APSAALOOKE FAMILY HEALING PROJECT

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1031597
• Grant No.: 2023-47003-41329
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $200,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2023-06824
• Project Start Date: Sep 18, 2023
• Project End Date: Sep 17, 2025
• Grant Year: 2023
• Program Code: [NK]- Extension Tribal College Program

Recipient Organization
LITTLE BIG HORN COLLEGE
1 FOREST LANE
CROW AGENCY,MT 59022

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
On the culturally rich but poverty stricken Crow Reservation abundant in natural resources, individuals and families struggle with historical trauma compounded by health disparities and broken homes. Mainstream education and family service programs fall short of sound interventions without leadership of community based, culturally responsive programs and professional. Little Big Horn College Extension-Apsaalooke Healing Families Project intends to step up intervention strategies to provide holistic healing services and culturally based practices that encompass not only individual treatment, but includes a balance of health and wellness for the entire family unit.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
601	0120	3010	100%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;

Keywords

health

and

wellness

is

crucial

to

the

prosperity

of

the

crow

people

Goals / Objectives
Goal: Apsaalooke Family Healing Project will setup intervention strategies to provide holistic services and practices that encompass not only individual treatment and education but include a balance of health and wellness for entire families. The intervention strategies will be culturally centered and will include a balance of health and wellness for the entire family.Ojective 1.) The approach will include a structured selection process to help identify 4 individuals who have completed an in house substance abuse treatment program. The 4 individuals will be involved in the activities and classes at the Mountain Shadows Association drop in center located in Lodge Grass, Montana. AFHP will provide assistaqnce to the families by offering culturally based workshops, training, seminars, non-formal education related to business, gardening, agriculture, Crow way of life, language and tradition, land use and leasing. The project has forecasted for the summer and Spring 2024 the first campout,at heart mountain-big quiet stay camp ground, located 5 miles northof Cody Wyoming. The LBHC-E ,AFHP Crow Tribal Substance Abuse programstaffhave undertaken training and certification as traumaHealing Specialist to properly address any concerns in the therapeutic process for the families.Objective 2.) Mountain Shadows Association peer support councilors will help identify the four individuals for each program year. LBHC - AFHP and partner MSA will develop a model of a two year-year system that assesses the progress of the families that have adopted healthy family values and lifestyles through education, culture, Crow way of life ,counseling, mentoring and agriculture application.Objective 3.) Families will receive a full array of support from professional and specialists (Mountain Shadows Associationj, MSU staff, LBHC-Extension, Indian Health service andFarm Service Agency.Objective 4.) Family youth will be supported by LBHC-Extension Youth Council with youth activities and culturally based youth camps. The youth will take part in the "Aaak Bacheeitchilewioosh" (Those who will become leaders) Youth Council & Vision Quest which takes place in July 2024 . This camp will provide the youth with an extensive outdoor camping/hiking event the Cloud Peak area wilderness in Wyoming. The youth will revisit the historic origins of the Apsaalooke people and education of local plant biology used by the Crow people.

Project Methods
1. To set up intervention strategies to provide holistic healing services and practices that encompass not only individual treatment, but include a balanvce of health and wellness for entire families.2. The approach will include a structured selection process to identify 8 individuals, 4 for each year of the grant. These individuals are ones who have completed an in-house substance abuse treatment program. They will be accepted into an outpatient aftercare program, along with their family unit. Mountain Shadow staff Professional will make the final selection of participants.

Progress 09/18/23 to 09/17/24

Outputs
Target Audience:AFHP will target the 4 families from the first year and the 4 families from the second grant year. A total of 8 families. Families will include Mother, father, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all who live in the same house togather. All these families are located on the Crow Indian reservation in southern Montana. All participants are enrolled Crow Tribal members. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We attended the FALCON 23, and the Grant Development and Grant Management trainings at SKC in Pablo Montana. 2024 FALCON was cancelled due to family emergency. We visited the greenhouse and community garden, and the Two River greenhouse in Hardin Montana. We also visited the Special K Ranch greenhouses in Park City, Montana. Culturally based planting techniques were demonstrated to Crow Agency Public school students, community members and participating families. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Garden areas were tilled on the seven districts on the Crow reservations and surrounding area of Hardin Montana. Container planting containers full of the plants were given to participating families, Veterans, and grandparents raising grandchildren. Harvested fruit and vegetables were given to all the communities, and to all those who wanted and needed them. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will introduce native food plants and how they were culturally and historically used though an Ethnobotany informational sessions, nonformal education relating to agriculture through the Agriculture department at LBHC, preparing your garden for the next growing season, no-till method for gardening, "The historical and cultural importance of Shushua(mint) to the Crow people" workshop. Families and their youth will also participate in the 2025 LBHC Extension vision quests and camps. We will continue to increase accessibility to cultural resources and nontraditional educational learning to strengthen families, build resiliency and to encourage individual and family healthy choices, healthy relationships and to also address mental health issues in a cultural relevent way.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We identified 4 individuals who met our criteria. These individuals participated in classes and activities at Mountain Shadow, Crow Nation recovery and at LBHC. Participation included "Motherhood and Fatherhood is Sacred", AA, Peer led support groups,and individual sessions at IHS. Families also participated in container gardening and starting plants at the Healing Garden greenhouse. Some individuals and their youth took part in the first campout and vision quests to Heart Mountain near Cody, Wyoming and the later extensive camp activities at Cloud Peak area near Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Family youth were also involved Healing Garden cultural activities and community outreach. Fruit, vegetable and herbs were delivered to Veterans, Elders, and community members.

Publications