Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for Tribal Nations
Release Date: December 9, 2002
Release Number:
» 2002 Region VII News Releases
Members of five Midwest tribes came together in Sloan, Iowa, November 12-14, to participate in a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer course. CERT volunteers give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first-responder efforts. This initiative is a part of USA Freedom Corps and Citizen Corps.
Twenty-one people, members of five tribes-the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri, and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska-took part in drills that included assisting injured persons, light search and rescue and team operations, disaster first aid, small-fire suppression, and disaster preparedness. Training also addressed the psychology of disasters-dealing with the trauma of destructive events. The 20-hour course ended with a disaster simulation in which participants practiced the skills they had learned.
The Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition received a $38,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region VII to conduct the course with the Tribal Nations within the four-state region.
The Coalition then contracted with the University of Missouri (Columbia) Extension, Fire and Rescue Training Institute, to conduct the 20-hour course. Eric Evans, emergency management specialist from the University, supervised this "Train-the-Trainer" (TtT) session. Participants will now provide this training to others in their respective tribes. The Tribal Emergency Response Team members will then be integrated into the emergency response capability for the Tribe.
Region VII Tribal Nations unable to attend the November Tribal CERT TtT course will be able to participate in upcoming CERT TtT courses to be conducted in the Region. More information will be available after January 1. Contact Jane Young, jane.young@fema.gov.
For additional information:
Midwest tribes gain training on dealing with emergencies, Sioux City Journal, November 14, 2002
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Participants in the November 12-14 Train-the-Trainer course practice putting out a small fire using an extinguisher. |
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Curtis Simon (left), Kickapoo Fire Department, and Deborah Deragon, of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, practice emergency bandaging techniques. |
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Sandra Keo, Chairperson of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri, acts as the injured party in the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) held November 12-14 at the Winnevegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa. Instructor Mark Hasheider (left) and Melvin Lewis II, Potawatomi Tribal Emergency Services, demonstrate how to carry an injured person in a chair. |
Last Modified: Thursday, 28-Aug-2003 10:20:54