Shiprock program helps students
‘honor who we are’
Dr. Clayton Small, center left, talks with participants in the Native H.O.P.E. youth suicide prevention advocate training program Tuesday at Shiprock High School as they prepare to perform a skit about violence in the home. [photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

SHIPROCK — More than 100 Shiprock High School pupils and 40 behavioral health professionals learned about suicide prevention at the two-day Native H.O.P.E. program held at the school’s gym on Tuesday and Wednesday.

H.O.P.E. stands for “Helping Our People Endure,” and that is what the program hopes to do for young people in the area with the peer-to-peer training to prevent suicide, especially because youth are greatly influenced by other youth.

Dr. Clayton Small said that in about 80 percent of youth suicides nationwide, other teenagers knew the person was in trouble but maintained a code of silence.

“A lot of the things we do is focus on teenagers to commit to break the code of silence when their friends are in trouble,’ he said.

With a national suicide rate among youth ages 14 to 24 twice that of the general population, the Native American population is targeted with the cultural-based model that Small developed and used during the conference.

Shiprock’s conference was only the second time that the Native H.O.P.E. model was being used. It was first used in Bernalillo and will next be used at Laguna Acoma. A youth group in Laguna had determined that teen suicide was a core policy issue that needed to be addressed and worked to obtain the funding to do so.

The training workshop looked at certain risk factors, including drugs and alcohol, coping with trauma, violence and depression.

Though it looked at such issues, the focus is on the positive. “We focus on strengths, spirituality, culture, tradition,” Small said. “We help young people identify sources of strength. . . It’s about improving our skills, communications, leadership, support.

“Peer counseling is a very profound, effective tool. Kids have so much influence on each other. With peer counseling it’s changing direction. Instead of leading in a negative way, it’s leading in a positive way,” he said.

Small, a former school administrator and teacher, has traveled the country to bring these types of training to youth and adults.

Small, who is Northern Cheyenne from Montana, said, “No matter what your tribe, we have values that need to be reinforced, and if we do that and we practice our culture and traditions and ceremonies, and we’re proud of it, we’re going to see these things disappear.”

“We need to fit into the mainstream world but we also have to honor who we are,” he added.

He said that the kids are challenged to be leaders and on the second day of the program, they are to put together a plan for services that are needed in the community. About 15 community service providers are working with the group to deliver those services.

The participants were divided into smaller groups, or clans, for parts of the training to create a sense of belonging and a safe place to express themselves. After breaks, participants also listened to and danced to the school’s drum group, including a round dance that got everyone on their feet and smiling, and a two-step competition.

With the presenters focusing on the positive, so were the participants.

Leandra Benally, a freshman at Shiprock High School, said she was learning about how to cope with feelings and thought the information was helpful.

Her favorite part was sitting in the clan group and talking about strengths.

Shawntina Thompson, also a freshman, was writing positive comments on folders on the wall for the participants to share.

She said she was learning that “we should take care of ourselves and take care of others and get to know one another.”

Asked why she was participating, she said, “I just thought it would be a really fun thing to do and to get to know one another.”

Erica Whitesinger, a sophomore, was dancing in the round dance and said she was at the conference to help out.
“I’m learning more about my culture,” she said.

Lance Coggeshell, freshman, was watching the two-step dance competition.

“I thought this might be fun,” he said. He said he was learning about expressions and enjoyed breaking into clan groups to talk about strengths.

Teresa Pablo from the Teen Life Center was participating as a counselor and said she thought the program was great.

“It’s a different style of getting the students to talk about their feelings. It’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Pablo added that when one person commits suicide it creates a chain reaction.

“It’s a big issue right now. It’s the youth that find out about it before anyone else and don’t tell anybody. A lot of it can be prevented,” she said.

Rep. Ray Begaye helped the suicide prevention program to secure partial funding from the state. Funding in the amount of $50,000 will be recurring, according to the program’s organizers. Begaye delivered remarks to the participants on Tuesday morning.

“The engine behind indigenous youth of today is in the language and culture of its people,” he said to them. “As the only Navajo serving in the House of Representatives in New Mexico, it is wonderful to get support from the governor and colleagues in bring funding to this type of program.”

With the emotional subject, counselors were on-hand in case anyone required counseling or needed a referral.

A hand-written poster with ideas to stay out of trouble and away from drugs adorns the wall of the gymnasium Tuesday at the Native H.O.P.E. youth suicide prevention advocate training program at Shiprock High School. [photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]