FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas has assembled a distinguished team of rehabilitation professionals to address the human service outreach needs of indigenous peoples who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind, particularly within state vocational rehabilitation systems.

This one-year project is coordinated by Katrina Miller, assistant professor with the UA Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and is funded by a grant from the National Institute for Disability Rehabilitation Research.

Current research shows that American Indians and Alaska Natives receive less rehabilitative service than other groups, despite having a higher rate of disability, and the UA study is designed to improve services for native peoples who are deaf or hard or hearing. At completion of the study, training materials will be developed and disseminated to encourage collaboration between programs serving American Indians and Alaska Natives on a national level.

"The Prime Study Team has attracted some of the most respected human services and vocational rehabilitation professionals who specialize in services for Native Americans," Miller said. "These are individuals who understand Native American cultures and the importance of designing programs that address both specific cultures and the multiculturalism of American Indians and Alaska Natives."

The team, composed of human services and vocational rehabilitation professionals from across the nation, includes Dr. Howard Busby, Gallaudet University; Alan Cartwright, Arc of Anchorage Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center; Linda Carroll, Southwest Multicultural Interpreting Service of New Mexico; Dan LaBrosse, Alaska Department of Vocational Rehabilitation; Damara Goff Paris, President, Intertribal Deaf Council; and Judy Stout, Laurent Clerc Center, Washington, DC. These individuals are representative of Eastern Band Cherokee, Cherokee Nation, Blackfoot, Mississippi Choctaw, and Lumbee deaf communities, as well as states’ vocational rehabilitation agencies.

Preliminary findings of the team will be made available for public comment online in the coming months. Interested parties will also have the opportunity to provide feedback during a workshop at the Western Symposium on Rehabilitation and Deafness to be held in April in Seattle.

During the inaugural meeting of the team in January, five members were honored at a reception and book signing hosted by the UA Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. All were contributing authors to the recently published anthology, Step into the Circle: The Heartbeat of American Indian, Alaska Native, and First Nations Deaf Communities. The anthology, which contains biographies, folklore, art, poetry and multicultural curriculum materials for elementary through high school teachers, is the first collective effort to preserve in writing the culture and perspectives of indigenous peoples who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind in the United States.

Over 100 guests attended the reception and were treated to a storytelling session in American Sign Language by the authors. Sponsors included Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the University of Arkansas Little Rock Southern Outreach and Technical Assistance Center, and AGO Publications of Salem, Oregon.

For more information about the study and opportunities for public comment, contact Katrina Miller at 501-585-9691 or krmille@uark.edu.