alaska Native Dialogues On Racial Equity) and does presentations with youth and adults on true local history, and how it relates to the social issues we see today. She is a member of the Nome Social Justice Task Force, and a former board member for the Bering Sea Women’s Group. Pangaanga’s passion lies in community empowerment; using the strengths within individuals and communities is the key to true wellness.
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Presenter Bios, continued Terry J. M. Powell, BBA is Aleut and was born in Cordova, and grew up in Bethel and Kodiak, Alaska. She is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ms. Powell is the daughter of Bob and Esther Mulcahy, the eldest of five children and a lifelong Alaskan. She is a member of the Chugach Alaska Corporation and the Eyak Village Corporation. Ms. Powell has been a member of the Alaska Area Institutional Review Board (IRB) since 1994, and currently serves as the IRB administrator. Her interests include research ethics, health care research, and bioethics. Ms. Powell has been married to her college sweetheart, John, for 36 years. She is the proud mother of two adult children and three Alaskan grandsons. Julie Raymond-Yakoubian, MA holds a Masters of Arts in Anthropology and Northern Studies, PhD candidate. She is Kawerak’s Social Science Program Director. Julie has been working with Bering Strait tribes for over eight years. The Program works with Tribes to document their knowledge and perspectives on a variety of topics from traditional knowledge of marine mammals, to the impacts of climate change, to knowledge, beliefs and experiences of the supernatural environment. Ellen J. Richard is a Norton Sound Health Corporation Behavioral Health Village Based Counselor for the Village of Wales for 15 years. She enjoys working for the Village of Wales and with her colleagues. She has travelled to Elim, Koyuk, Brevig and Gambell assisting her colleagues. She serves on the Behavioral Health Cultural Committee and the Liifit Planning Team. Ellen Jane Kagainuk was the first child born in Wales to Frank Aaluwaat Oxereok Sr. and Evelyn Sanihaq Ongtowasruk Oxereok. Her paternal grandparents are Charles Kiomiiu Oxereok and Agnes Onitahaq Aaluwaat Oxereok, and maternal grandparents are Clyde Ongotowaqshaq and Margaret Ikpizeaq Nazukaq Ongtowaqshaq. Ellen Jane has three brothers and three sisters. Ellen and Daniel L. Richard Sr. have been married for 37 years. She has a total of four sons and 14 grandchildren. Ellen Richard proudly serves on the local Wales Kingimiut School Advisory Committee and the Wales Native Corporation for 30 and also back on the Native Village of Wales Tribal Council. She volunteers on the Northwest Community Advisory Council. Jaclynne “Qalukisaq” Richards, BA works as a Community Outreach Specialist at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)’s HIV/STD Prevention Program where she focuses on communications efforts, Alaska Native LGBTQ health, and dissemination of domestic and sexual violence (DV/SV) resources, among other projects. Her contributions to ANTHC also involve violence prevention, focusing on developing Alaskan tools and dissemination of resources, and data improvement. Jaclynne’s research efforts involve cultural adaptation of evidence-based resources addressing domestic and sexual violence, and sexual and reproductive health among Alaska Native and American Indian youth. She volunteers for programs such as the Special Olympics and Alaska Native Dialogue on Racial Equity (ANDORE). Jaclynne holds her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Mary “Asuqpan” Sears is from Tikigaq, also known as Point Hope, a small town on the coast of the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle. She now lives in Anchorage with her husband and two children. Mary also has two adult children who have given her seven grandchildren. She is a Tribal Doctor for Southcentral Foundation and has worked there for almost nine years. She says, “My job seems more like visiting than working, so I enjoy it very much.”
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Presenter Bios Rosalyn Singleton, MD, MPH attended Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, and completed a Pediatric residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, and a MPH from Loma Linda University. She worked as a pediatrician 1985-88 in a Navajo hospital. Since 1988, Dr. Singleton has worked as a part-time pediatrician at Alaska Native Medical Center, immunization consultant and now research physician for Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and guest researcher with Arctic Investigations Program – Centers for Disease Control with research in vaccine preventable infections and respiratory disease. Sue Steinacher first fell in love with Little Diomede and then the rest of the Bering Strait Region over 30 years ago, and has made her home in Nome most of that time. She has worked many different jobs, including newspaper reporter, adult and crosscultural educator, wildlife information specialist and freelance artist/photographer/ writer. In all of these positions, Sue has sought to portray and enhance the strength and beauty of the region and its people. She was an early volunteer with the Nome Emergency Shelter Team (NEST), and then became board president and finally executive director, helping guide the efforts of a small group of volunteers into a sustainable and funded non-profit. Sue stepped down from the director position to become NEST’s part-time housing coordinator to focus on the need for more affordable housing options in Nome. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan was sworn in as Alaska’s eighth United States Senator on January 6, 2015. Sullivan serves on four Senate committees vital to Alaska: the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Armed Services Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Sullivan served as Alaska’s Attorney General and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Sullivan has a distinguished record of military and national security service. He is currently an infantry officer and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He also served in the Administration of President George W. Bush as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and as a Director in the International Economics Directorate of the National Security Council staff at the White House. Sullivan earned a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and a joint law and Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He and his wife Julie Fate Sullivan have three teenage daughters. Marjorie Tahbone – See page four. Sydney Tarzwell is Alaska Legal Services Corporation’s Native Law Supervising Attorney. She has extensive experience advising tribes on Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) issues and has litigated high profile Native Law issues in front of the Alaska Supreme Court. Syd is based in ALSC’s Anchorage office. Timothy K. Thomas is the director of the Clinical and Research Services Dept. in the Division of Community Health Services, at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) since 2011. He has expertise as a medical epidemiologist with broad clinical and research experience in Kenya and Alaska. Thomas attended medical school in Indiana and completed a residency in Family Practice in Huntington, West Virginia. After residency, he worked in East Africa for two years with Doctors Without Borders in Somalia and then in a mission hospital in central Kenya. Thomas returned to the United States in the mid-1990s to work as a family practice doctor in Bethel for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC). Later, he joined the Center for Disease
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2016 KAWERAK REGIONAL / RURAL PROVIDERS’ CONFERENCE
Presenter Bios, continued Control (CDC) as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer where he completed the two-year CDC epidemiology training based at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Field Station in Anchorage. Thomas returned to Kenya for seven years as head of the HIV research department at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/CDC Field station in western Kenya. He returned to Alaska in 2008 to work with the CDC Arctic Investigations Program, primarily on water and sanitation and oral health issues. Bridie (Hoogendorn) Trainor grew up in Nome, graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, traveled and then returned in 2005. Together, she and her husband, Willy, have five incredible kids. Bridie has enjoyed working with Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Healthy Paths, Kawerak Wellness, and now as director of the Nome Emergency Shelter Team (NEST). Kari van Delden is an associate professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service based in Nome. Kari is an active member of the Nome Community Alcohol Safety Team, Kawerak Wellness Forum and Social Justice Task Force. She has offered programming for child development, health, racial equity, cross cultural communication, youth development and violence prevention. Kari is a statewide instructor for Knowing Who You Are and the Green Dot violence prevention program. Lisa Wexler is an Associate Professor of Community Health Education in Health Promotion and Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has continued working in Northwest Alaska for the past 20 years as a social worker, community organizer and researcher. Lisa’s collaborative and community-based research draws from intergenerational teachings, builds on community strength and social networks, and highlights Indigenous wisdom and resilience to understand pressing problems, like youth suicide, in ways that offer individuals, families and Alaska Native communities practical and encouraging possibilities for action. Lucinda Wieler is the Research Specialist for the Social Science Program. She is originally from Kotzebue. Cindy assists in coordinating and carrying out all aspects of the research projects being conducted by the Program, including the Supernatural Project. Abbie Willetto Wolfe, MA is employed by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), Division of Community Health Services in the Clinical and Research Services Department, as the manager of Research Services. She has been involved in research for much of her professional career. In Alaska, Abbie has worked as a researcher for Chugach Regional Resource Commission and Southcentral Foundation. For seven years, she served as an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage in a cohort model graduate program. Abbie has extensive experience working with community groups and fostering collaborative relations across organizations. Her early career included; teaching middle school and high school science, staff development, and educational leadership. Abbie has worked with the National Science Foundation in numerous capacities, including as a Co- Principal Investigator of a nationwide systemic initiative. Throughout her career, Abbie has worked to improve the opportunities for underrepresented groups to increase access to the areas of mathematics, science, research and evaluation. She has training in bilingual/multicultural education and works to share knowledge and opportunities with diverse groups and organizations. Currently, Abbie leads the ANTHC Research Abstract, Manuscript & Proposal Review Committee and works closely with the Health Research Review Committee. She has served on numerous national and statewide committees that focus on the areas of science, mathematics, and multiculturalism. Abbie is a member of the Navajo Nation and lives with her family in Anchorage. CARVING A PATH TO WELLNESS
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Acknowledgements Thank You Planners and Volunteers! Local Coordination Services Barb Nickels Local Planning Committee More than 60 Kawerak staff, local and regional community members, and other volunteers. RPC Stakeholders JD and DeeDee Bennis Fred and Irene Coyle Shirley Holmberg Reggie and Linda Joule Randy Mayo and Violet Hunt Doug and Amy Modig Amanda Peele Ed Peele John and Teresa Pingayak Carol Rose Thomas Tilden Statewide Conference Coordinator Bridget McCleskey RurAL CAP Staff Cathie Clements Angela Gonzalez Amy Gorn Gloria Kelly Wayne Oldford Susan Martin Joie Millett Amy Modig Joel Turman
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2016 KAWERAK REGIONAL / RURAL PROVIDERS’ CONFERENCE
Traditional Dance Celebration August 2, 3 & 4, 2016 |
Starts at 6:30 pm every night
Nome Recreational Center | Admission is free
__TUESDAY, AUGUST 2____________ King Island Dancers Nome/St. Lawrence Dancers Byron Nicholai Gambell Qughasatkut Dancers Inaliq Traditional Dancers
__WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3_________ Nome/St. Lawrence Dancers Arlo Hannigan & Bryan Muktoyuk Inaliq Traditional Dancers Northern Lights Dancers Gambell Qughasatkut Dancers
__THURSDAY, AUGUST 4__________ NSEDC Salmon Bake/Potluck Dinner* Northern Lights Dancers Samuel Johns Nome/St. Lawrence Dancers King Island Dancers *Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
Sponsor Acknowledgement Kawerak and RurAL CAP thank the following organizations, businesses, individuals and sponsors.
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