Peoria Tribe COSSAP Grant

The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (Peoria Tribe) a federally recognized tribe located in Ottawa County, Oklahoma.  This county and the surrounding areas are of low socioeconomic statues along with high levels of intergenerational trauma.  Adverse childhood experiences related to generational trauma cause an increase in health disparities and an increase in substance abuse risk factors.  The increased risk for these areas results in high-level opioid and stimulant misuse. The Peoria Tribe will partner with the Miami Police Department to bring the Advanced SRO (School Resource Officer) program into Miami Public Schools.  Together the Peoria Tribe and Miami Police Department will build a comprehensive program and have a daily presence with the youth to mitigate issues within our schools and our community.  Together we will do community outreach to bridge the gap with the men and women in blue and our local communities.  This program is designed to bring officers into the schools to become role models and to have a constant presence and give the youth a chance to reach out and make the officer human in their eyes.  It is our goal to reach as many people as we can during the three years and beyond.  In our proposed project we will be able to provide equipment to help aid the police force with the tools needed to prevent substance abuse.   Creating a need for prevention and process to create relations between the youth and Law Enforcement.  The Peoria Tribe has recently implemented a learning center and the Tribe will add the Healing of the Canoe program which is a culturally grounded life skills curriculum for youth that uses culture to prevent substance abuse and connect youth to their community culture.  The Tribe believes it is responsible for reaching youth prior to substance abuse issues.