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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2019)
smok signflz AUGUST 15, 2019 9 Training focuses on Tribal-based practices By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer Approximately 100 people rang- ing from law enforcement to health care providers attended the Oregon Tribal Opioid Training Academy hosted by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Held Tuesday, July 30, through Thursday, Aug. 1, at Spirit Moun- tain Casino, the event was organized by Oregon’s nine federally recog- nized Tribes, the Native American Rehabilitation Association, the Oregon Health Authority and Lines for Life, with an emphasis on Trib- al-based practices for prevention and healing. The conference is considered by many as a critical component of health care training as Native Americans have the highest over- dose rates of prescrip- tion opioids, according to Oregon Health Au- thority data. The conference be- gan with the Grand Ronde Honor Guard posting the colors. Trib- Nationally certified addictions counselor al Council member, Eric Martin leads a discussion on addiction, Vietnam War veteran epidemiology and pharmacology during the and Elder Steve Bobb Oregon Tribal Opioid Training Academy. Sr. offered an invoca- tion, then welcomed attendees to for Life. the Tribe’s homelands. A change in the format this year “This is a very important event,” was moving away from a traditional he said. “Opioids affect almost each conference style and instead transi- and every one of us. Conferences like tioning to all-day break-out groups. this help those who are suffering The goal was for participants to from this horrible addiction. We learn new skills or enhance current have been suffering from this in ones to bring back to their commu- Indian Country for so many years. nities. Dealing with it is like swimming Tuesday’s breakout sessions in- upstream. It is very hard and I ap- cluded addiction pharmacology, preciate all of your work.” active shooter, adult mental health Grand Ronde Health Services first aid, administering naloxone Executive Director Kelly Rowe said and youth outpatient training. that all of the attendees had been touched by addiction and opioids. Addiction Pharmacology “Having this event here and our Nationally certified addictions ability to host it shows our sup- counselor Eric Martin led the ad- port for making this world a better diction pharmacology session. He place,” she said. has 33 years of experience and is Health & Wellness Business Office also an international presenter and Manager Tresa Mercier and Admin- recovery advocate, as well as being istrative Assistant Holly Snodgrass in recovery himself. He has been helped with finalizing conference teaching addiction pharmacology details, while the federal Centers for 25 years. for Disease Control and Prevention The training covered the basics provided funding for the event. of addiction, such as brain regions Conference planning committee involved in the process, early onset members also included the Con- use and specific information about federated Tribes of Warm Springs, various types of drugs. Oregon Health Authority and Lines “We know how drug and alcohol Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez Warm Springs Emergency Manager Danny Martinez fires a Nerf rifle during an active shooter training exercise held during the Oregon Tribal Opioid Training Academy held at Spirit Mountain Casino on Tuesday, July 30. can affect adults, but we don’t know a lot about it affects kids,” Martin said. “There have been neuroimag- ing studies on the brain and those in treatment centers with alcohol use only had lower verbal learning scores. But a lot of these studies don’t look at drug combinations and most addicts don’t just use one drug.” Martin added that scientists have known since the 1800s that alcohol causes brain damage, but until re- cently children have not been stud- ied extensively. “Right now there is a huge study where they’re taking images of kids’ brains every few years and tracking them over a long period of time,” he said. “It could help reveal the roots of mental health and drug abuse. They’re also looking at screen time and how that affects the brain.” Active shooter The active shooter training class, taught by Warm Springs Emergen- cy Manager Danny Martinez and Warm Springs School Resource Officer Kevin O'Brien, described dif- ferent strategies to survive a mass shooting. Information included the histor- ical context of mass shootings, and action-based options to potentially lessen the number of injuries or deaths. Attendees also participated in dif- ferent scenarios, such as barricading strategies, movement instead of staying put, evacuation and last-re- sort conflict resolution. “There is no set formula for how this happens,” O’Brien said. “Shoot- ers want the body count.” In addition to working in law en- forcement, O’Brien also owns Safety Training, which provides building security assessments and active shooter awareness classes for the Warm Springs community. “What I teach students and staff is if the fire alarm goes off, they do not evacuate unless they see smoke or fire.” O’Brien noted that a fire alarm can be used to signal that something is wrong. “I don’t know of a school that has burned down since the 1950s,” he said. O’Brien added that code words are not a good idea when there is an active shooter, and instead plain language should be used so every- one on the premises is aware of the situation. “There is nothing wrong with letting the guy who is the shooter know that you know he is there,” O’Brien said. “If everyone is aware, this puts pressure on him because he knows he is on a timeline before law enforcement arrives.” If people are trapped in a room and a shooter is in the building, they are advised to lock and barricade it using whatever furniture they can find, and to turn off the lights. That way, if a shooter is able to enter the room, it will make it much more difficult to accurately fire a weapon. Throwing objects, from water bottles to coffee cups to chairs and yelling also help to distract a shooter. “Only dial 911 when it is safe to do so,” O’Brien said. “Also, when you get into an active shooter event, sometimes the phone lines can be overwhelmed, but text messages will still go through.” Youth outpatient training Identifying barriers youth experi- ence trying to obtain addiction and behavioral health services, and how to navigate those was the topic of youth outpatient training, taught by NARA Youth Residential Treatment Program Manager Luci Ladue. She explained how popular culture glamorizes drug use to the point where youth think it is normal. “This is what our youth are expe- riencing,” she said. “The social piece of trying to fit in is really strong for teenagers. We need to look at how we can support adolescent brain development in a positive way. Kids aren’t just ‘being bad,’ this is a part of learning and growing.” Ladue, who is in recovery, noted that 70 percent of mental health symptoms develop in the adolescent years, and it is important to teach youth healthy coping mechanisms so they don’t self-medicate. “So when they experience things, they know there are other ways to deal with it,” she said. “Things like being involved in sports, culture or prevention programs, those can still give them a little rush, but are safe and healthy.” Sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday included Community Emergency Response Training, med- ication assisted treatment, trauma and addiction yoga, and pain and the brain, in addition to continued addiction pharmacology, youth out- patient training and administering naloxone. From left, Warm Springs community member Papo Cruz, Coquille Indian Tribal employee Dustin Beauvais and instructor Warm Springs Police School Resource Officer Kevin O'Brien during an active shooter training exercise held during the Oregon Tribal Opioid Training Academy held at Spirit Mountain Casino on Tuesday, July 30.
