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Health Initiative Embraces Holistic Approach During Pandemic


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Katrina Fuller, Director of the Sicangu CDC Health Initiative, helped distribute Health Kits to tribal elders. Courtesy photo.

Katrina Fuller, Director of the Sicangu CDC Health Initiative, helped distribute Health Kits to tribal elders. Courtesy photo.

ROSEBUD RESERVATION – In April 2020, Katrina Fuller took on the role as the director of the Health Initiative at Sicangu CDC. Prior to her arrival, the Health Initiative was just an idea and some words on paper, but as soon as news began to spread about the COVID-19 pandemic, Fuller knew she would have to skip the planning stage (for now) and jump straight into action. And that’s exactly what she’s done.

As the sole employee of the Health Initiative, it’s almost unfathomable what she has been able to accomplish in her short time as the director. No two days have been the same with tasks including writing applications for funding, navigating PPE supply chains, working with tribal citizens to sew hundreds of face masks, coordinating efforts with the Food Sovereignty Team, and crisscrossing the nearly 1,000,000-acre Rosebud Reservation to deliver essential supplies. On top of that, Fuller worked alongside the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s COVID-19 Task Force to support the development of the tribe’s strategic response.

SunRose Iron Shell designed this image for the Health Initiative. Courtesy photo.

SunRose Iron Shell designed this image for the Health Initiative. Courtesy photo.

Taking a step back, the Sicangu CDC Health Initiative is a holistic Lakota community health program designed to put the health and future of our Native Nation back into the hands of the Tiospaye (immediate family) and Oyate (nation). “Our approach to health is based on sustainable health practices and advocacy built on a Lakota framework and the value of self-sufficiency,” explained Fuller. Prior to the pandemic, the Initiative planned to do this through grassroots efforts to provide tools and education for families to maintain and improve their health.

In order to stay true to the initiative’s values in sustainability and thinking about the next Seven Generations, the initiative made a series of decisions. First, elders and families with children would be the priority of current efforts. “Our Elders are important, as they hold a majority of our Lakota language, culture, and spiritual knowledge,” Fuller said. “By helping our Elders stay healthy during this Pandemic, we are already directly saving our future as Lakota and impacting the next Seven Generations.”

The SCDC Health Initiative was awarded funding from the WEND Collective to distribute 500 Health Kits to Elders, alongside resources for further COVID-19 relief programming. These Elder Kits contained a thermometer, Vitamin C gummies, face masks, a $25 gift card to Turtle Creek (a local grocery store), seed packets for gardening, and hand sanitizer. Our SCDC AmeriCorps VISTAs and four high school youth volunteers assembled the kits. The Health Initiative, too, partnered with the Tribe’s Elderly Nutrition Program to distribute the kits via contactless delivery across 20 communities. Additionally, over $60,000 in grocery gift cards were distributed to families in need.

Self-sufficiency was also prioritized through the relief efforts. In May, the Initiative was awarded funding to distribute 75 Sovereignty Kits to families. The kits contained cloth face masks created by local entrepreneurs, a thermometer with 100 probe covers, seed packets, gardening tools (such as a shovel, rake, and hoe), bulk dry foods (oatmeal, rice, beans, cranberries and almonds), Lakota coloring books with crayons, an electronic tablet (for participation in online classes), and a gift card to Turtle Creek (a local grocery store). These kits provided not only short-term relief, but also the tools for longterm independence.

In addition to relief efforts, the team at Sicangu CDC collaborated with Sicangu artist, SunRose Iron Shell, to launch a public service campaign to encourage safety. The campaign featured a masked Sicangu woman on distinctive ledger art with the slogan “WARRIOR UP – Protect the Oyate.” Stickers were distributed throughout the community.

Finally, the Initiative worked alongside the Tribal Government’s COVID-19 response by researching and creating a longterm strategy for preventing and tracking the spread of COVID-19 amongst the Tribe. Approved by Tribal Council, this plan now rests in the hands of the Tribe’s COVID-19 taskforce for implementation. Additionally, Fuller and the Initiative assisted the Tribe in vetting companies and securing 80,000 KN95 masks. These were distributed across multiple businesses and programs for public use.

Looking toward the future, Fuller sees a mix of needs for the initiative. On one of her deliveries, she met a grandmother who was caring for 15 grandchildren.

“We really need to provide more activities for kids to do, especially outdoor activities where it is easier to be active and practice social distancing,” Fuller said. “If you have 15 children in one house, there is no way you can follow the guidelines indoors.” While direct support will remain a part of the Health Initiative for the foreseeable future, Fuller is also excited about several other upcoming programs.

A pilot Food Prescription Program is one of the programs that likely would have launched were it not for COVID.

“We will be creating a pipeline within our Indian Health Service Hospital to help those with nutrition-related illnesses access healthy foods via prescription,” Fuller said.

The program remains a priority and will allow tribal citizens to treat conditions such as diabetes with fresh produce. Additionally, Fuller is working to integrate health education and advocacy into communities through online sessions, as well as to expand supplemental health services to Elders. In the coming month, the Health Initiative will virtually convene with team members and local stakeholders in a strategic planning session to help shape its future and identify priorities.

For more information visit www.sicangucdc.org/

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