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February 2008

Improving the Health of American Indian Youth

The director of EDC's Tribal Youth Program speaks about our work with reservation and urban American Indian communities

Stephanie Autumn, a member of the Hopi Nation and Director of EDC’s newly-funded Tribal Youth Program (TYP), speaks about her work with reservation and urban American Indian communities. Autumn, who brings over 25 years of experience in developing education programs for American Indian students, is among a growing number of people within EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs (HHD) who are working to improve the health of American Indian youth.

What are some of the health problems affecting tribal youth?

Even though American Indian youth are a small part of the U.S. population, they experience mental health and substance abuse problems at an alarming rate—suicide, alcohol, and drug abuse are all extremely prevalent health issues among American Indian youth. Many of these young people are also engaged in crime-related activities and are involved in the juvenile justice system as a result. We also know that most youth aren’t being treated by the formal mental health or social service system. This lack of treatment means there is a tremendous urgency to identify ways to help connect American Indian youth to mental health services and other formal and informal support systems.

Why are American Indian youth disconnected from treatment? What are some of the barriers they face in accessing support services?

American Indians are one of the most invisible groups in the U.S. Over time, many tribes were forced to move from their ancestral homelands to some of the most isolated settings in this country—places that are known for their unbelievable lack of access to educational, economic, and other health-promoting resources.

But even without access problems many other barriers often exist. Mental health issues are rarely discussed in many tribes—there’s just an enormous amount of shame that prevents people from talking openly about these issues. Waitlists for services are also quite common, which means that youth have to wait weeks to get an appointment.

Tell me about the Tribal Youth Program and how it is addressing the needs of American Indian youth?

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Tribal Youth Program grants provide tribal communities with an opportunity to increase alcohol and drug prevention and intervention services to tribal youth, improve juvenile tribal court systems, and increase access to mental health services and programs. We are currently working with grantees from 23 states that cover over 90 different tribes and are partnering with a team of technical assistance specialists from Indian Country and the National Tribal Justice Resource Center.

Tribal Youth grantees are working with their tribal governments, communities, and elders to reduce the risk factors that affect American Indian youth and influence behaviors that lead to juvenile delinquency, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, and a lack of connection to their tribal values. Through our Tribal Youth Program Training and Technical Assistance Center, which is also funded by OJJDP, we hope to create a new model of training and technical assistance that will respond specifically to the needs of the Tribal Youth Program grantees and the communities they serve.

What specific services will the TYP Training and Technical Assistance Center program provide?

We work with these agencies across several areas, including capacity building, strategic planning, program implementation and evaluation, and also assist them to identify ways to sustain their services. We offer consultations on opportunities, challenges, and progress through e-mails, phone calls, and site visits. We provide peer-to-peer training, including teleconferences and Web-based discussions.

 

For More Information/Related Resources:

Contact Stephanie Autumn (sautumn@edc.org), 507-697-6395

U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Tribal Youth Program grants

National Tribal Justice Resource Center

The American Indian/Alaska Native National Resource Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

The National Indian Child Welfare Association

Indian Country Child Trauma Center (ICCTC)

 

This article originally appeared on the Web site of EDC's health and Human Development Programs (HHD)

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©2008 Education Development Center, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Newsroom

American Indian Youth Health

  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian youth age 15-24*
  • The suicide rate for American Indians/Alaska Natives is more than twice the national average for other groups*
  • American Indian adolescents have been found to be more likely than other adolescents to be diagnosed with AD/HD and substance abuse or substance dependence disorders**

*Source: Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. A supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.
**Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injuries among Native Americans: Fact Sheet

 

Victoria LaFromboise is another staff person within HHD whose work focuses on eliminating health disparities among American Indian youth. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, LaFromoboise brings over 10 years of experience working with tribes to her role as Tribal Prevention Specialist at HHD’s Suicide Prevention Research Center (SPRC). LaFromboise works directly with urban and reservation-based tribes as well as state agencies to prevent suicide among young people between ages 10-24, including Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) grantees.

Her recent presentation “Advances and Challenges in Preventing Suicide in Tribal Communities” (PPT) provides data about the prevalence of suicide in Indian Country, offers examples of SAMHSA funded projects in American Indian communities, and showcases ways that states and tribes are working together to reduce suicide.