2019 Conference: Wakanyéja

April 23: Stories of Survival

5:30 p.m.: Doors open, food and conversation

6 - 8:15 p.m.: Program and discussion
Alcohol was introduced to indigenous communities since the first contact with Europeans. The resulting substance abuse and its impact has challenged these communities. This panel will share stories of the efforts to address this issue on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Panelists include:
• Frank LaMere, Winnebago, activist
• Nora Boesem, Founder of Roots to Wings in South Dakota
• Omar Abdul-Rahman, Director of genetic medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute

Evening sponsor: UNMC Primary Care Center for Education, Research, & Healthcare Design

April 24: Wakanéja - Mobilizing for Action

Schedule

7:30 a.m.: Registration, breakfast opens

8 a.m.: Welcome: song (Israel “Izzy” Tamayo), opening drum performance (Upstream), smudging, and prayer (Joseph Marshall III)

8:30 a.m.: Introduction by Rick Edwards and Maurice Godfrey

8:45 a.m.-5 p.m.: Speakers, lunch, panel (download schedule for details)

Conference speakers

Ruby Gibson, mixed blood, Executive Director of Freedom Lodge
Jennifer Giroux, Rosebud Sioux, United States Public Health Service
Fay Givens, Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee, Executive Director of American Indian Services at Michigan
Joseph Marshall III, Rosebud Sioux, Writer / Actor 
Kay McGowan, Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Native American Studies at Eastern Michigan University
Tim McGowan, President and Founder of Networks of Support 
Magda Peck, Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
Charles Sitting Bull, Oglala Sioux, Social Worker, Former Director of Behavioral Health for Indian Health Service at Pine Ridge Hospital
Lancer Stephens, Wichita/Muscogee (Creek), Director of Special Populations Outreach and Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences, College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Larry Voegele, Standing Rock Sioux, Chief Executive Officer at Ponca Health Centers at Omaha 
Melissa Walls, Anishinaabe, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School at Duluth 
Donald Warne, Oglala Lakota, Director of Indians into Medicine
David Wilson, Director of NIH Tribal Health Research Office (with Juliana Blome, Deputy Director of NIH Tribal Health Research Office)

Both days of the conference will take place at the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education, Truhlsen Campus Events Center at UNMC, 619 S 42nd St, Omaha, NE 68198.

Conference planning team:

Lilianna Bronner, Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Manager, UNMC
Dijon DeLaPorte, Events Coordinator, Center for Great Plains Studies
Rick Edwards, Director, Center for Great Plains Studies
Maurice Godfrey, Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC
Katie Nieland, Assistant Director, Center for Great Plains Studies
Regina Emily Robbins, Assistant Professor, College of Public Health, UNMC
Lisa Spellman, Publications/Media Specialist, UNMC

Presentations

Stories of Survival 
Alcohol was introduced to indigenous communities during the first contact with Europeans. The resulting substance abuse and its impact has challenged these communities. This panel will share stories of the efforts to address this issue on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

• Frank LaMere, Winnebago, activist
• Nora Boesem, Founder of Roots to Wings in South Dakota
• Omar Abdul-Rahman, Director of genetic medicine at UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute

Impact of Unresolved Trauma on American Indian Health Disparities 
Dr. Don Warne, Oglala Sioux, Director of Indians into Medicine
Historical trauma, boarding school experiences, and adverse childhood experiences among American Indians create a complex web of risk factors for poor health outcomes. In this session we will describe the continuum of unresolved traumatic exposures to our populations, and we will build a path forward toward healing and health promotion in a culturally relevant manner.

Resilience In and From Indigenous Cultures
Joseph Marshall III, Rosebud Sioux, Writer / Actor 
A discussion of the values and social systems that enabled pre-European North American native cultures to thrive and why they should have a place in contemporary native communities.  

Promoting Pathways to American Indian Health Equity
Dr. Melissa Walls, Anishinaabe, Assoc. Professor, University of Minnesota Medical School at Duluth 
This presentation provides examples of lessons learned about promoting health equity through Community/Tribally-Based Participatory Research. Data and examples from several collaborative studies with tribal communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada will be shared to illustrate the potential and limits of research as one tool for enhancing American Indian and First Nations health and well-being. 

Native American Suicide: Cultural or Epidemic
Charles Sitting Bull, Oglala Sioux, Former Director of Behavioral Health, Indian Health Service,  Pine Ridge Hospital 
Participants will gain a better understanding of Native/Lakota lifeways from a social and psychological perspective and the challenges involved in dealing with a reservation suicide emergency.

Creating Supportive and Protective Social Networks
Tim McGowan, President and Founder of Networks of Support 
Culture within schools and classrooms happens regardless. Deliberately creating school and classroom culture positively influences student engagement, connectedness, and learning outcomes. Furthermore, it increases the capacity for both students and teachers to lead, hold space for humanity, and ultimately make a positive difference in the students’ lives, communities, and careers.

Cultural Genocide, the Story of the Indian Boarding Schools and Its Aftermath
Drs. Kay McGowan & Fay Givens, Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee, Anthropology & Native American Studies, Eastern Michigan Univ. & Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee, Exec. Dir. of American Indian Services at Michigan 
The U.S. policy of attempted cultural extermination of Native Peoples through assimilation of Native children by the creation of Indian boarding schools has led to unresolved and very complicated long-term grief that continues to cause serious problems in Native communities to this day. The time has come for the U.S. to create a Truth and Reconciliation commission to investigate the various religious organizations and other entities that took part in the boarding school system to address these issues.

Epigenetic Inheritance
Dr. Ruby Gibson, mixed blood, Executive Director of Freedom Lodge 
Bridging western science and American Indian spirituality provides insights into seven- and 14-generation inheritance. Research reveals that physical symptoms, diseases, emotional patterns, and mental states are influenced by the past, primarily affecting life choices through survival stress. Environmental toxicity, cultural events, famine, and addiction shape future generations - for up to 14 generations. This discussion frames a narrative about actions, healing models, and preferences to create positive change, not only in our lives, but also in our great-great grandchildren’s lives.

Prevention through Cultural (Re)construction vs. Preservation, Adaptation & Cultural Competence
Larry Voegele, Standing Rock Sioux, Chief Executive Officer at Ponca Health Centers at Omaha 
This presentation will review value and some key cultural issues associated with engaging American Indian community members in the development of preventative public health programming. Various approaches will be discussed, with examples/materials drawn from local efforts.

Unintended Apathy
Dr. Lancer Stephens, Wichita/Muscogee (Creek), Director of Special Populations Outreach and Assistant Professor of Research, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center  
This session will explore some of the recognized and unrecognized barriers that continue to plague researchers from working in harmony with American Indian populations. Utilizing real-world scenarios through stories and personal accounts of more than 20 years of working with Native Americans, Dr. Stephens will challenge the audience to further understand and perhaps question their perceived understanding of the reality of being a tribal member in today’s society.

Wakanyéja: Healing Racism
Dr. Jennifer Giroux, Rosebud Sioux, United States Public Health Service 
Racism is based on phenotype or physical appearance. It’s been five generations since Lakota nations were conquered by the U.S. government and ‘’Kill the Indian, Save the Man” policy was implemented through government boarding schools and relocation efforts. Dr. Giroux, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is of mixed lineage (Lakota and European), is the first of five generations to not go to boarding school. She will weave together stories with the three definitions of racism: personally mediated, internalized, and institutionalized to demonstrate the human potential impact racism has within tribes and how appreciation of the meaning of Wakanyéja can stop personally medicated and internalized racism.

Conversation with Conference Speakers: A Call to Action Session moderated by Dr. Magda Peck, Adjunct Prof. of Public Health and Pediatrics at UNMC
Given all that has been shared, what are today’s most important take-away ideas and insights? How will conference participants translate what they have learned into informed, strategic actions? In this interactive closing session, speakers and conference participants will sum up key points and major discoveries. Together, we will explore what is more possible now – because of our time together – for advancing greater health, equity and well-being for American Indians and their communities. And we will invite clear commitments for carrying forward our work for health and justice.