FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska- A $1.2 million collaborative project with a group of Alaska Natives from across the state will help UAF researchers chart effective alcohol abuse prevention strategies among at-risk populations.

Funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction, a division of the National Institutes of Health, the three-year investigative effort at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is named the "People Awakening Project."

The grant is the largest ever for the school's psychology department and the first-ever grant of its kind in the social sciences from NIH to UAF.

"Most research about alcohol use and abuse among Alaska Natives has focused on finding out why people drink and abuse alcohol," said Gerald Mohatt, project coordinator and head of UAF's psychology department. "Little work has been done to try to figure out how people stay sober, why they never develop a drinking problem, and how they recover from a drinking problem if they have had one."

Mohatt teamed up with three other UAF faculty who will serve as collaborating investigators- associate psychology professor Kelly Hazel, community psychology program director Jim Allen, and psychology professor emeritus Charles Geist.

But the heart of the project lies in the partnerships UAF is developing with individuals who have a long history of working to prevent and treat alcoholism.

Community members Robert Charlie, Sam Diementiff, Valerie Naquin, Cookie Rose, David Sam, Doreen Simmonds, and Mary Stachelrodt helped conceive and develop the project, and will continue to work with UAF researchers.

During the first phase, the People Awakening Project team will seek a minimum of 120 nominees from statewide indigenous groups that exemplify a strong and healthy life that is free from alcohol. From this group, 36 nominees will be chosen that represent each of the state's major tribal groups- Athabascan, Inupiaq, Tlingit-Haida, Aleut and Yup'ik.

Each nominee will be asked to participate in a life history interview with UAF researchers addressing a variety of sobriety issues, ranging from the individual experiences that have helped or hindered their ability to cope with alcohol to the cultural and spiritual factors that have been important in their sobriety.

During the second phase of the project, the team will develop methods of measuring the strengths and resilience factors that protect people from drinking problems or help with recovery.

Although the project's first phase will draw information from Alaska Native communities statewide, the second phase is planned to take place in the Yukon-Kuskokwim and Bristol Bay regions, home to Alaska's largest Native population, the Yup'ik people.

The most important asset to this research, according to Mohatt, is that it will identify the life pathways and strengths of Alaska Natives who lead healthy lifestyles. Results will be shared with local boards, villages and alcohol counseling and abuse prevention programs. The information will help planners build into current and future programs additional strategies to protect individuals from developing alcohol problems and remain sober.

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