Culture as Prevention: Assisting High-Risk Youth in the Omaha Nation

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that has.

—Margaret Mead

Young people today face many significant temptations and challenges, such as violence, drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, and numerous other potential distractions from a healthy and productive lifestyle. Youth violence, and the corresponding close relationship between youth violence and substance abuse, is perhaps one of the most deadly of these distractions. Yet, there are many youth who choose never to participate in such negative behaviors and choose a healthy path. Although we are constantly learning more about youth risk factors, less is understood about youth protective factors and how to prevent youth from participating in these risky behaviors. Recently, closer attention is being paid to youth protective factors, which appear to help provide youth with the stability and direction needed to avoid unhealthy or risky behavior. In communities with rampant problems, understanding what prevents these undesirable behaviors in youth may provide solutions that are easier to tackle than addressing the large social, environmental, and family problems associated with risk factors that confront them on a daily basis.

Youth violence has essentially been on the decline in the United States, but it remains a significant social problem with a wide disparity in violence-related statistics associated with minority youth. In 1997, two-thirds of all juvenile offenders in custody were members of minorities. This problem has been particularly noted among American Indians, and in the 1990s, both accident-related deaths and deaths due to homicide increased dramatically. According to the Bureau of Justice, violent crime rates among American Indians are more than twice the national average, and most violent acts target fellow American Indians.¹ In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified that "despite advances in knowledge about how to prevent youth violence, more needs to be learned about how to apply these advances to the prevention of youth violence in American Indian/Alaska Native communities."²

Youth violence is perpetrated by a wide variety of risk factors in American Indian communities. Research has demonstrated that the highest risk factors for American Indian youth include substance abuse and suicidal thought.³ American Indian youth are arrested at twice the rate of other youth for substance use and 49 percent of crimes involve alcohol.⁴ The impact of youth violence ripples through multiple levels of the community, and the fear of youth violence has been shown to be directly correlated with emotional health for female American Indian youth.⁵ Overall, substance use among American Indian youth is higher than among other racial groups with a low perceived risk of the consequences.⁶ A quarter of American Indian youth report getting drunk at least once a week and about a third report marijuana use. Recently, methamphetamines have become a significant problem with American Indians, who made up 20 percent of the methamphetamine users in 2002.⁷

How do we protect youth from substance abuse and violence? In general, only minimal research has been conducted on the value of Native American protective factors regarding youth violence, and even less research focuses directly on American Indian culture as a specific pro-social protective factor. Protective factors are "the conditions or situations which decrease the likelihood of future behavior problems."⁸ Professionals are often familiar with the barriers and causes of youth violence and substance abuse but struggle to define what keeps youth away from these risky behaviors. Prior to the identification of protective factors, resiliency was a term used to describe individuals who faced many risk factors but avoided partaking in substance use and violence. Being closely tied to American Indian culture has been demonstrated to be a resiliency factor for substance abuse.⁹ According to Calhoun, youth's choice to partake in substance use does not depend on resiliency of the individual but instead on relationships and providing youth with the following: a locus of control, a skill, a dependable adult, optimism, and altruism. He insists that violence can only be defeated...