Native News Network

Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools (DETS)

http://www3.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/dets/index.htm

Mission

The DETS Project is part of a national effort to decrease the incidence and improve the care of type 2 diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). The DETS Project is a K - 12 Curriculum that was developed using a multidisciplinary approach. The DETS Curriculum consists of units that incorporate National Science Education Standards, Inquiry-Learning (5E model), and AI/AN cultural and community knowledge.

TO DOWNLOAD THE CURRICULUM GO TO http://www3.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/dets/currsupplements.htm

Goals

The goals of the DETS K - 12 Curriculum are:

• Increase the understanding of health, diabetes, and maintaining life in balance among American Indian/Alaska Native students. (Teach about diabetes)
  The curriculum incorporates inquiry-based learning that will enhance students' science process skills. Lessons encourage students to become researchers. Investigative inquiry (observing, measuring, predicting, inferring, classifying, experimenting, communicating, etc.) allows students to emulate the work of real-life researchers. The discoveries of diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of diabetes increase student understanding and appreciation for direct and indirect effects of scientific research within a cultural framework.
  
• Increase American Indian/Alaska Native students' understanding and application of scientific and community knowledge. (Value and use scientific and traditional knowledge)
  The DETS curriculum supports the integration of AI/AN culture and tribal community knowledge with diabetes-related science. Lesson plans enhance the content being taught to meet educational standards within school districts.
  
• Increase interest in science and health professions among American Indian/Alaska Native youth. (Encourage science and health careers)
  The DETS curriculum encourages students to gain an understanding of diabetes-related biomedical sciences. Lessons are built around role models who are health science professionals. Students increase their awareness of careers in science and health. They also learn about the value of the involvement of these professionals in their communities.

TO DOWNLOAD THE CURRICULUM GO TO http://www3.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/dets/currsupplements.htm

The Yakama Nation is seeking help and support to aid the survivors of a wildfire that destroyed 20 homes, burned parts of several more, and displaced over one hundred people from the small town of White Swan, Wash., in the heart of the reservation in central Washington state.

In an open letter dated Feb. 16, Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Harry Smiskin wrote of the need for outside assistance from the United States and other governments to help in the care for the displaced and the immediate cleanup in White Swan.

The Yakama Nation has been in a state of emergency since the fire began in the afternoon on Saturday, Feb. 12. The Yakama Nation estimates the cost of rebuilding is at least $4 million, and with other emerging environmental concerns, that sum will only increase.

“We are grateful for the miracle that everyone got out alive, including the people who ran into the street on bare feet as their homes went up in flames, and the babies, the elders and three people with profound disabilities who all survived because the community pulled together,” Chairman Smiskin said. “We cannot overlook that blessing as we turn to the difficult work ahead of getting people securely housed for as long as it takes to clean up and rebuild a beautiful White Swan.”

A chimney fire is believed to have started in one home and quickly spread by wind and 50-mph gusts that carried the fire from house to house, down a dry, wooded creek bed and then to more distant homes. The vibrant town of White Swan is devastated by the damage to a total of 24 homes, including some multi-family residences, and destruction of other property including cars, bicycles and all personal belongings, for many.

Now members of this tight-knit Yakama community are scattered across the large reservation, some staying with family and others housed in motels.

Few of those whose houses burned could afford homeowner’s insurance, and few have savings to fall back upon, making recovery of families and housing in this tribe of 10,000 even more challenging, said Chairman Smiskin.

In his letter, Chairman Smiskin states a request for the following kinds of help:

• Skilled volunteers who can assist in cleanup, including certified asbestos remediation experts, heavy equipment operators and home builders;
• Donations of money, clothes, food and other household goods, including diapers and supplies for babies and children;
• Temporary housing for displaced people, and assistance with rebuilding the destroyed houses, a responsibility that the Yakama Nation has undertaken for the victims of the fire.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to bring 10 or 12 trailers to the reservation, which is about half the number of the Yakama Nation’s 22 displaced households. It and other governments, including Washington state, have committed to building strong and lasting relationships with Yakama, and now in the face of disaster the Yakama Nation calls on these relations for help.

Chairman Smiskin states: “These are lands that the United State government holds in trust for Indian people and we hope that the Federal government in the form of the U.S. Congress and the various agencies will respond as they have to other disasters. We believe that more homes have been destroyed by this fire than on any Indian reservation in the history of this country.”

Complicating the cleanup, many of the homes were built in the era when asbestos was commonly used in insulation, drywall and floors. Now, Chairman Smiskin said, “the mere potential presence of asbestos among the ashes and debris now littering White Swan presents a serious, time-consuming and expensive environmental dilemma.”

In the immediate term, the Nation is worried about getting safe housing and collecting money, food, clothing and other essentials for those who lost their homes or are displaced until cleanup and repair can occur. One of the most pressing needs is for diapers, formula, bottles, baby food, clothing, bedding and other baby supplies.

The Indian Health Service opened after the weekend fire to replace medicines for survivors, but it will take far more to help the displaced people for the months or years that it takes to rebuild White Swan.

While the Yakama Nation, its people and its neighbors have responded over the past few days with open hands and hearts, the needs in the short term and the long term are great. The Yakama Nation looks to the United States to uphold its trust responsibility, and to the generosity of the American people to support those affected by this disaster on Yakama lands.

In addition to the local businesses and centers that are accepting donations, the Yakama Nation has set up the following ways for people across the country to contribute to the community’s recovery:

• The White Swan Fire Relief Fund at Bank of America, with donations accepted at branches nationwide.
• Donations also can be made at the Toppenish Armory, 326 S. Division St., Toppenish, WA  98948.
• Donations can be mailed to Yakama Nation CFO Henry Roy, P.O. Box 151, Toppenish, WA 98948.