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.