Rocky Boy Health Center Prevention Department Podcast Series

Curtis Monteau, Jr. is the Director of the Chippewa Cree Tribe Roads Department.  Curtis talks about the safety for people who use the roads in Rocky Boy, including the planned improvements, changes, and additions to the main pathways on Rocky Boy Reservation.

The Rocky Boy Health Center has collaborated with Duke University on the Camp Miomachiowin.  This is about the next camp in July 2026.

Today, RBHC PD talks with John Sunchild, Athletic Trainer. Across all levels of competition, sports teams are a huge asset to the community. Team athletics has benefits for people from all walks of life around the world: It’s a great way for people to get together, form strong bonds of friendship and teamwork, and enjoy healthy competition on the field, ice, or court. But to perform at their best — and to support safe, injury-free competition — athletes from students to pros need to be in the right physical condition and have access to immediate, expert care when needed. This is where an athletic trainer, or AT, comes in.

Athletic trainers are qualified professionals specializing in sports injury treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation. They are on hand to assist players with direct care following an injury and to support ongoing recovery and rehab as athletes return to sport. In addition, athletic trainers work to promote general wellness and healthy lifestyles for team members and deliver injury prevention programs that help athletes give it their all safely.

The Rocky Boy Health Center Prevention Department focuses on Prevention of Suicide, Prevention of Substance use, and Prevention of commercial tobacco use. This message highlights what we can do to stay connected during the Winter break.

Martha Hardwick, SLP, discusses Aphasia. Aphasia is a language disorder caused by brain damage that affects a person's ability to communicate by interfering with their speech, comprehension, reading, or writing. It can range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of the brain injury, and it affects a person's ability to find the right words, form sentences, or understand others.   Aphasia in Native American communities in "Indian Country" is influenced by factors like higher rates of conditions leading to brain injury, such as stroke, and a complex linguistic landscape that includes both declining indigenous languages and revitalization efforts. Due to a lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, there are significant challenges in identifying, assessing, and treating aphasia within these communities, which requires a "decolonizing" approach that acknowledges historical and cultural contexts. 

The Montana REACH Program encourages physical activity, healthy nutrition, and family wellness.  This helps to prevent chronic illness and promotes good health. REACH aims to improve health, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health disparities among our Tribal populations with the highest risk, or burden, of chronic disease. Such diseases include high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The program's goal is to make healthy eating and active living more accessible and affordable to priority populations.

The Chippewa Cree Tribe Planner, Neal Rosette, talks about the current situation with the Emergency Food Distribution for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients of Rocky Boy, Montana.

Today We talked about the metalinguistics and the processes that go along with that. Martha Hardwick, SLP, had discussed how language learning happens and the connections with cause and effect with stories.  Eagles, Bears, and other animals are talked about along with other animals and a narrative is created.

Meagan Geis shares on Occupational Therapy (OT) services available for the community in Rocky Boy.  Meagan discusses helping adults and youth improve their ability to perform everyday activities. 

This episode has 3 guests: Martha Hardwick, Speech-Language Pathologist; Jay Eagleman, Cree Language Expert, and Dr. Lanny Realbird, Plains Indian Sign Language Expert.