Welcome to the May 2023

CIRCLE NARCH newsletter!

Welcome to the Center for Indigenous Research Collaboration Learning & Excellence (CIRCLE) NARCH May 2023 newsletter!

xaʔtu̓s (pronounced hah-toos) training will be coming to the Colville Confederated Tribes, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Kalispel Tribe, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Nez Perce Tribe, Kootenai Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla starting in the summer of 2023. xaʔtu̓s(First Face) for Mental Health training prepares peers, teachers, coaches, and other community members to be the "First Face" supporting someone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Anyone can serve as a First Face-including you! To sign up for updates about xaʔtu̓s training in your area, click on the link.

Here's what we've been up to this month!

We built a new website. We encourage you to take a sneak peek and visit our Firstface.org
This month Research Coordinator Donell Barlow tabled the Eastern Washington Univeristy MMIW event and the Pauline Flett Powwow to spread the word about First Face.
Dr. Martina Whelshula (Lead Investigator) and Research Coordinators Hannah Tomeo and Donell Barlow met with the Addiction committee at the ATNI Conference to share about First Face.
The NARCH curriculum team is creating animated case studies, and the first "Ask the Expert" video on Intergenerational trauma has been recorded.

We are Hiring!

CIRCLE-NARCH is hiring a Research and Training Coordinator! This person will have a variety of responsibilities, including, but not limited to, assisting the CIRCLE NARCH Principal Investigators and other project staff. Training activities will include co-creating, promoting, planning, and delivering Tribal mental health emergency response training. Research activities will include assisting with drafting Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols and applications; recruiting study participants; administering informed consent procedures; administering research surveys; engaging in participant retention activities; complying with IRB protocols; processing research subject reimbursements; entering data; conducting literature searches; and conducting research-related record keeping. The Research and Training Coordinator also will attend multiple weekly NARCH XII team meetings. To review the qualifications and apply, click here.

Meet the Team

Meet Dr. Margo Hill, our working group member representing the Spokane Tribe. Margo Hill, JD, MURP, serves as the Associate Director of the Small, Urban, Rural, and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM). Dr. Hill served as the Spokane Tribal Attorney for ten years and as a Coeur d’Alene Tribal Court Judge. Margo is faculty at Eastern Washington University. She teaches American Indian Health and Community, Understanding Addiction in Tribal Communities, Administrative Law, Community Development, Tribal Planning classes, and American Indian Law.

Margo was interested in serving as a working group member because of her dedication to helping Tribal communities solve addiction-related problems and challenges. She grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, where she witnessed a lot of family members struggling with alcohol and other drugs. Dr. Hill reviewed the First Face manual and believes the curriculum will provide non-tribal members with valuable information to serve Tribal communities more effectively and provide Tribal communities with specific research and counseling that is culturally relevant and offers resources so they can start their healing journey.

Dr. Margo Hill

Spokane Tribe

Prevention Corner

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a common anxiety disorder that affects about 8 million Americans. Some symptoms of PTSD include hyperarousal, being startled by loud noises, and having a hard time staying focused. Many people in Tribal Communities struggle with PTSD. June is PTSD awareness month. To learn more about PTSD symptoms and treatment options, click here.

Culture Connections

For Alaskan Native/Native Americans, the best prevention tools for addiction and suicide have always been directed toward a healing path rooted in cultural traditions. For example, the Yup'ik Alaskan Elders pass down life skills to the next generations by teaching them how to make traditional tools which they use to test the ice for safe passage. Cultural teachings vary between Tribes and are often regionally specific. To learn more about how the Plains, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Tribes use cultural teachings as a pathway to healing and prevention, click this link.