FORT HALL — A Gathering Of Native Americans (GONA) took place at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel this week to address youth and domestic violence, bullying, and suicide prevention on the Fort Hall Reservation. While these situations occur in great numbers in society as a whole, the cases are exacerbated amongst America’s indigenous population.

    More than 50 people took part in a two-day facilitation skill training held March 25 -26, to build the community's capacity to address these issues. The training participants included youth, adults, and elders.

    “Our people have gone through hundreds of years of cultural trauma, from genocide, displacement, forced removal of children, imprisonment, starvation, etc.,” said Dr. Larry Murillo, the tribe’s 477 Human Services Director. “There are certainly enough reasons to feel oppressed and suppressed as a people, but when we begin to take it out on our own families, that’s when we have to look for ways to stop the cycle.”

    Murillo said problems involving alcoholism and domestic abuse in and out of the Native-American community have been addressed in the past, but now bullying is becoming a big problem.

    The director said bullying can include economic, spiritual and physical intimidation.

    “Individuals within our tribes can bully for any number of reasons, including a sense of low self-worth or the fact these people were actually bullied themselves,” Murillo said.

    A GONA provides the tribe with an opportunity to conduct a cultural-based intervention as a means of identifying and addressing intergenerational healing in response to grief and loss issues that have occurred over the years. This in turn, will provide an opportunity for community building and will enhance the tribe’s planning and implementation efforts in order to begin addressing these critical problems, according to Murillo. He said factors such as a poor economy and high unemployment cause these numbers to spike, but the local Shoshone-Bannock tribal elders felt now was the time to address these issues.

    The event was sponsored by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Native Aspirations project, which is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).         Kauffman and Associates, Inc., based out of Spokane, Wash., with offices in Silver Springs, Md., is the contractor for SAMHSA. The company has engaged 65 communities across the nation since 2005.

    The program was broken down into four separate steps: Belonging, Interdependence, Generosity and Mastery, over a two-day period.

    Through a series of talks, workshops and interactive games, those in attendance were instructed in ways to overcome violent responses to violent situations, thus perpetuating the situation. Instead of reacting to a situation, they were told to “just walk away,” when they could.

    “Many of us suffered abuse at the hands of our own family or at school or other areas,” said Maria Trevizio of the Healing Circle, a Spokane, Wash.-based entity. “We have to be strong enough not only to break our own cycle of domestic violence, but to turn away and try to ignore bullying situations when that may come up. We have to also be able to answer tough questions, such as why dad and/or mom is acting this way, why am I being picked on, etc.”

    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have been participating in the project since October 2012, which will run through August 2013. The Fort Hall Business Council passed a tribal resolution to accept participation in the project that addresses the prevention of these issues in tribal communities and Alaska Native villages.

    "Native communities have the knowledge, capacity, and strength to address violence, bullying, and suicide,” said Gloria Guillory, the project coordinator for Native Aspirations. Their cultural beliefs and practices provide a foundation for taking action, solving problems, apromnd oting lasting wellness. Native Aspirations provides tools and assistance to help communities come together to do this work."