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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2021)
sNok signflz APRIL 15, 2021 Optometry hours • 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday • 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday • 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (no eye exams, optical only) Please call to schedule your appointment at 503-879-2097 or 800-775-0095. APRIL IS ALCOHOL AWARNESS MONTH You are sacred: Please treat your body, your mind, your emotions and your Spirit as sacred beings! Alcohol is like coyote…Alcohol will trick you into thinking it’s good to drink. Our Elders teach us that balance is important, binge drinking is so out of balance it can kill you! Trickster doesn’t tell you that if a pregnant teenager drinks, her baby can be born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects. Alcohol can change the way your brain functions; imagine your own brain acting like Trickster, fooling you all the time! 3.25.21 19 Let’s Remove Stigma! Words CAN Hurt Why is brown skin considered “dirty” by some non-brown people? Why is talk about sex considered “dirty”? Why is a positive urine analysis called “dirty”? Finally, why do we associate dirt with negative things? In fact, “dirt” is soil. We grow many foods in soil. Without soil, we would all die sooner or later. At one time, all of our tilixam knew “dirt” only as part of our Grandmother Earth. There is nothing dirty about our Grand- mother Earth. She keeps all of creation healthy by allowing the plants to grow within her soil. We cannot live without oxygen. We cannot live without foods. We cannot live without the medicines. Great! So can we all agree that dirt is not a bad thing? Sadly, there are those ashamed of their beautiful brown skin because as a child, kids teased about their “dirty skin.” There are people who were told as kids to “stop talking dirty.” Those adults may have uncomfortable feelings or may refuse to talk about sex. So many things can happen as a child that you do not realize can affect you as an adult. Finally, to our people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, using the term “dirty UA” can bring out negative feelings. Addiction is a disease! Diabetes is also a disease. If a diabetic tests positive for sugar or protein in their urine, we certainly do not say, “You have a dirty UA!” Yet, we continue to use the term to describe urine that indicates the presence of certain drugs. Nowadays, it’s not even a dirty UA, a person is just told, “You are dirty or you tested dirty.” In the same way, calling someone a “drunk,” a “junkie” or “crazy” is harmful. Better to see them as a human being who needs help. Stigma is an attitude, belief or behavior that discriminates against people. A few words with lots of stigma attached to them are dirty, drunk, junkie, homeless, user, addict, clean and sober. As Native people, we can make the change to remove the stigma. If you hear someone talking about a “dirty UA,” remind them that it is not dirty it is just positive for certain substances. A “junkie” is a human being who has a disease called addiction. Stigma prevents many people from seeking behavioral health services where addiction treatment can be found. Think about words that you might have heard that have stigma attached. As Native people, we have experienced discrimination and stigma as a people. Let’s end stigma on the Rez! Let’s change our words so we do not harm others or prevent them from seeking help. If you or someone you know has a substance use disorder or a mental health need, please call the ye?lan tilixam haws at 503-879-1389. The ye?lan tilixam haws is also known as the Helper Person Office. There is no stigma attached to this office; we simply want to help. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COVID-19 VACCINES Elder Voices Supporting the Covid Vaccine “Here at Makah, my aunt tested positive for COVID, she is the eldest in our tribe. Also, our only Doctor at our clinic tested positive for COVID, and he has been battling it for well over a month. With that in mind, my choice was easy, to vaccinate in order to make our little village [be] that much more safe.” -Nate Tyler, Makah Tribal Council. “We need to help protect Our People from dying. So, if they do become exposed [to COVID-19], with a vaccine, we do not have to lose them.” -Delegate from the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, THD, Marilyn Scott. “I was not hesitant [to get the vaccine] at all. I was more fearful of NOT getting the vaccine. We got the vaccine at Chemawa and they were so helpful, friendly, and efficient. They made you feel good. They answered questions before you asked.” Did you have any side effects? “I was lucky, I was good. I’m 81 years old, so I don’t know why. Only a little arm soreness.” -Marie Sagaberd, Lummi & Quinault Elder. “I have been a nurse for 40 years. I am very pro-vaccine, for myself and others. And, I do it for my Tribe, the Makah. I was not concerned at all. I know the vaccine had been through trials for safety and efficacy.” What would you tell others? “I would [tell them] of my positive experience, I would assure them it is safe. And, I remind them of the possible effect of getting COVID – severe illness or even death.” -Terri Markishtum, Makah Elder and nurse. “For me, I knew it was a decision between life as I know it now, or the possibility of being on a respirator and possibly dying alone and struggling for that final breath. As a 69-year-old, my side effects were extremely mild. I was a little bit sleepy the next day, but that was gone by the afternoon.” “Overall, I considered this a good experience. It brought back hope for the future. I wish everyone would choose life and science by getting this vaccine.” -Harriette Cheeka, Makah Elder. You can help stop the pandemic by getting a COVID-19 vaccine. To protect our elders and our community, we need to use all our prevention tools. Vaccines are one of the most effective tools to protect our health. Vaccines work with your body’s natural defenses so you can fight the virus. Each tribal nation or state has its own plan for deciding who will be vaccinated first. Contact your health department or clinic to find out when and where vaccines will be available in your community. The COVID-19 vaccine can help keep you from getting COVID-19. COVID-19 can cause serious illness or death. All COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective. Even if you still get the disease after you get vaccinated, the vaccine should protect you from more serious illness. The COVID-19 vaccine will be free for you. The United States government is providing the vaccine free of charge to all people in the United States. No one should be charged for the vaccine. Some COVID-19 vaccines need two shots. If you are told you need two shots, make sure to get your second shot at the time you are told, so you can get the most protection. The COVID-19 vaccine will not give you COVID-19. The authorized COVID-19 vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19. They do not contain the virus that causes COVID-19. Getting vaccinated may also protect others around you. After COVID-19 vaccination, you may have some side effects. You may have tiredness, headache, chills, and mild fever for 1–2 days. These are normal signs that your body is building protection against COVID-19. After getting the shot, you will be asked to wait for 15–30 minutes to see that you are okay. You should still get vaccinated if you’ve already had COVID-19. Even if you have already had COVID-19, it is possible —although rare—that you could get COVID-19 again. Experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after having COVID-19. Vaccination is the best protection. If you have recovered from COVID-19, ask your health provider when you should be vaccinated. cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/tribal/