Siletz news /, July 01, 1999, Page 9, Image 9

NOTICES
I
Si,etz Tribal Members Needed for Ten Tribes Study
I he Siletz Tribal Council has authorized the tribe s participation
in the Ten T ribes Study, conducted by the .Arizona Prevention Center of
the University of Arizona. The purpose of the study is twofold: to examine
differences of alcohol abuse between tribes and among people of each
tribe, and to work through tribal government and existing programs to
cooperatively compile data to address alcohol and substance abuse within
the tribe.
A letter has been sent to individuals whose names were randomly
drawn to participate. Other tribal members are invited to take part in the
Alcoholism Prevalence and Gene/Environment Interactions in American
Indian Tribes Study (the Ten Tribes Study). This study is funded through
the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse. Three hundred
interviews will be completed.
A11 study participants will be paid lor taking part in a structured
interview of up to three hours and having 44 ml. of blood drawn. To be
eligible, you must be at least 21 years old and able to provide verification
that you are an enrolled tribal member. You may be a lifetime abstainer
(never used alcohol and/or drugs), a current drinker (practicing alcohol
and/or drug use; must be sober at time of interview), or an ex-drinker
(no alcohol or drug use for at least one year).
The research results will be useful to the community. For instance,
the results could strengthen existing tribal health and mental health
programs and help plan services that will assist the community in the
years ahead.
All information is closely guarded to comply with laws regarding
confidentiality of the participants.
If you would like more information or to make an appointment,
please call the Ten Tribes Study site coordinator in your area:
Siletz: Lisa Brown, 541 -444-8255
Portland: Angela Ramirez, 503-238-1512
Eugene: Urbana Ross, 541 -302-9881
Salem: Beverly Owen, 503-390-9494
Specifics on the Ten Tribes Study
The prevalence of alcoholism among American Indians is varied,
although epidemiological studies have involved primarily small tribes in
Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Ongoing NIAAA studies have
discovered high rates of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems.
Tribes vary tremendously, however, in drinking behaviors within
their communities. With this study, the agency extends its work to tribes
with purportedly low and moderate rates of alcoholism.
The I en Tribes Study aims to evaluate the interacting roles of
historical, economic, sociocultural, psychological and genetic factors in
mediating different individual vulnerability to alcoholism and the
consequences of alcoholism. Considerable effort is being directed toward
defining and accurately assessing the prevalence of alcoholism,
interpersonal violence, associated psychopathologies, and other
consequences of alcoholism for the individual, family, and community.
Specific goals include determining the prevalence rates of
alcoholism in 10 demographical ly sampled American Indian tribes;
systematically diagnosing conditions that often co-occur with alcoholism-
addressing crucial antecedents and consequences of alcoholism, such
as posttraumatic stress, violence, acculturation, and child abuse: and
studying how genetic and environmental factors interact and affect the
prevalence of alcoholism.
Selection of tribes has been guided by mortality statistics to select
tribes with apparently low and moderate rates of alcohol-related causes
of death, and by ethnographic data guiding selection of groups that are
historically identifiable, distinct groups. All site coordinators, advisory
committees, and interviewers are identified from among tribal members.
The tribal advisory committee may add questions to the assessment
package and receive a copy of the database.
Focus groups will be conducted with each tribe for the
assessment of cultural identity, to receive input on questions that might
be problematic, and to record ethnographic data on community
definitions of the problems, understanding of the causes, and preferred
avenues of intervention.
The following will be included in the personal interviews:
AUDATIS (Alcohol Use and Drug Interview Schedule), SF-36 (Health
Scale), TSI (Traumatic Stress Inventory), PSS (Posttraumatic Stress
Scale), ARC (Cultural Stakes Scale), the Out-of-Home Placement
Questionnaire, and intimate violence questions taken from the current
NIH/CDC-funded study of violence against women.
Native American Evangelists
V isit Siletz
by Gladys M. Bolton
On June 5, 1999, Vernon Kennedy of
Burns, Ore., Bill Wainanwit and Al Smith of
Warm Springs, Ore., visited our community.
They appeared at the Siletz Tribal
Community Center and offered spiritual
services, testimonies, ministries, prayer, and
beautiful singing and guitar playing.
It was a most dynamic evening. Those
of us who attended were just filled with the
Holy Spirit.
These evangelists would like to return
to Siletz at a later date. We will put out a bulletin
of times and hopefully we will have a full house.
Thanks to these fine gentlemen.
Supervisors from various tribal offices attend the first in a series of trainings
emphasizing such things as coaching, training, conflict resolution, and budgeting. Other
supervisors will take the same series of courses starting in October.
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