Bumper stickers part of tribal campaign to prevent drug use
By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff
LAME DEER -- "Banish meth." That and two other catchphrases are in black and white on the bumpers of vehicles driving around the Northern Cheyenne Reservation thanks to a new initiative to address the reservation -- and national -- drug problem.
Three bumper stickers have been circulated on the reservations in recent weeks. The about 3-inch-by-6-inch placards are available at offices throughout Lame Deer. They feature black writing on a white background.
A pile of "Dancing with meth is dancing with death" bumper stickers disappeared within an hour at the front office of Chief Dull Knife Community College on Wednesday. A skeleton with raised knee, as if it is dancing, hovers next to the phrase.
"It gives a strong statement that drugs are not accepted as a way of life for the Cheyenne people," said Holda Roundstone, who has a "Don't meth with me" bumper sticker on the rear of her maroon Buick.
The bumper stickers are one of the first community initiatives by the War on Meth community coalition established by Northern Cheyenne Tribal President Eugene Little Coyote.
The committee includes interdisciplinary representatives -- including Head Start, Tribal Health and law enforcement -- and has about 10 subcommittees. Little Coyote was not available for comment this week.
Retired police officer Homer Limpy fingered a batch of "Banish Meth" bumper stickers sitting in the tribal offices.
"This is definitely going to catch somebody's eye," Limpy said.
Methamphetamine is a community problem, not just a law enforcement or criminal justice issue, said Glenn Littlebird Sr., chief prosecutor for the tribe. Littlebird is a retired Bureau of Indian Affairs criminal investigator with 28 years in law enforcement.
"People in our community have to do their part," Littlebird said. "They have to report these activities."
Several groups have cooperated with funding for programs such as the bumper stickers, including $150,000 from the Tribal Health Board which will pay for activities the rest of this year, said Terry Beartusk, director of the Northern Cheyenne Recovery Center.
"This has really taken on a life of its own," Beartusk said.
The bumper stickers are the first step to get the community involved, Beartusk said. Eventually, the committee would like to offer an activity every week, mostly prevention work with youth.
The group also hopes to offer seminars and work with the legal staff to change language in tribal laws to "help enforce other kinds of consequences for meth use or abuse," Beartusk said.
Getting residents involved is the first step, he said.
"We don't want this to turn into another one of those initiatives that is given some cursory attention with a lot of good intent and then have nothing come of it," Beartusk said.
The committee is hosting a march and rally on May 12.
The march will start at 10 a.m. at the Indian Health Service clinic and continue to the tribal offices, Beartusk said. The rally at the offices will include information, testimonials and entertainment.
Published on Thursday, April 27, 2006. Last modified on 4/27/2006 at 8:39 pm
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Northern Cheyenne Tribal Educator
wrote on
April 28, 2006 12:54 AM As an educator on the reservation,I applaud these efforts and cannot stress enough how much they are needed. This drug is having far-reaching consequences throughout our community, and education and awareness-building are first steps. But I believe that a fundamental shift for adults to focus on the needs of youth and children needs to transpire. We need more activities for kids like sports, outings, and Scouting troops with parental support to be formed and carried by the community. I believe that the overall effects of television and video games has been insidious, with young children being allowed to see way too much sex and violence. Our children are our most precious gift, and THEY need to be our focus! Let's get back to the Cheyenne value of GIVING, not so much of objects, but of our TIME, ourSELVES, and most of all, our LOVE. We have a short window of opportunity during our children's youth to impact eternity.
Lame Deer Resident
wrote on
April 28, 2006 9:05 AM Are the feelings of hopelessness being changed to hopeful and optimism? I personally hope so; what a war to undertake. As warriors we need to band together, get to know and identify the enemy, draw out a strategic plan of war, and attack this enemy, and those who support it, relentlessly. Are we all willing to do this, because if we're not, this enemy will survive here among our children/people, just as it has for the past 20 years. We need all agencies to come together, we need our neighborhoods to support one another, and most of all, we need to protect our little ones. Are we all ready to commit to this war; pick up your lances and shields, it is a good day to die.
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