Noviembre es el Mes Nacional de la Herencia Nativa Americana. Las comunidades nativas de todo el país celebran su herencia. I'd like to tell you about a project that I work with that is addressing the issue of bullying and is making a lasting impact on one community.
El Programa de Prevención de la Violencia Doméstica del Consorcio de Salud Regional del Sur de Alaska es un proyecto financiado por la Iniciativa de Prevención de la Violencia Doméstica (DVPI, siglas en inglés) del Servicio de Salud para los Indígenas (IHS).
Como educador de salud para el proyecto, veo el acoso escolar, y otros comportamientos agresivos, en nuestras escuelas, áreas de juego, lugares de trabajo y hogares. Esto afecta a todos en la comunidad. Through education and raising awareness, we are engaging our communities to prevent bullying and other types of abuse.
Our surrounding communities include the Alaska Native Tlingit Village in Klukwan, Skagway Traditional Council and Chilkoot Indian Association. Participamos en entrevistas radiales mensuales y hablamos con nuestras comunidades sobre:
- ciberacoso;
- How to recognize the signs and symptoms of bullying;
- Actions to take if you see bullying, abuse, domestic violence, or sexual assault; and
- Other aggressive behaviors
As part of the project, we write educational articles for the newspaper each month, participate in school presentations, host display tables at community events, and put up displays at the library to help engage the whole community. También organizamos reuniones grupales de conversación y recientemente hemos creado una página en Facebook para llegar a nuestra audiencia más joven.
We have joined with Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's initiative, "Standing Up and Speaking Out," to share what to do when we see abuse. We have held yearly "Choose Respect" marches, where we drum sing, march and share meals together.
The great news is that we are seeing change. The silence is being broken. During our last celebration of "The Healing Pole," 100 people attended to take a stand against abuse of all forms, including bullying and other aggressive behaviors! As a community, through education and awareness, we are making a difference.