White Earth Band of Ojibwe Underage Drinking Prevention and

							 White Earth Band of Ojibwe
Underage Drinking Prevention
  and Enforcement Efforts




        Presentation by:
         Marlin Farley
                   Demographics
• Family Poverty
   – 250 miles northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul
   – Poverty is significant in our rural communities
   – over 30% of families with children live below the poverty
     level. (worst in the state), compared to the Minnesota
     average of 12%.

• Education Level of Parents
   – 60% of students graduate from high school
   – 11% attend an institution of higher education compared to
     the Minnesota average of 21.7 %
   – *The following data was collected January of 2005 by the
     White Earth Substance Abuse Collaboration and the White
     Earth Chemical Dependency Program and Planning Dept.
                 Demographics

• Family Conflict
   – 32% of our children were placed in out-of-home placement
     in 2004
   – 100% of the children were American Indian
   – 95% of placements and neglect issues were due to
     substance abuse
 Local Social Factors that Influence
        Underage Drinking
• Need to Strengthen Family Bonds
  – 17% of students report that they do not feel useful or
    important in their family
  – 14% stated their parents do not tell their children they love
    them.

• Parental Supervision
  – 56% of the students reported that their parents keep track
    of where they are and who they are with when not at home
    Local Social Factors that Influence
           Underage Drinking
•    Parent Rules about Alcohol Use
     – 56% of youth report that their parents talk to them about
       the consequences of using alcohol, controlled substances,
       or any other high risk behavior.

• Perceived Adult Approval of Alcohol Use
     – 27% of students that drink alcohol get access to beer, wine,
       and other liquors directly from parents and other adult
       family members.

• Perceived Peer Approval of Alcohol Use
     – 58% of high risk students agree that they use alcohol
       because friends drink
  Local Environmental Factors that
    Influence Underage Drinking
• Access to Alcohol
  – The top three ways youth get access to alcohol:
     • 1) 70% of students that drink alcohol report they get it from
       friends that are 21 years of age or older
     • 2) 42% get it from people that are not of legal drinking age, and
     • 3) 27% get it from parents or other family members.

• Cultural Norms Around Alcohol Use
  – 33% of students that use alcohol indicated they agree that
    their community accepts there is an underage drinking
    problem going on and nothing is being done to discourage it.
  Local Environmental Factors that
    Influence Underage Drinking
• Access to Assessment and Counseling Services
  – Waiting list for a substance abuse assessment is 1.5
    months.
  – Transportation is a major barrier to access support and
    intervention services.

• Current Alcohol Use
  – 65% of our students reported consuming alcoholic
    beverages.
  – 29.9% report that they have taken their first drink before the
    6th grade.
  – 33% of the students report binge drinking.
               Prevention Efforts
• Peacemaking Circles in 2001
• 2002- focus efforts on reducing youth drinking. 90% of youth
  crimes were committed under the influence of alcohol.
• 2005- the Mahnomen County Peacemaking Circle
  Coordinator started minor consuming program on the harmful
  effects of alcohol. Today, youth crime has decreased by over
  50%.
• May 2004- 40 members of the White Earth Band received
  White Bison’s 7 trainings in Bemidji Minnesota. Members of
  the Red Lake Nation and Leech Lake Nation also attended
  the training for a total of 120 people.
                Prevention Efforts
• Fall of 2004- prevention programs using White Bison’s “Sons
  of Tradition and Daughters of Tradition” curriculum. We have
  graduated over 200 youth. Underage drinking has reduced and
  more children are involved in cultural activities such as the
  drum, pow wow, and traditional ceremony than we have seen
  in decades.
• Fall of 2004- the White Earth Wellbriety Coalition and the
  Wellbriety Movement of the Ojibwe. White Earth Wellbriety
  Coalition grew to over 50 members. Fund raising, sober event
  planning, and our Wellbriety Family Sober Camp. Video’s
  using our storytellers to convey healthy lifestyles and choices
  through our traditional stories. Coalition Building: Using Clan
  Knowledge.
               Prevention Efforts
• 2005- the coalition negotiated with two convenience stores that
  were going to sell alcohol on the reservation. The funding
  source for these c-stores agreed not to allow alcohol sales
  after meeting with the members of the coalition.
• Three members of the Wellbriety Coalition attended the 6th
  Annual National Leadership Conference in Tucson Arizona.
  White Earth Underage Drinking Task Force. White Earth was
  selected as one of the Native American pilot projects.
• 5 youth from White Earth were selected to attend CADCA’s
  youth leadership training in the winter of 2005.
                Prevention Efforts
• Winter 2005- received media advocacy training from
  PIRE.
• The White Earth Underage Drinking Taskforce
   – educational presentations to community councils, school
     boards
   – the movie “This Place”
   – personal testimony
   – state and local statistics
   – youth are asking community members to sign an oath not
     to buy alcohol for underage drinkers and for youth to vow
     not to drink. These oaths will be displayed in the public
     schools and posted in the local newspapers.
                Prevention Efforts
• Law enforcement from two of the three counties and our Tribal
  Police departments are collaborating efforts and will be trained
  in late May on Party Prevention and Controlled Party Dispersal.
  Youth volunteers. We will conduct this exercise in of our Tribal
  Housing units.
• The White Earth Wellbriety Drum was honored to be selected
  as the National Wellbriety Drum group by White Bison for the
  years 2005-2010. This is the first of 100 Wellbriety Drums in the
  United States, all of the drums will come together at a
  gathering in 2010.
• White Earth has committed to healing and wellness in all of our
  communities which also indicates that we are committed to
  reduce underage drinking.