Source: FORT BERTHOLD COMMUNITY COLLEGE submitted to NRP
TRAUMA-FOCUSED EQUINE-ASSISTED LEARNING (TF-EAL) INTEGRATION INTO EQUINE STUDIES CURRICULA
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026616
Grant No.
2021-38424-34949
Cumulative Award Amt.
$95,000.00
Proposal No.
2021-02753
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2021
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2024
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[ZY]- Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program
Recipient Organization
FORT BERTHOLD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
P.O. BOX 490
NEW TOWN,ND 58763
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The project "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning (TF-EAL) Integration into Equine Studies Curricula" is being submitted by Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (NHSC), under the Capacity Building Research Project, with an Applied Faculty/Community focus. As defined by USDA-NIFA, this project is clearly a "skillful adaptation of existing knowledge to address unique community needs requiring a culturally sensitive approach". Specifically, it is evaluating the feasibility of implementing Trauma-Focused strategies into an existing Agriculture Academic Department utilizing a more culturally appropriate and trauma-focused model of education delivery to address effects of generational and contemporary trauma that resonates deeply with students and the community. A return to wellness for the people of Fort Berthod, overcoming "risk factors" and health disparities require us to honor Indigenous holistic health models that address physical, emotional, and spiritual health while honoring traditional ways of living and being. Thismodel integrates culturally-relevant, trauma-focused equine assisted experiential learning into coursework into an Equine Studies Associates of Science degree within the Agriculture Department at aTribal College.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
9037299302090%
9033810302010%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
7299 - Research equipment and methods, general/other; 3810 - Horses, ponies, and mules;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning (TF-EAL) "Program Goals" are (1) increase the agriculture academic and research capacity for NHSC students and faculty, by collaboration with NDSU Department of Public Health, to create an Trauma-Focused Equine Research plan and providing research mentorship and training while engaging students in experiential equine trauma-focused teaching and research; (2) support NHSC cultural education (ILO; institutional learning objectives) and wellness related institutional goals in an innovative trauma-focused experiential equine-assisted learning modality; and (3) engage a "pipeline" of students who will eventually become graduates meeting the workforce need for trauma-focused equine program professionals that are vitally needed and in high demand on the Fort Berthold reservation.The Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning (TF-EAL) "Research Objective" is to test the feasibility of a model of improvement of Tribal College Curricula delivery through the implantation of Trauma-Focused strategies and education in an Equine Degree program. Our evaluation is at the academic departmental level - to assess whether our proposed model results in successful integration and improvements of student success of an Equine Studies program integrated with Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning experiential education and practices. Measurement of outcomes will rely on a rubric of institutional evaluation tools, qualitative interviews, student success data, and student feedback.
Project Methods
Primary PersonnelPrimary personnel will be Lori Nelson, M.A, and Katie Oakland, B.S. Childhood Development and licensed Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) practitioner. Both have extensive experience in Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, as well as working with tribal college students, and particularly applying their expertise in the context of tribal colleges and tribal communities. Each has education and certification in utilizing cultural, trauma-focused, and equine approaches to education of students. Lori Nelson has successfully directed a number of USDA-NIFA grants, including the USDA-NIFA 2017 Interdepartmental Experiential Learning grant and a National Science Foundation grant to advance STEM competency and research amongst tribal college students since 2013, successfully partnering with NDSU for this ongoing program. In addition, she completed a post-master's level capstone project at Prescott College, focusing on equine assisted teaching strategies at tribal colleges and earned a post-graduate certificate in Equine Assisted Learning from Prescott College. Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty, currently teaches courses in Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies. She is also the Director of NHSC's Therapeutic Riding program as well as the founder and director of Therapeutic Riding for Heart and Soul (TR4HS), a non-profit organization who provides Therapeutic Riding services for individuals with social, emotional, or physical challenges. Mrs. Oakland combines over 10 years of early intervention services paired with parent education to offer culturally appropriate services. Mrs. Oakland's background in the fields of child development including developmental and historical trauma provides unique insights to trauma focused strategies.Mrs. Nelson will serve as the Principal Investigator and Project Director (PI/PD), providing oversight and direction for the overall goals, ensuring evaluation and dissemination, assessment, and administrative responsibilities such as report writing and purchasing. Katie Oakland as mentioned above is a more than capable director herself, so as Key Personnel, she will work collaboratively with Mrs. Nelson on all program goals. She will work with Mrs. Nelson on academic development, student service-based learning and internships, teaching module development, coordination of NDSU training, oversight of student research, and continuous student monitoring. Strong and consistent faculty-student relationships are crucial, and Mrs. Oakland has already proven to excel in this area.The primary Collaboration representative at NDSU is Dr. Ramona Danielson, Department of Public Health. She is an Assistant Professor who teaches courses in the Master of Public Health Program American Indian Public Health subplan, including Research Issues in Tribal Communities and Case Studies in American Indian Health. Her research focuses on life course impact of trauma, trauma-informed approaches, self-healing communities, and empowerment evaluation. She has partnered with four tribes in the Upper Midwest over the past nine years to meet implementation, data, evaluation needs for federal grants.Dr. Danielson will provide mentorship in life course impacts of adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed approaches, and research skills inclusive of tribal methodologies. She will facilitate strategic planning with the NHSC project team for building research capacity with the intent of preparing for applying for funds to conduct research that will contribute to the evidence base for trauma-focused implementation of equine therapy programming in the future. NDSU and NHSC partners will maintain regular communication regarding project progress, activities, and administration (e.g., reports, billing).Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning ImplementationFor courses in the Equine degree program, we will incorporate Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning (TF-EAL)into existing coursework. Courses are both didactic and experiential. By implementing trauma-focused equine-assisted learning (TF-EAL) strategies and curriculum into ourexisting Equine degree program, we will create a learner-centered enviroment that provides opportunity for students to cope and heal from trauma while creating resiliency which will assistthem through life. Additionally, many of our Equine students will be providing Equine Assisted Services with clientele upon graduation. The trauma-focused strategies and skills that they will learn with horses, will not only help them heal personally, but will prepare them to incorporate trauma-informed strategies in their own professional practices.Instruments and EvaluationThe evaluation plan to determine the impacts of the proposed project will be formative, summative, internal and external. The internal formative evaluation will involve the PI/PD keeping accurate records of all activities, data, purchases, travel, seminars, and curricular adjustments. She will compile all documents and report to the NHSC Administrative Council at their regular meetings as needed. Feedback from these formative evaluations to implement on-going improvements to the project. The timeline delineated above will serve as a guidepost to ensure progress and each respective item completion will serve as an outcome completed.Unitassessment is at the college departmental level, therefore our primary instruments of evaluation for the TF-EAL program are those that are primarily already embedded within our institutional evaluation process. The selected courses will be evaluated, learning outcomes will be adjusted to include trauma-focused equine strategies, and set before NHSC's Curriculum Committee for approval. Once approved, the course syllabi will be adapted to reflect trauma-focused equine approaches.Additionally, NHSC has a full time Assessment Committee, dedicated to tracking and evaluating the progress of each academic department. Academic Reviews are conducted annually. With the initiation of the Equine Studies program, and the implementation of the Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning approach, each of these pieces will undergo systematic review and evaluation using instruments previously developed by NHSC, including NHSC's annual Program Review process.Departmental evaluation will utalize an assessment rubric, whcih will be administered during year one (Fall of 2021). This will provide baseline data. Post-programevaluation will be administered during the Spring of 2023.Aggregate departmental level student success data will be collected for the equine studies degree and courses. Number of students completing the equine program and each equine course will be recorded. Course completion of equine courses for students from non-Ag departments will also be recorded to assess the reach of the program and the impact on overall student success.For qualitative data to understand feasibility issues at a deeper level, the NHSC Curriculum Committee, which meets monthly to assess and address all academic needs, will review and approve the TF-EAL new learning outcomes prior to, and throughout implementation. Faculty comments and approvals during curriculum committee meetings will provide qualitative data regarding program success. Finally, qualitative interviews will be conducted with key department staff, faculty, and students to hear how effective they feel this approach is in meeting student, college, and community needs. The following table summarizes quantitative and qualitative data to be collected.

Progress 07/01/21 to 06/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The current audience is the NHSC faculty and staff, NHSC student body of approximatly 200, Fort Berthold community and tribal partners, tribal colleges, NDSU partners (NDSU Public Health & NDSU Extension), Therapuetic Riding professionals, K-12 Education partners, tribal nations, and horse industry partners/community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Jenny Trainor - Level 1 Natural Horsemanship (Fall 2023) Medicine Horse Equine Assisted Services Training (Fall 2023) Jenny Trainor - Level 1-2 Natural Horsemanship (Spring 2024) Natural Lifemanship - Trauma Sensitive Schools (Spring 2024) "Mino Bimaadziwin: Living the Good Life", Healing- Informed Framework Training (Spring 2024) Natural Lifemanship - Trauma-Focused Training/Business Seminar (Summer 2024) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) - NDSU - Basic Course & Working with Horses (Spring 2024) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?KMHA Radio Broadcast (Fall 2023) - "Horses and Healing for Addiction Recovery" (K. Oakland & J.Baker, 2023) KLOVE Radio Broadcast (Spring 2024) - "Equine Assisted Services" (K. Oakland, 2023) TF-EAL Presentations (Spring 2024) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning" (K, Oakland, L. Nelson, J. White Plume 2023): Bismarck/Mandan Veterans Center, Bismarck 1 Million Cups, Bismarck Public Schools, National Association of EquineAffiliated Academics, Turtle Mountain School Systems University of North Dakota Research Colloquium (Spring 2024) - "Equine Assisted Job Skill Development", mentor: Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty BEK TV Television Program: "Dakota Cowboy" (Summer 2024) - "NHSC Equine Program/Equine Assisted Services", Katie Oakland & Lori Nelson Magazine Article: "Ii'cuwashghiri maagi'shiihe: The healing power of the horse", Tribal College Journal, (L. Nelson, 2023) Mentorship/Training: Healing Horse Ranch, Twin Buttes Equestrian Center, Casey Foundation & Turtle Mountain Band of Chippeawea School K-12 staff. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Increase Agriculture Academic & Research capacity in TF-EAL Dr. Danielson from NDSU Department of Public Health provided a series of lectures on Indigenous Research methods and ACE scores for NHSC Equine Studies students enrolled in ARSC 311 - Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Learning course, Spring 2024. Dr. Danielson had monthly meetings with NHSC to ensure project goals are met, dissemination activities, and future research opportunities. NHSC partnered with TR 4 Heart & Soul and University of North Dakota Occupational Therapy Department for student dissertation on development of Equine Assisted Job Skill Development curriculum in Spring 2024. 2) Support NHSC cultural education & wellness learning outcomes through TF-EAL modality NHSC Equine faculty integrated TF-EAL in a number of ways. First, we adjusted one of the equine program learning outcomes to include trauma-focused equine assisted learning. We developed and continued to offer a 3 credit course, ARSC 311 Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning. This course is now a required course in NHSC's Equine Studies Associated of Science degree program. The course explores historical trauma in Native populations, what is trauma, historical vs. contemporary trauma, how trauma effects the brain, trauma-focused modalities, and the use of horses in trauma-focused modalities. Trauma-focused strategies have been integrated throughout the entire Equine Studies degree program. Topics of trauma-focused methodologies have been added to the Learning Outcomes of PSY 115 Horses & Holistic Health, ARSC 210 Introduction to Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 310 Principles of Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 311 Equine Assisted Services Practicum, and ARSC 265 Great Plains Indian Horsemanship. Storytelling and traditional Native horsemanship has been added to curriculum at both a program level in program learning outcomes and in course learning outcomes in a number of courses. All equine faculty and agriculture department staff have completed at minimum a training in Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Services training for service organizations. Equine Faculty have completed further training in TraumaFocused methods. Trauma-Focused methods are in discussion of how they can be further integrated into agriculture outreach programming. 3) Create pipeline to meet workforce for TF-EAL programming We hosted a number of industry partners to guest speak to NHSC equine students. TR for Heart and Soul partnered with NHSC to provide the 6 week TF-EAL learning sessions for students, where NHSC equine students took on the role of "Equine Professional". "TR for Heart and Soul" Therapeutic Riding center provided demonstrations and hand's on activity opportunities for students as well as volunteer staff to support NHSC's Equine Assisted Learning activities. NHSC Equine students, through service-based learning opportunities, assisted with offering trauma-focused equine assisted learning sessions to the community. They provided mounted riding sessions for NHSC students, provided group psychotherapy with Native leaders, they assisted with provided horseback riding to K-12 students who attended NHSC's summer culture camp, and assisted with NHSC extension/outreach activities: 4-H horse show, Indian Relay Races at the North Dakota State Fair, and assisted at MHA Nation rodeos. We once again partnered with MHA Nation's Addiction Center "Good Road Recovery" to provide weekly Trauma-Informed Equine Assisted Learning sessions. In Spring 2024, we developed and integrated a new CEU course called "Making Strides: Equine Assisted Job Skill Development", which develops job skills for those in recovery looking to reenter the workforce for Good Road Recovery residents. We provided weekly summer 2024 Family Riding nights at MHA Nation's satellite outreach and wellness facility "Sage Coulee", which serves MHA enrolled members that live in the Bismarck/Mandan area. We partnered with The Casey Foundation and Dr. Tami DeCoteau, of "DeCoteau Trauma-Informed Care & Practice", to provide Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning training/mentorship to MHA Equine Facility Staff at Healing Horse Ranch, Parshall, ND, and Twin Buttes Indoor Equestrian Center, Twin Buttes, ND. We provided programming, curriculum, and mentorship to Turtle Mountain Public Schools by providing Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning Teacher Training to K-12 staff in Spring 2024.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Nelson, L. (2023). Ii'cuwashghiri maagi'shiihe: The healing power of the horse. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 34(4).


Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The current audience is the NHSC faculty and staff, NHSC student body of approximatly 200, Fort Berthold community and tribal partners, tribal colleges, NDSU partners (NDSU Public Health & NDSU Extension), Therapuetic Riding professionals, K-12 Education partners, tribal nations, and horse industry partners/community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Jenny Trainor - Level 1 Natural Horsemanship (Fall 2023) Medicine Horse Equine Assisted Services Training (Fall 2023) Jenny Trainor - Level 1-2 Natural Horsemanship (Spring 2024) Natural Lifemanship - Trauma Sensitive Schools (Spring 2024) "Mino Bimaadziwin: Living the Good Life", Healing- Informed Framework Training (Spring 2024) Natural Lifemanship - Trauma-Focused Training/BusinessSeminar (Summer 2024) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) - NDSU - Basic Course & Working with Horses (Spring 2024) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?KMHA Radio Broadcast(Fall2023) - "Horses and Healing for Addiction Recovery" (K. Oakland & J.Baker, 2023) KLOVE Radio Broadcast(Spring 2024) - "Equine Assisted Services" (K. Oakland, 2023) TF-EAL Presentations (Spring 2024) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning" (K, Oakland, L. Nelson, J. White Plume 2023): Bismarck/Mandan Veterans Center,Bismarck 1 Million Cups, Bismarck Public Schools, National Association of Equine Affiliated Academics, Turtle Mountain School Systems University of North Dakota Research Colloquium (Spring 2024) - "EquineAssisted Job Skill Development", mentor: Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty BEK TV Television Program: "Dakota Cowboy" (Summer 2024) - "NHSC Equine Program/Equine Assisted Services", Katie Oakland & Lori Nelson Magazine Article:"Ii'cuwashghiri maagi'shiihe: The healing power of the horse", Tribal College Journal, (L. Nelson, 2023) Mentorship/Training:Healing Horse Ranch, Twin Buttes Equestrian Center, Casey Foundation & Turtle Mountain Band of Chippeawea School K-12 staff. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Increase Agriculture Academic & Research capacity in TF-EAL Dr. Danielson from NDSU Department of Public Health provided a series of lectures on Indigenous Research methods and ACE scores for NHSC Equine Studies students enrolled in ARSC 311 - Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Learning course, Spring 2024. Dr. Danielson had monthly meetings with NHSC to ensure project goals are met, dissemination activities, and future research opportunities.NHSC partnered with TR 4 Heart & Soul and University of North Dakota Occupational Therapy Department for student dissertation on development of Equine Assisted Job Skill Development curriculum in Spring 2024. 2) Support NHSC cultural education & wellness learning outcomes through TF-EAL modality NHSC Equine faculty integrated TF-EAL in a number of ways. First, we adjusted one of the equine program learning outcomes to include trauma-focused equine assisted learning. We developed and continued to offer a 3 credit course, ARSC 311 Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning. This course is now a required course in NHSC's Equine Studies Associated of Science degree program. The course explores historical trauma in Native populations, what is trauma, historical vs. contemporary trauma, how trauma effects the brain, trauma-focused modalities, and the use of horses in trauma-focused modalities. Trauma-focused strategies have been integrated throughout the entire Equine Studies degree program. Topics of trauma-focused methodologies have been added to the Learning Outcomes of PSY 115 Horses & Holistic Health, ARSC 210 Introduction to Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 310 Principles of Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 311 Equine Assisted Services Practicum, and ARSC 265 Great Plains Indian Horsemanship. Storytelling and traditional Native horsemanship has been added to curriculum at both a program level in program learning outcomes and in course learning outcomes in a number of courses. All equine faculty and agriculture department staff have completed at minimum a training in Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Services training for service organizations. Equine Faculty have completed further training in Trauma-Focused methods. Trauma-Focused methods are in discussion of how they can be further integrated into agriculture outreach programming. 3) Create pipeline to meet workforce for TF-EAL programming We hosted a number of industry partners to guest speak to NHSC equine students. TR for Heart and Soul partnered with NHSC to provide the 6 week TF-EAL learning sessions for students, where NHSC equine students took on the role of "Equine Professional". "TR for Heart and Soul" Therapeutic Riding center provided demonstrations and hand's on activity opportunities for students as well as volunteer staff to support NHSC's Equine Assisted Learning activities. NHSC Equine students, through service-based learning opportunities, assisted with offering trauma-focused equine assisted learning sessions to the community. They provided mounted riding sessions for NHSC students, provided group psychotherapy with Native leaders, they assisted with provided horseback riding to K-12 students who attended NHSC's summer culture camp, and assisted with NHSC extension/outreach activities: 4-H horse show, Indian Relay Races at the North Dakota State Fair, and assisted at MHA Nation rodeos. We once again partnered with MHA Nation's Addiction Center "Good Road Recovery" to provide weekly Trauma-Informed Equine Assisted Learning sessions. In Spring 2024, we developed and integrated a new CEU course called "Making Strides: Equine Assisted Job Skill Development", which develops job skills for those in recovery looking to re-enter the workforce for Good Road Recovery residents. Weprovided weekly summer 2024 Family Riding nights at MHA Nation's satellite outreach and wellness facility "Sage Coulee", which serves MHA enrolled members that live in the Bismarck/Mandan area. We partnered with The Casey Foundation and Dr. Tami DeCoteau, of "DeCoteau Trauma-Informed Care & Practice", to provide Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning training/mentorship to MHA Equine Facility Staff at Healing Horse Ranch, Parshall, ND, and Twin Buttes Indoor Equestrian Center, Twin Buttes, ND. We provided programming, curriculum, and mentorship to Turtle Mountain Public Schools by providing Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning Teacher Training to K-12 staff in Spring 2024.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Nelson, L. (2023). Ii'cuwashghiri maagi'shiihe: The healing power of the horse. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 34(4).


Progress 07/01/22 to 06/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The current audience is the NHSC faculty and staff, NHSC student body of approximatly 200, Fort Berthold community and tribal partners, tribal colleges, NDSU partners (NDSU Public Health & NDSU Extension), Therapuetic Riding professionals, K-12 Education partners, tribal nations, and horse industry partners/community. Changes/Problems:Although we accomplished many goals, due to COVID, we were unable to spend the budget down as originally planned. We have requested an extension for funding that we have not spent down to continue work on this important project and to complete all goals and activities as designed in the proposal. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Dr. Ramona Danielson - "Indigenous Research Methods" speaker series provided to faculty, staff, and equine students (Spring 2023) Jenny Trainor - Level 1 Natural Horsemanship (Fall 2022) Jenny Trainor - Level 1-2 Natural Horsemanship (Spring 2023) Natural Lifemanship - Trauma-Focused Training Seminar (Fall 2022) Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship Region 6 Conference CEU's (Spring 2023) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Bismarck Public Schools (Spring 2023) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning in Tribal Agriculture", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants and Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty North Dakota Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference, Minot State University (Spring2023) - "Trauma-Focused EAL in Equine/Agriculture Curriculum", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grantsand Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty PATH Region 6 Conference, Fargo, ND (Spring 2023) -"Trauma-Focused EAL in EquineCurriculum",Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty University of Mary Research Colloquium (Spring 2023) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning", Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty Television Program: "Dakota Cowboy" (Broadcast Spring 2023) - "TR 4 Heart & Soul", Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty Presentations to Schools: Parshall School Admin, Bismarck Public Schools, UND OT Faculty, Bismarck State College What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan on placing more equine students into internships with industry partners. North Dakota State University will provide more research support and training to NHSC equine students and faculty and assist us with disseminations activities for this project. We will study options toprovide TF-EAL curriculum, how to replicate the TF-EAL model to other communities, and how to provide a metorship/consulting model for communities interested in providing TF-EAL services.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Increase Agriculture Academic & Research capacity in TF-EAL Dr. Danielson from NDSU Department of Public Health provided a series of lectures on Indigenous Research methods and ACE scores for NHSC Equine Studies students enrolled in ARSC 311 - Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Learning course, Spring 2023.Dr. Danielson provided brainstorming sessions with NHSC Equine Faculty on additional research forTF-EAL and will be assisting NHSC with data collection, dissemination activities, and future research opportunities. NHSC partnered with University of Mary to study a 6 week Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning session with curriculum developed by NHSC Equine faculty. 2) Support NHSC cultural education & wellness learning outcomes through TF-EAL modality NHSC Equine faculty integrated TF-EAL in a number of ways. First, we adjusted one of the equine program learning outcomes to include trauma-focused equine assisted learning. We developed and continued to offera 3 credit course, ARSC 311 Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning. This course is now a required course in NHSC's Equine Studies Associated of Science degree program. The course explores historical trauma in Native populations, what is trauma, historical vs. contemporary trauma, how trauma effects the brain, trauma-focused modalities, and the use of horses in trauma-focused modalities. Trauma-focused strategies have been integrated throughout the entire Equine Studies degree program. Topics of traumafocused methodologies have been added to the Learning Outcomes of PSY 115 Horses & Holistic Health, ARSC 210 Introduction to Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 310 Principles of Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 311 Equine Assisted Services Practicum, and ARSC 265 Great Plains Indian Horsemanship. Storytelling and traditional Native horsemanship has been added to curriculum at both a program level in program learning outcomes and in course learning outcomes in a number of courses. All equine faculty and agriculture department staff have completed at minimum a training in Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Services training for service organizations. Equine Faculty have completed further training in this area as well. Trauma-Focused methods are in discussion of how they can be further integrated into agriculture outreach programming. 3) Create pipeline to meet workforce for TF-EAL programming We hosted a number of industry partners to guest speak to NHSC equine students.TR for Heart and Soul partnered with NHSC to provide the 6 week TF-EAL learning sessions "Saddle Up" (that we partnered with University of Mary to study), where NHSC equine students took on the role of "Equine Professional". "TR for Heart and Soul" Therapeutic Riding center provided demonstrations and hand's on activity opportunities for students as well as volunteer staff to support NHSC's Equine Assisted Learning activities. NHSC Equine students, through service-based learning opportunities, assisted with offering trauma-focused equine assisted learning sessions to the community. They provided mounted riding sessions for NHSC students, provided group psychotherapy with Native leaders, they assisted with provided horseback riding to K-12 students who attended NHSC's summer culture camp, and assisted with NHSC extension/outreach activities: 4-H horse show, NHSC's Memorial Bottomland Trail Ride, Indian Relay Races at the North Dakota State Fair, and assisted at MHA Nation rodeos. This year, we partnered with MHA Nation's Addiction Center "Good Road Recovery" to provide weekly Trauma-Informed Equine Assisted Learning sessions. We also provided weekly summer Family Riding nights atMHA Nation's satellite outreach and wellness facility "Sage Coulee", which serves MHA enrolled members that live in the Bismarck/Mandan area. We parternered with Dr. Tami DeCoteau, of"DeCoteau Trauma-Informed Care & Practice", who was a guest speaker to NHSC equine students and partneredwith us to provide TF-EAL programming to local MHA Nation high school students.We partnered with TR 4 Heart & Soul (Therapuetic Riding center in Bismarck, ND) to assist them to become a "Monarch Project" provider andoffering trauma-focused equine assisted learning programming to K-12 Bismarck public schools, serving Indiginous students. The Monarch Project empowers Native students to create their own educational journeys while establishing pathways for future generations. It is dedicated to work with schools, students, parents/guardians, and community members to provide Native American high school students with the resources and services they need to achieve their educational goals).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Nelson, L. (2023). Ii'cuwashghiri maagi'shiihe: The healing power of the horse. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 34(4).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rismon, S. (2023, May 30). Equine assisted services and the professional path to success. Dakota Horse Magazine.


Progress 07/01/21 to 06/30/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The current audience is the NHSC faculty and staff, NHSC student body of approximatly 200, Fort Berthold community and tribal partners, tribal colleges,NDSU partners (NDSU Public Health & NDSU Extension), Therapuetic Riding professionals, K-12 Education partners, tribal nations, and horse industry partners/community. Changes/Problems:Although we accomplished many goals, due to COVID, we were unable to spend the budget down as originally planned. We have requested an extension for funding that we have not spent down to continue work on this important project and to complete all goals and activities as designed in the proposal. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Dr. Ramona Danielson - "Indigenous Research Methods" speaker series provided to faculty, staff, and equine students (Spring 2022) Dr. Ramona Danielson - "Logic Model Training/Development" - training/workshop with NHSC Equine faculty & staff (Spring 2022) Jenny Trainor - Level 1 Natural Horsemanship (Fall 2021) Jenny Trainor - Level 1-2 Natural Horsemanship (Spring 2022) Distance Education Course Development Seminar (Fall 2021) Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship - Trauma-Focused Training Seminar (Fall 2021) Trauma Informed Care for Service Organizations online certification (Spring 2022) Professional Association ofTherapeuticHorsemanship Region 6 Conference CEU's (Spring 2022) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?North DakotaHorse Expo (Spring 2022) - "Pathway toTherapeutic Riding Instructor Certification", Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty USDA/NIFA TCU's Virtual Series (Spring 2022) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning in Tribal Agriculture", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants NDSU Extension North Dakota West Region Conference(Fall 2021) - Trauma-Focused EAL in Agriculture", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants Carnegie Math Pathways Virtual Conference (Fall 2021) - Trauma-Focused EAL in a Tribal College", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants NDSU Extension 4-H Leaders Conference (Fall 2021) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants NDSU Extension North DakotaDept of Equity & Inclusion - Virtual Seminar(Fall 2021) - "Trauma-Focused EAL in Agriculture", Lori Nelson, NHSC Director Ag & Land Grants University of Mary Research Colloquium(Spring 2022) - "Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning", Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty Television Program: "Studio 701" (Broadcast Spring 2022) - "Healing with Horses", Katie Oakland, NHSC Equine Faculty Oakland, K. (2022, February 3). EAS center start up (Season 2, Episode 25) [Audio podcastepisode]. In More than a pony ride. https://hetra.org/education/not-just-a-pony-ride-podacst.html. Nelson, L. (2021). The healing power of the horse. North Dakota QuarterHorse Journal, 37-38. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan on placing more equine students into internships with industry partners. We will be workingwith a number of new partners including MHA Nation's Addiction Center "Good Road Recovery"; MHA Nation's satellite outreach and wellness facility "Sage Coulee", which serves MHA enrolled members that live in the Bismarck/Mandan area, providing education and family programming; and "DeCoteau Trauma-Informed Care & Practice", who will be a guest speaker to NHSC equine students and potentially partner with us to provide Native American high school students resources and services to expand TF-EAL programming to Fort Berthold schools We also will seek to become a "Monarch Project" provider by offering trauma-focused equine assisted learning programming to K-12 schools. The Monarch Project empowers Native students to create their own educational journeys while establishing pathways for future generations. It is dedicated to work with schools, students, parents/guardians, and community members to provide Native American high school students with the resources and services they need to achieve their educational goals). We will work with University of Mary on an additional research project with our 6 week TF-EAL curriculum that we developed. North Dakota State University will provide more research support and training to NHSC equine students and faculty and assist us with disseminations activities for this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Increase Agriculture Academic & Research capacity in TF-EAL Dr. Danielson from NDSU Department of Public Health provided a series of lectures on Indigenous Researchmethods and ACE scores for NHSC Equine Studies students enrolled in ARSC 311 - Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Learning course. NHSC Equine faculty attended as well. Dr. Danielson provided professional development training to NHSC Equine Faculty and Agriculture staff on Indigenous Research Methods and Logic Modeling. Dr. Danielson additionally had a series of brainstorming sessions with NHSC Equine Faculty research methods for TF-EAL and will be assisting NHSC with data collection and dissemination activities. NHSC partnered with University of Mary to study a 6 week Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning session with curriculum developed by NHSC Equine faculty. NHSC presented theTF-EAL curriculum that we developed to U Mary's IRB board. NHSC equine students assisted U Mary with data collection. U Mary disseminated the first round of TF-EAL preliminary research at the U Mary research colloquium. 2) Support NHSC cultural education & wellness learning outcomes throughTF-EAL modality NHSC Equine faculty integrated TF-EAL in a number of ways. First adjusted one of the equine program learning outcomes to include trauma-focused equine assisted learning. We developed a 3 credit course, ARSC 311 Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Learning. This course is now arequired course in NHSC'sEquine Studies Associated of Science degree program.The course explores historical trauma in Native populations, what is trauma, historical vs. contemporary trauma, how trauma effects the brain, trauma-focused modalities, and the use of horses in trauma-focused modalities. Trauma-focused strategies have been integrated throughout the entire Equine Studies degree program. Topics of trauma-focused methodologies have been added to the Learning Outcomes ofPSY 115 Horses & Holistic Health, ARSC 210 Introduction to Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 310 Principles of Equine Assisted Services, ARSC 311 Equine Assisted Services Practicum, and ARSC 265 Great Plains Indian Horsemanship. Storytelling and traditional Native horsemanship has been added to curriculum at both a program level in program learning outcomes and in course learning outcomes in a number of courses. All equine faculty and agriculture department staff have completed at minimum a training in Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Services training for service organizations. Equine Faculty have completed further training in this area as well. Trauma-Focused methods are in discussion of how they can be further integrated into agriculture outreach programming. 3) Createpipelineto meet workforce for TF-EAL programming We hosted a number of industry partners to guest speak to NHSC equine students. Northern Reins counselingprovided a demonstration and an opportunity for students to participate in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. TR for Heart and Soul partnered with NHSC to provide the 6 week TF-EAL learning sessions "Taking Life by the Reins" (that we partnered with University of Mary to study),where NHSC equine students took on the role of "Equine Professional". Another guest taught students on the methods of Equine Gestalt Therapy group sessions. "Riding for Dreams" Therapeutic Riding center staff visited with NHSC Equine students. "TR for Heart and Soul" Therapeutic Riding center provided demonstrations and hand's on activity opportunitiesfor students as well as volunteer staff to support NHSC's Equine Assisted Learning activities. NHSC Equine students, through service-based learning opportunities, assisted with offering trauma-focused equine assisted learning sessions to the community. They provided mounted riding sessions for NHSC students, provided group psychotherapy with Native leaders, they assisted with provided horseback riding to K-12 students who attended NHSC's summer culture camp, and assisted with NHSC extension/outreach activities: 4-H horse show, NHSC's Memorial Bottomland Trail Ride, Indian Relay Races at the North Dakota State Fair. One student interned as a riding instructor for "Riding for Dreams" Therapeutic Riding Center in 2022.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Nelson, L. (2021). The healing power of the horse. North Dakota Quarter Horse Journal, 37-38.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Brewer, A., Malsom, N., Nietfeld, A., & Remboldt, M. (2022). Taking life by the reins: Effects of equine-assisted activities on emotional regulation in adolescents who have experienced trauma in the upper midwest [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Mary.