Washington, D.C. attorney Dan Press (front right) responded like so many of us when he learned about the ACE Study—the findings resonated deeply with him, seemed to explain the inexplicable, and propelled him to dig deeper. For decades he has represented Indian tribes and was teaching a course on Indian education at Columbia University when his wife shared an article on the study she found in an AARP publication. The study seemed to explain the underpinnings of so many prevalent problems in Indian country—alcoholism, broken homes, sexual abuse and shortened life.
When he set out to learn more, he found a “gold mine” in the sites ACEs Too High and ACEs Connection, but “there was nothing about Indians.” So he posed a question on ACEs Connection asking for information on ACEs and Native Americans and member Patrick Anderson from Anchorage, Alaska answered (in the photo, above, Anderson sits to Press' right). It turns out that the two men’s paths had crossed earlier through their involvement on a board of an Alaskan organization and it just happened that Anderson was visiting Washington, D.C., when Press reached out to him. Press and Anderson met for coffee and they’ve stayed in touch ever since.
They are joining forces in a variety of ways—Anderson taught a class on ACEs last spring at Columbia University for Press and participated in a November 20 Roundtable on Traumatic Stress in Native American communities that Press organized with Dr. Tami DeCoteau, a psychologist from Bismarck, ND.
Anderson had brought Dr. Vincent Felitti, the co-principal investigator of the ACE Study, to Alaska several years ago -- along with Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Dee Subia Bigfoot and Dr. Eduardo Duran -- in hopes of sparking interest in how the study’s finding relate to the seemingly intractable problems in Indian communities. Subsequently, the ACE Study's other co-founder, Dr. Robert Anda trained, with Laura Porter, a small cadre of community advocates to educate people about ACEs. But there still needs to be more penetration of ACEs concepts in Alaska, according to Press.
One of the outcomes of the Nov. 20 Roundtable is the formation of the Native Americans group on ACEs Connection. Participants in the Roundtable are being recruited to join the group to form the core that will establish goals and undertake the work. The group is also open to others with an interest in Native American issues. Press is working with Roundtable participants to establish several committees to deal with specific topics such as legislation, workforce, pilots, and best practices. The ACEs Connection group will be one vehicle for the committees to do their work in advance of another face-to-face meeting in the spring.
While much work is ahead, the Native Americans group on ACEs Connection helps to create a vital connection among advocates.
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