NANAINA

National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association

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NANAINA Newsletter

Spring 2004 Newsletter



Presidents Report by June Strictland, President, NANAINA

Spring is here!! All across the land the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the winter ice is becoming the water for our lakes and rivers and fish. For some of us, it is the time of the root feast and the beginning of the gathering of food and medicines. Spring is also the “blooming time” for NANAINA.

We have been very busy; our annual Summit planning team has completed the Centers for Disease Control grant application and we are now waiting hopefully. We have made the arrangements with the Salish Kootenai College and hotel and have secured most of our speakers. We are beginning the work on the conference brochures; your "Save the Date" cards will be the first notice you will receive. We hope that you will mark you calendar for September 17-19,2004 and plan to join us in Polson, Montana for the 10th Annual NANAINA Summit. This year’s conference is entitled “Eliminating Indian Health Disparities and Preparing for 2010: Building Partnerships in Research, Teaching and Practice.” Watch for more information on the NANAINA website.

We hope your hands will be busy preparing gifts from your people for the silent auction. The silent auction enables NANAINA to provide small scholarships for promising Indian nursing students. This year we hope to link students with mentors and it will be important for all of us to think about how we might be able to nurture this next generation of new Indian nurses. If you are interested and able to become involved in the conference in any way, or if you are able to participate in sponsorship such as a booth, send me an e-mail at [email protected]. We will need all our hands to build the future of Indian nursing.

We have also been in communication with the C.J. SIDS Foundation and positioning NANAINA to collaborate with Sandra Haldane and the Indian Health Service if funds might become available to address SIDS education needs in our communities.

We wish to recognize Sandra Haldane who has become our first NANAINA lifetime member. She sets a beautiful example for us all to follow! Such commitment! My hope is that you will reach out to at least one more nurse and bring him or her into our circle.

We know that we face major health disparities. This winter we have been singing and dancing for many of our elders with cancer. We have been praying for our veterans and those fighting in this war. Diabetes still robs us of our relatives and we also face new threats such as bioterriosm. Our families still deal with domestic violence and depression; suicide robs us of our youth. These are some of the issues we will address in the upcoming Summit.

As care givers, we also face many personal challenges as we move forward with our work in communities, in research, and in teaching. Some of us have lost or changed jobs; some have lost loved ones and some have been battling personal illness or supporting families with illness this year. We need to support each other with that listening, caring ear and remember the words of our elders: "Good things are coming!" "Hope". We must carry the vision of the eagle and the patience of the turtle. The Good News is that we are making progress. Across this land there is new energy, new hope and new strategies. Come join us in Montana and hear the Good News and share yours!

Do-Na-Da-go-hv-I (‘Till we meet again).

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NANAINA Summit X - Sept. 16-19, 2004

Plan to join us at the 10th annual NANAINA conference on September 16-19, 2004 on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.

Watch for more information about the conference and how to register.


Conference Speakers Needed

Speakers for Breakout sessions are needed. If you are planning to attend the conference and would like to present, please e-mail June Strickland at [email protected] with the title of your presentation, your objectives, and a paragraph abstract no later than May 15, 2004. Please indicate the area in which you feel your presentation would best fit: Teaching, Research or Practice. Approximately 10 presentations of about 15-20 minutes will be selected.

NANAINA Officers Needed

NANAINA is seeking nominations for Secretary and Member-At-Large. These elected positions are two-year terms (2004 to 2006). To serve, one must be a member of NANAINA. To nominate someone for the NANAINA positions, please contact-

The Nominating Committee Chair: Roxanne Struthers
By Phone at 612-624-8637 or by
E-mail - [email protected].

Please provide the name of the nominated person and contact information


Oral and Poster Presentations for the NANAINA SUMMIT 2004.

The theme for the conference is "Eliminating Indian Health Disparities and Preparing for 2010: Building Partnerships in Teaching, Research and Practice."

Topics need to relate to American Indian/Alaska Native health and health care issues. Questions may be directed to Valerie Eschiti via email: [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2004.

Nurses and Nursing students are encouraged to participate. This year, there is special emphasis on student participation and involvement. As such, nursing students are encouraged to submit abstracts. There will be two abstracts selected for student oral presentations. There will be numerous poster presentation opportunities.

Abstracts are to be double-spaced and no longer than one typed page. Please use 12-point font. Be sure to include your name, address, phone, and email address. Indicate whether you are submitting an abstract for oral or poster presentation. If you are not chosen for an oral presentation, you may be given the opportunity to do a poster presentation instead. Posters will need to be three-sided, freestanding design, in order to be displayed on tables.

A suggested format for abstracts is as follows:
1. Goal of your work
2. Who is involved (participants in research or population of study)
3. Research method or approach
4. Implementation or activities
5. Results or findings
6. Nursing implications, particularly in relation to teaching, research, or practice

You will be notified via email if your abstract has been selected.

Please submit abstracts in a Word document via email to: [email protected].

You may also mail abstracts to:
Valerie Eschiti
230 W. California St.
Walters, OK 73572


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Resources/Opportunities:
Explore Nursing Opportunities in the “Great Land” and the Pacific Northwest! Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Statewide & Northwest Professional Recruiting, is seeking quality-minded, culturally sensitive nurses to fill positions at our tribally and federally managed sites. We have vacancies in acute and ambulatory care settings in both rural and urban communities.

Full-time health care employees are eligible to apply for student loan repayment through the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program.

We invite you to explore our web site to find out more: www.alaskanhealthjobs.org
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium 1-800-528-6680
4141 Ambassador Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508

Or Email at [email protected]

Native Nurses Career Opportunity Program (NNCOP)
The University of Minnesota announces a new scholarship program for American Indian nurses (RN) to obtain their masters in nursing degree (MS):

Application deadlines:
August 15 for spring semester
For more information, contact:
Native Nurses Career Opportunity Program-CAIRE
University of Minnesota - School of Nursing
6-101 Weaver-Densford Hall
308 Harvard S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-4644


Mott Community College

Nurse Instructor Opportunity
Deadline: 5/31/2004

Download more information now!

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SIDS Kit

CJ Foundation Offers SIDS Kits to Indian Health Organizations

CJ Foundation, the leading SIDS organization in the United States, was awarded a $100,000 matching grant from the DHHS to support the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among American Indians. American Indian organizations serving populations that suffer some of the highest SIDS rates in the country, joined forces with the Foundation to develop culturally appropriate educational materials; materials that teach mothers and other care givers measures they can take to reduce the risk of SIDS among their children.

The materials produced have been collected and incorporated into a Face Up to Wake Up™ SIDS Risk Reduction Resource Kit, created and distributed by the CJ Foundation for SIDS. 10,000 kits are being distributed free of charge to service providers, community health practitioners, and others. The kit includes:


A manual designed to not only assist the educator in both one-on-one and classroom instruction, but also to enhance the instructors’ current level of understanding regarding SIDS;


Two videos in both VHS and CD-ROM format to further assist the instructors;


A CD that contains posters, brochures and other educational materials ready to be printed.

This valuable resource, expected to be available mid May 2004, will be used to help reduce the incidence of SIDS within Indian Country.

For more information watch the CJ Foundation website www.cjsids.com or email [email protected]

Did you know: In the United States, the death of nearly 8 babies a day, every day, will be attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.


Sponsor of
Nursing Notes
Request for Contributions

We would like to continue to “spotlight” a NANAINA Nurse in future Nursing Notes and celebrate professional accomplishments. Please describe your story or another’s story.

Nursing Notes welcomes article submissions.

Please submit contributions by October 15, 2004, for the Fall 2004 issue to:
Debra Smith, Editor, as follows: [email protected] or
call: (218) 878-2104 (work); or (218) 878-2198 (fax).

Nursing Notes is made possible by the sponsorship of the
Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee
Cloquet, Minnesota

The Fond du Lac Reservation is one of six Chippewa Indian Reservations in the state of Minnesota organized as the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The Reservation lies in Northeastern Minnesota adjacent to the city of Cloquet, MN. approximately 20 miles west of Duluth, MN. The Fond du Lac Reservation, established by the LaPointe Treaty of 1854, is one of six Reservations inhabited by members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The Chippewa nation is the second largest ethnic group of Indians in the United States


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