The Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition sponsored another Suicide Prevention Conference in Alaska's Capitol City. [LINK HERE] I spoke at one of the first conferences years ago. I was fortunate to attend part of last year's conference. I like to see what progress is being made in disseminating information about the ACE Study.
This particular conference looked like it might have some reach because a prominent Alaska Native Politician came out and spoke about the trauma his family experienced historically, and how it affected them. Lt. Governor Byron Mallott stated "'My mother — a full-blooded Tlingit lady — her entire experience of life was that of adversity. Her mother was born, and living at the time that missionaries came to our community and changed our world forever,' he said to an audience of more than 200 people at the Egan Library Thursday morning." He stated later in his comments that "'I live with rage inside me every single day,' Mallott said. 'Every single day I work to channel it into something positive, to reach out and build another relationship, to learn something of another, to make a connection that maybe is worth something.'” I know something of Lt. Governor Mallott's family. He is my maternal Uncle, brother to my late mother. Gramma was the only grandmother I knew because my maternal grandmother died at the young age of 34, leaving 6 children behind.
I made my story known in 2006 at a child care conference. As Lt. Governor Mallott did, I made it clear that our parenting and grand parenting generations are not to blame for what happened to us. My story was recorded and transcribed by my friend, Dr. George Charles, in 2007. [LINK HERE]. The focus of this story was my belief in restoring fathers to families as a component of healing. I learned about the ACE Study a year later, and integrated its findings into my approach.
Lt. Governor Mallott and Governor Walker met with Dr. Vincent Felitti during his trip to Juneau earlier this year. We were working on a House Concurrent Resolution that would help the state recognize ACE's in developing policy. I am hopeful that Lt. Governor Mallott's acknowledgement of our own family trauma will encourage his and the Governor's support for the legislation we hope to introduce next year. Bravo to my Uncle for contributing to the discussion.
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