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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Native Youth Conference Tackles Substance Abuse Prevention, Intervention

Posted By Ashley Harrell on Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 3:22 PM

Each day this week from noon to 1 p.m., Two Feathers Native American Family Services is hosting a virtual youth conference on substance abuse intervention and prevention. Entitled “Walking the Red Road Together,” the conference takes place live on Facebook. Speakers include substance abuse counselors, folks in recovery and college and high school students from local tribes.

Two Feathers Native American Family Services was established in 1998 as a consortium of several tribes to provide direct social services to local Native families.

"Two Feathers' mission is to promote the stability and security of families and to protect the best interest of Indian children," the organization's Facebook page states. "We are committed to incorporating cultural traditions that engage a balance of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health."

Check out video from the first three days of the conference embedded below, tune in to the group's Facebook page here to watch live tomorrow and Friday. And for more information about the schedule and participants, see the press release copied below the videos.

Two Feathers will be hosting a Virtual Youth Conference called "Walking the Red Road Together". With support of the mentors at Two Feathers, TAY age youth (ages 16-18) have come together to develop a youth conference around substance use intervention and prevention!

This virtual Youth Conference will happen on Two Feathers-NAFS Facebook page, LIVE at 12pm-1pm PST on June 22-26, 2020!!!

The schedule of events are as follows:

Monday June 22: Mike Duncan is an enrolled member of Round Valley Indian Tribes. His tribal heritage is Maidu/Wailaki /Wintun and Western Band Shoshone. In 2012 Mike Duncan founded Native Dads Network and is currently the CEO of the 501c3 non-profit. Since 2009 Mike has facilitated the “Fatherhood/Motherhood is Sacred” curriculum with great success and has helped create a network of Fatherhood/Motherhood groups in Northern California. He has worked in urban and rural tribal communities conducting workshops discussing topics such as Fatherhood/Motherhood is Sacred, Historical Trauma, and Healthy Relationships.

Tuesday June 23: Edward Gusto Bowie Sr is a Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria Tribal Member. Mr. Bowie’s maternal Great Grandparents are ‘aa-wok Ada Baldwin Masten (Hupa) and David Masten (Hupa & Yurok). His paternal Great Grandparents are James Moon (Redwood creek), James Bowie (Hupa) and Caroline Wright (Wiyot). Mr. Bowie comes from a large family of six siblings that include four brothers and two sisters. In Mr. Bowie’s 43 years of life, he has overcome many obstacles that have been placed in his path. Some of those obstacles, he created himself while others, he was inherently born into. Through these choices and obstacles, he has grown to be a better person. Mr. Bowie is a proud father of five beautiful children.

Wednesday June 24: Robbie Lara. Hupa tribal member, Northwestern California Graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. Lara is employed with United Indian Health Service as a substance abuse counselor. She has cultural experience in beading, basket making, fishing, gathering, gardening and is a practitioner of traditional healing. Her life goal is to help people suffer less. Her vision is to create a wellness program for local Natives incorporating Native culture.

Thursday June 25: Frank Waln is an award-winning Lakota Hip Hop artist, music producer and performer from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. As a Gates Millennium Scholar, he received a BA in Audio Arts and Acoustics from Columbia College Chicago and he has been featured in numerous media outlets including ESPN, The Fader, MTV and many more. Frank travels sharing his music and story with communities to educate and inspire Native and non-Native people through performances, keynotes and workshops. To be Lakota means to be a good relative. As a Lakota artist, Frank Waln uses his art to encourage others to be better relatives, to each other, to the land and to ourselves.

Friday June 26: Youth Panel interviews. Local Native college students (mentors at Two Feathers) will be interviewing local Native high school students.