AC21 - Practice Plenary - Beliefs About Children: An Old Practice Renewed, An Old Tradition Re-Established

Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD, a child psychologist by training, is a Presidential Professor who directs the Indian Country Child Trauma Center within the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Since 1994 she has directed Project Making Medicine, a clinical training program to training mental health providers in the treatment of child maltreatment using culturally based teachings. In 2020 she was awarded the National Suicide Prevention Resource Center, providing training and technical assistance throughout the country on suicide prevention efforts. With the establishment of the Indian Country Child Trauma Center in 2004, she was instrumental in the cultural adaptations of evidenced-based child treatment protocols. Under her guidance, four Evidenced Based Treatments were enhanced for American Indian and Alaska Native families in Indian Country, titled the Honoring Children Series. One of the four is Honoring Children - Mending the Circle, a cultural enhancement of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, for use with American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families. Dr. BigFoot has over 15 published articles and chapters, including serving as the lead author of the recent publication, "Adapting Evidence-Based Treatments for Use with American Indians and Native Alaskan Children and Youth." Dr. BigFoot has served as PI on sixteen federally funded projects. She currently serves on the federal Commission on Native Children, whose mission is to make recommendations to improve conditions affecting American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children and their families. Dr. BigFoot has over 30 years of experience and is knowledgeable about the concerns of implementation and adaptation of evidenced based practices being introduced into Indian Country. Dr. BigFoot is a member of the national TF-CBT Trainer Network. Dr. BigFoot is an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma with affiliation to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana where her children are enrolled members