Skip Navigation
A A A En Español Newsroom Contact Us Search:
Grantee Information
Organization: Nez Perce Tribe
Organization Address: 120 Bever Grade, Lapwai, Idaho 83540
Phone Number: 208-843-7342
Fax Number: 208-843-7354
Organization website URL (if any): www.nezperce.org
Brief Description of the Organization: The Nez Perce people spent many years occupying the Pacific Northwest before the Lewis and Clark expedition began US-colonization of the land. Today, the Nez Perce Tribe consists of over 3,500 enrolled tribal members, 56.9% of whom reside on the Nez Perce Reservation – a land parcel of approximately 770,000 acres following the path of the Clearwater River between the Columbia River Basin and the Rocky Mountain range in the US state of Idaho. The Nez Perce Tribe’s overall vision for the Nez Perce Reservation is to enhance the health and welfare of its residents and promote economic development by creating and expanding businesses while diversifying its economy, renewing its fiscal and physical well-bring, and securing its unique heritage for cultural, educational, social, economic, and environmental success.
Grant Project Information
Title of Grant Project: Nez Perce Tribe Haawtnin’ Tuux Ew’neek’nikt Keep Tobacco Sacred
Amount of OMH Award: $199,447
Name of Project Director: Abraham Broncheau
Phone Number of Project Director: 202-843-7303
E-mail Address of Project Director: abeb@nezperce.org
Abstract
Commercial tobacco use among Native Americans residing on the Nez Perce Reservation is substantially higher than national averages. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System reports that over 20% of Native American youth, compared with just over 18% of youth nationally are cigarette users (smoked cigarettes during the previous 30 days). Half of Native American adults smoke cigarettes on a daily basis, whereas only 18.2% of adults nationally do. These high rates of commercial tobacco use contribute to the fact that more than 50% of the Nez Perce Tribe community die of chronic diseases. There exists a largely favorable attitude towards allowing smoking in some or all areas of the casinos on the Nez Perce Reservation land and as it stands currently, there is very little enforcement of the 25-foot barrier around worksites resulting in no incentive for smokers to quit and exposure of non-smokers to secondhand smoke at their worksite. The Keep Tobacco Sacred Program looks to reduce the percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native adults and adolescents residing on the Nez Perce Reservation that smoke cigarettes and will specifically target those members residing in the Lapwai, Kamiah, Kooskia, and Orofino communities within the Reservation.
To achieve the desired outcomes, the Keep Tobacco Sacred Program will rely on three main interventions. The Life Skills Training Model will be used to target adolescent tobacco users. It is one of the most extensively evaluated substance abuse programs available and is a U.S. Department of Education Exemplary Program. To address tobacco use in adults, the grantee will be using the University of Arizona’s evidence-based BASIC Tobacco Intervention Skills for Native Americans/Tobacco Dependence Treatment Program. Finally, the grantee will recruit adult and youth leaders to learn traditional practices from the elders of the Tribe surrounding the use of tobacco in ceremonies. Ceremonial use of tobacco has been linked to recovery from addiction and healing from historical trauma. Additionally, universal screening for tobacco use will begin for patients accessing care on the Reservation and appropriate internal and/or community referrals will be made.
The expected outcomes of this project include a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of adult Native Americans residing on the Nez Perce Reservation who smoke cigarettes on a regular basis. From a 2012 baseline of 50%, the Nez Perce Tribe would like to see that percentage fall to 29.9 by the end of year five of the grant period. Additionally, there should be a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of adolescent Native Americans residing on the Nez Perce Reservation who have smoked cigarettes within the past 30 days from a 2011 baseline of 20.7% to 16% by the end of the year five of the grant period.
The evaluation plan will be implemented by an independent consulting group in collaboration with the Nez Perce Tribe’s Education Department. The evaluation includes both process and outcomes analysis to determine what features of the program were and were not effective, improvements that can be made, in addition to determining the degree to which the program had an effect on the community. The data collection tools used for this evaluation will include: key stakeholder interviews; a community readiness assessment; partner engagement surveying; electron health records; partner surveys; a workplace survey; onsite observation of tribal worksites; a youth risk behavior survey; and, an adult tobacco survey. Through triangulation or cross-examination of multiple data sources, the grantee will be able to link how changes at the systems and organization levels could plausibly lead to changes in the percentage of adult and youth smokers, and ultimately improved outcomes related to chronic health conditions.
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR ACTION TO END HEALTH DISPARITIES GOALS
None identified by the grantee
RELATED HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020 OBJECTIVES & SUBOBJECTIVES
