Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2002)
On the Rez Page 12 Spilyay Tymoo September 19, 2002 Eat, walk and test yoeraelff to good health Diabetes Program focuses on daily exercise, diet and early diagnosis to control and prevent complications from diabetes inNative Americans Photos and story by Shannon Keavenj Diabetes is on the rise at Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Well, not really, more like early diagnosis and control of symp toms are on the rise, thanks to pro grams like The Diabetes Walking Club, which is actively taking large strides to promote walking among Native Ameri cans. Since June, the club has had monthly walks, with snacks, pedom eters, blood sugar tests, water, lunch, diabetes educational materials, free t shirts, and prizes. Approximately 100 people are registered and more are coming. The last walk had a turnout of 40 participants. "We want to keep people moving." says Carolyn Harvey, Community Wellness Program and exercise coor dinator. "We recommend one mile per day, that is 2000 steps, but each person is different, so do whatever you can." encourages Kim Yackus, exercise in structor at the Wellness Community Center. Pedometers, a device used to track distance with steps, are given out for free. Participants who reach 300 miles in any time span, from one month to one year or more, receive a reward. "By that time" says Yaskus, "We hope a habit has formed." The Diabetes Walking Club also provides free finger-stick blood sugar testing before and after their monthly promotion walks in an effort to show participants the effects of exercise on blood sugar levels. Folks with abnor mally high blood sugar are recom mended to get an AC1 test, a blood test that reveals your blood sugar lev els over the last three months, and a possible official diabetes diagnosis. The free tests serve as a means to recog nize an early onset of diabetes. Susan Mathhews, diabetes nurse educator at the Indian Health Service (IHS) clinic, explains the purpose of the test "is really only an informal screening to let people know it may be good to get an official diagnosis at the clinic." Early diagnosis before disaster may be what's adding to the rise in reser vation diabetes statistics, now up to 339 active patients, at the IHS clinic. Diagnosed tribal members may be pushing the numbers up but are likely to have a less advanced case of diabe tes and less of a chance of complica tions resulting from diabetes. It is more likely new statistics reflect a growing awareness and responsibility Rock Art: Current preservation a stroke of luck (Continued from page 1) neuropsychological symbols every one sees in altered states. In contrast, she thinks, "They could come from visions. A zig-zag could be water, a snake, or lightning. Maybe they were spirits. Maybe a woman saw a mountain place to har vest in her rite of passage for berry picking." referring to the triangular zig-zag at the site on Miller Island, which she said immediately made her think of the Three Sisters mountain range. She hypothesizes about the Co lumbia "plateau's rock art origin, " I think they were cither seeking some thing for themselves or seeking some thing for someone else.' V- n -- V ; o My I J' . . 1 . among tribal members. Diabetes Type 2, also known as adult diabetes, is found in alarming percent ages in Native Americans throughout the country. It is becoming more com mon in children. An IHS study revealed that in the years 1991 to 1997 the prevalence of diabetes among Ameri can Indians increased among adoles cents by 32 percent; among adults age 20-24 by 36 percent; and among adults age 25-34 by 28 percent. People with diabetes cannot use food for energy very well. In a healthy person, food eaten is digested and changed into a type of sugar called glucose. When diabetic, the glucose stays in the bloodstream. If these levels stay high for a long period of time, health complications will occur. Diabetes is the number Whipple is pleased, that today's archaeologists are eager to listen to elders like her grandma. "They seemed really receptive to our theories", she said, "We both made great accomplishments, We (the tribes) now have a better understand ing of rock art globally and we also know there is a respectful intention to know more from the other side." Mystery shrouds the petroglyphs and pictographs found throughout the Columbia River Plateau. Much of the rich oral mythology associated with the petroglyphs and pictographs was lost in F-uropcan epi demics that swept through the area. In the Dalles area approximately 90 percent of the population was wiped Is. i . 't V" ' " I - " 1 ' - . , , , . -r - "J . " ' ' '.'- h - " 1 M . ' . ... -. 1 4: t one cause of blindness, amputations, and kidney failure in the United States. It is generally thought people inherit the tendency to get diabetes from their parents which is triggered by lack of exercise, extra weight and stress. Symptoms such as excessive thirst, excessive urination, blurred vision, tiredness, and sores that don't heal are signs of a diabetes onset and probably means it's time to go to the doctor. Timely diabetes pinpointing has become priority throughout the na tion. More and more Native Ameri can diabetics are preventing pro gressed diabetic conditions through diet and exercise. Tribal members are avoiding heart attacks, amputations, kid ney failure, eye problems, periodontal disease and strokes by addressing the out due to disease by 1840. More than 160 sites have been iden tified in the lower Columbia area, an area defined as the watershed between Priest Rapids and The Dalles, exclud ing the Snake River. About 90 of the sites can be found between The Dalles and Pasco with other large concentrations found along the middle and lower Deschutes River. Many were flooded when they dammed the Columbia below Celilo Falls and other areas. Some pictographs have suffered vandalism by chalk, paint, and scratched initials. A few sites are fading from natural weathering. A unique natural preservation oc LEFT: Leroy Bobb strides to the administration building, the first stop for the Diabetes Walk, where healthy snacks, water and educational materials were waiting for participants. BOTTOM RIGHT: Diabetes Walk Club participants line up for a finger-prick blood test before taking off. Another blood test was given at the end of walk in an effort to display the benefits of walking on blood sugar levels. BOTTOM MIDDLE: A Diabetes walk participant snatches a healthy snack provided by the diabetes program. A low carbohydrate diet helps keep blood sugar low and is recommended for diabetics. ailment before it reaches a detrimental stage. , ' "It used to be," said Sara Thomas, nutritionist for Indian Health Ser vices, "that we didn't know if some one had diabetes until they had com plications from it, like a heart attack. And then it was to late, the damage was done." It's now proven exercise helps lower blood sugar. Recent studies have confirmed that any amount of physical activity will not only help control blood sugar for diagnosed diabetics but also help pre vent onset of diabetes. People who are overweight will still reduce their chances of diabetes with minimal physical activity, even 10 minutes a day helps. Said Harvey, "We're talking mod currence, keeps those still with us around. Pictographs, defined as rock paintings, are most often red, but white, black, yellow, and even blue green pigments were also used. The red pigment was made from various different minerals. Crushed iron oxides (hematite and limonite) produced the commonly seen red and yellow colors. Clays bore white and copper oxides, green. Both charcoal and manganese ox ide produced black, These mineral pigments were crushed with binding agents, like blood, egg, fat, plant juice, or urine, to produce paint. The paintings are estimated to be between 200 and 12,000 years old. Their current presentation state is a erate exercise here. You don't have to train for a marathon to benefit from your exercise." The growing diabetes epidemic has become increasingly pronounced in the last 50 years. Studies show full blooded Indians are more likely to be burdened with the disease. It is widely thought that the disease became more rampant as traditional lifestyles changed and were abandoned, creat ing a society with less physical activ ity and consequently weight gain. This theory known as the "thrifty gene theory" hypothesizes that indig enous tribes of North America were made to get through famine. For this reason, their bodies became adept at storing food for times of strife. In today's society famine usually does not exist and there is no reason to store food in the body, resulting in weight gain. Being overweight is a major pre cursor for diabetes in all groups of people. When overweight, cells be come coated in fat and insulin in your blood stream is not able to enter the cell, causing high blood sugar. With today's knowledge of the benefits of exercise and diet as pre vention and control, diabetes is becom ing a less frightening disease. Thomas explained the change she has seen in the last eight years. "TV. a .Him. vt AinUotar. Una Urt,J 2. Ml VHW WH UlAUtLM 1113 UiailgCU. , It is no longer a fatalistic thing like it used to be. It is now becoming com mon knowledge that if you control it, you can avoid the problems associ ated with it." "Diabetics", she insisted, "can have full productive lives. It is a chronic disease but it is not termi nal." Thomas's nutritional advice for tribal members is to keep getting those omega-3 oils by eating traditional foods such as fish and eel. Lack of traditional foods is thought to contribute to the diabetes plight of Native Americans. Getting food used to mean getting exercise, preventing obesity. Wild game iswas very lean and has a healthier kind of fat than mod ern beef and pork. Food preparation was low fat and not fried but instead boiled, dried, smoked, or baked. Foods were less processed and higher in fiber. Native Americans rarely had access to fats, sweets, and salt. For more information on diabetes and related programs, call Carolyn Harvey at 5534166 stroke of luck. Mineral deposits that seep over cliffs, after a rain, act as a fixative for paintings. When the rainwater evaporates, it leaves a thin film of mineral that is transparent in ideal situations. Heavy mineral build up will cloud images.. Between the pictographs unique preservation, Viola Kalama's memo ries of childhood stories, and dedi cated scholars, the story once told, may someday be told again. Some factual information for this article was taken from the book "Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau" by James D. Keyser
