Native Tribes Forming Brain Injury Support Groups

By Becky Shay
Billings Gazette
February 07, 2007

Two brain injury support groups are forming on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations.

The group facilitators are Quintin Kingfisher in Lame Deer and Dean Bird in Crow Agency.

Both men said they have personal experiences with brain-injured loved ones and hope to help fill voids by having support groups in their communities.

The groups are open to those with injuries, their families, their friends and other caregivers, as well as service providers.

"It's mainly about resources," Bird said. "Where to get help and to help themselves, whether it is long-term or immediate."

Kingfisher said the group aims to provide a trusting and confidential atmosphere to talk.

"It will give people a chance to come and participate," Kingfisher said. "It will give them a platform to be able to share whatever they want to share."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers traumatic brain injury a serious public health problem for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Both ethnic groups have more deaths and larger hospitalization rates for traumatic brain injury than any other race, according to the CDC.

Montana ranks second in the nation in the number of traumatic brain injuries per capita, with motor vehicle wrecks the leading cause of the injuries, according to the CDC.

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