American Indian Changing Spirits Newsletter Welcome
Issue 2 • Spring 2013
Changing Spirits Voices
Welcome to our second issue of Changing Spirits Voices. We are pleased to announce new additions to our program to enhance our culturally relevant treatment for our American Indian Community Members in recovery.
Left - Changing Spirits Drum opening the Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Phoenix Suns game in honor of Native American Heritage Day at the Staples Center (photo courtesy of Phillip Reed). Right, Jimi Castillo, Dave Patterson, and Rita Marmejo help celebrate the Winter Holiday Feast with AICS residents, family, friends, and staff thanks to donations for food from Catholic Charities and Jimi’s volunteers.
American Indian community is the most vulnerable to drug and alcohol addiction of all ethnic populations, we are an invisible population to the larger mainstream community which exacerbates the problems of Natives health problems with addiction, diabetes, and depression. While data specific to most California tribes is difficult to find, or simply does not exist, here are a few facts derived from recent research: • One quarter to one third of adult American Indians (AI) have a past year substance use problem. • Three quarters of males and 40% of females may experience substance use problems within their lifetimes. • These prevalence rates are 3 times higher than the general population. • AI infant mortality rate is 22% higher than non-AI. • 4 of the top 10 causes of death among AIs are alcohol related-injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, suicide, and homicide. • AIs between 15 and 24 years of age are twice as likely as their non-AI peers to die in automobile accidents, 75% of which are alcohol related. • Drinking rates among AI middle school students has been measures as 50100% higher than among non-AI middle school students Among 12-17 year old AIs, 30.5% have reported illicit drug use in the past year compared to 17.3% of non-AI peers. • 70% of AI reservations interviewed for one study rated substance abuse as one of the top 3 health problems facing their people.
• Another study indicated 17-19% of deaths among AIs are alcohol related.
Friends of Changing Spirits Drum includes support from AICS staff, community and family members, and alumni .
We are proud to announce that the Changing Spirits Drum will be the Host Northern Drum for the CSU Dominguez Hills 3rd Annual Pow Wow April 20-21, 2013. (See pow wow flyer last page.)
*All pictures are property of American Indian Changing Spirits and may not be reproduced without written consent.
While some American Indian communities have addressed the substance abuse problem through developing treatment programs, many tribes do not have the expertise, and often do not have the necessary funding to deliver substance abuse treatment for their people. One California study showed that for every dollar spent on treatment for substance abusers there was a savings of $7 in reduced cost associated with crime, emergency medical care, and the ongoing management of chronic medical conditions within the local health care systems. American Indian nations which do not have the internal capacity to provide substance abuse treatment often rely on treatment providers in the communities surrounding their reservations. Most of the time, these programs do not use traditional American Indian healing practices combined with evidence-based treatment Recent research indicates that American Indians who engage in substance abuse treatment which blends traditional healing practices with research-based treatment such as motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy have significantly better long term outcomes related to remaining off alcohol and drugs.
In 1999, a grassroots program, American Indian Changing Spirits (AICS), made up of Native community members concerned with the loss of Eagle Lodge and Main Artery programs met to address the mounting needs of Indians in California and develop a new program that wouldn’t be Changing Spirits Rejust another Alcoholics Anonymous program, but covery Program 2120 W. Williams Street Bldg. #1 a program that would be a paradigm to serve the specific needs of the Indian male relating to his Long Beach, CA 90810-3635 ethnic, cultural, and spiritual selves. Funded by Phone: (562) 388-8118 the Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug ProFax: (562) 388-8117 gram Administration and Access to Indian RecovFunded by ery (AIR), AICS opened its doors in July of 2000. County of Los Angeles County Substance Abuse and Control, California American Indian Recovery, and a special grant from the San Manuel Mission Band of Indians
Special thanks to John Kirby, Cherokee, of Behavioral Health Services for the American Indian health information in this article.
We are pleased to announce our Friends of Changing Spirits Drum has been honored to be the Northern Host Drum the 43rd Annual California State University, Long Beach POW WOW MARCH 9 - 10 http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/ students/sld/american_indian_services/pow_wow/
American Indian Women Changing Spirits Changing Spirits is seeking funding for the American Indian Women Changing Spirits Residential Recovery Program. Until we garner the resources for a residential treatment program for women where they can bring their small children, we will have regular meetings for women to help give them the tools for coping with the many problems American Indian women face today. Statistics indicate that American Indian and Alaska Natives are much more likely to be raped by a nonIndian than an Indian. In addition, non-Indians commit 88 percent of all violent crime against Native people, while the vast majority of perpetrators of violent crime against individuals of other races are members of their own race (e.g. black on black, and white on white). The lack of authority to prosecute non-Indians committing crimes on the reservation is a significant obstacle to the efforts to curtail the high level of violence against Native women committed by non-Native people. (Violence Against Native Women, Office on Violence Against Women, National Center on Full Faith and Credit, 2006) Indian women are 2 ½ times more likely to be assaulted and more than twice as likely to be stalked than other women in this country. Today, one in three Native women will be raped in her lifetime, and six in ten will be physically assaulted. Even worse, on some reservations, the murder rate for Native women is ten times the national average. Some 88% of these types of crimes are committed by nonIndians over which tribal governments lack any criminal jurisdiction under U.S. law and, according to the Census Bureau, 77% of the population residing on Indian lands and reservations is non-Indian. “This leaves Indian nations, which have sovereignty over their territories and people, as the only governments in America without jurisdiction and the local control needed to combat such violence in their communities,” added art Henry, Co-Chair, National Congress of American Indians Task Force on Violence Against Women, Councilwoman, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Board member for the Indian Law Resource Center. While federal authorities have exclusive jurisdiction over most of these crimes, U.S. attorneys, often located hundreds of miles from a reservation, are declining to prosecute 67% of sexual abuse matters referred to them from Indian country. Criminals act with impunity in Indian country and Alaska Native villages, threaten the lives of Native women daily, and perpetuate an escalating cycle of violence in Native communities. “Young women on the reservation live their lives in anticipation of being raped,” said Juana Majel Dixon, 1st Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women. “They talk about ‘how will I survive my rape’ as opposed to not even thinking about it. We shouldn’t have to live our lives that way. Congress can act now and NCAI is calling on members of the House and Senate to not let this crisis continue for one more day.” (Indian Law Resource Center, http://www.indianlaw.org/safewomen/violence-against-native-women-gaining-global-attention) For information on the American Indian Women Changing Spirits Program contact artcheryl@gmail.com To help bring attention to the violence against all Native people, CSU Dominguez Hills, Ben Wolf, Steve Rosales, and Jimi Castillo are Honoring Native American Indian Victims of Crime and Violence at the 3rd Annual CSU Dominguez Hills Pow Wow (see last page of newsletter).
Steve Rosales, Yaqui, AICS Advisory Board, and Jimi Castillo, Tongva/Achachemin, AICS Spiritual Advisor, honor all women with roses that participated in the CSU Domingue Hills Pow Wow on Mother’s Day 2012. Check out our new website: http://americanindianchangingspirits.org/
And our Facebook page: Look for “Changing Spirits,” Facebook has coopted “American Indian Changing Spirits” as they do for all businesses, and FB has a tendency to redirect you there.
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Approves $50,000 Grant to American Indian Changing Spirits LONG BEACH, CA – Prior to receiving a grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the American Indian Changing Spirits, a 26-bed residential center for American Indians recovering from alcohol and drug addictions, was in danger of severely cutting services due to recent Los Angeles County funding cuts. Changing Spirits is well known through the community for its success in using traditional Native healing methods combined with evidence-based treatment. The need for recovery treatment for the American Indian population is great, yet the much needed social services for Natives continue to receive less government funding than other populations. Data from the Indian Health Service is alarming: one quarter to one third of adult American Indians have experienced a substance abuse problem in the past year. Three quarters of males and 40% of females may experience substance abuse problems within their lifetimes. These prevalence rates are 3 times higher than the general population. Infant mortality rate is 22% higher than the non-Indian population, and 4 of the top 10 causes of death are alcoholrelated injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, suicide and homicide. Changing Spirits has served more than 1,000 clients since its inception in 1999; over 60% of clients complete 180 days of treatment; 75% have developed a recovery support network, 90% have initiated an economic selfsupport system upon exiting the program, and 100% of the clients have connected or re-connected with Native cultural activities in the Los Angeles area. Greater indications of success to the program are the testimonials of alumni who bring their brothers, nephews, uncles, and sons to enter the program. Future plans for Changing Spirits include a building to house the American Indian Women Changing Spirits recovery program in which women can bring their children. Below, volunteers and friends at our Winter Feast. (Photos courtesy of Jeanette Castillo)
C A L I F O R N I A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y D O M I N G U E Z H I L L S
3rd Annual Pow Wow
Honoring Native American Indian Victims of Crime and Violence NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK, APRIL 21-27
April 20 - 21, 2013 Saturday, 11:00 a.m.—7:00 p.m. Sunday, 11:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m.
HEAD
STAFF
JIMI CASTILLO
TBD
Host Northern Drum CHANGING SPIRITS
Master of Ceremony
Head Man Dancer
Host Southern Drum SOONER NATION
Dine
Southern Cheyenne
FEATURING:
Arena Director
Head Woman Dancer
AMERICAN INDIAN MARKETPLACE FRYBREAD INDIAN TACOS
Spiritual Leader
Head Gourd Dancer
Tongva
JOHN DAWSON
TBD
Location
GEORGE LONE ELK
Patty Dawson Dine
CSU Dominguez Hills SCULPTURE GARDEN 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, CA 90747
Honoring Native American Indian Parents, Family, and Friends of Victims of Murder
A panel board boa will be made available for families to post photographs and articles of Victims of Crimes If a family would like to honor a victim with a special or share a story please contact 405-532-2625 For more information call: 310 243-2438 Vendors: Steve Rosales 310 872-7515 *
Programing Ben Wolf 405 532-2625