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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2017)
Tribal Attendance Pilot Projects support student success From Education Update, Oregon Department of Education, March 2017 Family advocates working as part of ODE’s Tribal Attendance Pilot Projects (TAPP) around the state met in Salem (on) Feb. 16. Each had stories of success to share about their program, aimed at reducing the rates of chronic absentee- ism among the American Indian/Alaska Native population in the state. Since improved attendance rates reduce dropout rates and increase grad- uation rates, supporting students in attending class regularly has significant, long-term benefits. All agree that making school a wel- coming environment is key. “Connections are important,” said Scott Smyth, who works with families in the Burns Paiute Tribe in the Harney County School District. “Families can trust us and it feeds into the feeling that school is OK.” “Attendance is more than just saying ‘Here,’” Felicia McNair said. She works with the Klamath Tribes in the Klamath County School District. She added that recognizing positive actions and letting families see how missed days add up have raised overall attendance by over 7 percent. Jason Moore, North Bend School District family advocate who works with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw Indians, said home visits can reveal problems that lead to poor attendance. Sometimes it’s as simple as provid- ing an alarm clock for a family. He also helped a mother create a chore chart for her children so that they would be up and out of the house on time. Nearly every program had examples of increased attendance rates not only among American Indian/Alaska Native students, but for all students in the schools they serve. That’s important because on assessments, chronically absent students perform far below their peers with better attendance and graduate at a far lower rate as well. They have to be in class in order to learn and there may even be side benefits: Mary Mueller who works with the Con- federated Tribes of Siletz Indians as a family advocate for the Lincoln County School District, said the best part was seeing one of her students win an atten- dance award and then say, “I think I like school now!” An American Indian health focus at OHSU Knight Cancer Institute From OHSU Knight Cancer Institute News Knight Cancer physician Amanda Bruegl, M.D., is leading an effort to understand health issues among Ameri- can Indian Tribes and communities in the Pacific Northwest, with a special focus on gynecologic cancer. Throughout medical training, Bruegl’s commitment to work with American Indi- ans never faltered. As a member of the Oneida and Stockbridge-Munsee Tribes, she is one of two American Indian gyne- cologic oncologists in the United States. “When I was looking for a job,” she says, “it was really important to me to do something to advocate for Native Ameri- can women’s health.” She saw a need for that in the Pacific Northwest. “I was looking for places where there was a significant Native American popula- tion and the opportunity to do outreach,” she says. Now, with support and help from her colleagues at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and the OHSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bruegl has started building relationships with Ameri- can Indian Tribes in the Pacific Northwest, especially through the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. The board is an organization with delegates from each of the 43 federally recognized Tribes of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Its mission is to address mul- tiple facets of the health and wellness of American Indian people. Bruegl has given talks about cancer prevention and treatment to American Indian groups and health providers, and works with leaders and members of the communities to share her knowledge of Courtesy photo by OHSU/Fritz Liedtke Amanda Bruegl, M.D. Multicultural Student Union rd 23 Annual POW WOW Saturday, April 29, 2017 Noon-Midnight Free Admission Everyone Welcome! Werner University Center Western Oregon University Monmouth, Oregon Master of Ceremonies: Nick Sixkiller Whipman: Tony Whitehead Flag Bearers: Wayne Chulik Host Drum: Woodsmen The Siletz Community Health Clinic property is 100 percent tobacco-free. The policy prohibits all tobacco use by everyone – no smoking in your car, in the parking lot or on clinic property. We do not provide any cigarette disposal units, so please keep all of your tobacco products in your personal vehicle. • We do not have designated smoking areas! (Free dinner provided, while supplies last) nd • No smoking in the parking lot! 2 Grand Entry: 7pm • “JACKPOT DANCING” All Ages Welcome And Prize Money Dances No smoking in your car in the parking lot! • No smoking behind the building! • No littering of cigarette butts! 503-838-8403 or 503-838-8195, or email us at msu@wou.edu • All of Siletz Clinic is tobacco-free 1 st Grand Entry: Noon Dinner Break: 5-7pm For vendor registration and information, please contact MSU at 14 the disease. With her passion and personal mission to reach out to the community, she is also paving the way to help research- ers learn more about American Indian women’s gynecologic health. Siletz News • April 2017 We appreciate your understand- ing and willingness to help keep our clinic tobacco-free and clean. She is working to get approval for a retrospective study on American Indian women’s health, which will take a new look at data that has already been collected, focusing specifically on details on gyneco- logic cancers in American Indian women. “I think Native Americans are chroni- cally overlooked in the health care system,” Bruegl says. “So our unique issues don’t get the attention they deserve.” Bruegl says if her proposed study can move forward, she will share the results with American Indian communities. She hopes health care professionals can then work in concert with the communities to help American Indian women prevent gyne- cologic cancers – like cervical and endo- metrial cancer – that are often preventable. In the meantime, Bruegl is continuing her outreach to American Indian commu- nities by having conversations, building relationships and sharing knowledge. “For us to get to know each other, and for community providers in clinic to be able to simply text me about a case – ask- ing ‘can I run this by you?’ – provides the frontline care that is incredibly helpful for both the patient and the providers treating Native American women,” she says.
