Lecture Series
NACOE Lecture Series are offered in-person and through Zoom. Please register to receive a Zoom link and refer to this page for Zoom links.
The NACOE Lecture Series is geared toward Native American & Minority Health and will provide lectures to the local community health care professionals, general campus, pharmacy students, and the public. This lecture series will provide healthcare professionals in the community and pharmacy students the opportunity to learn more about the healthcare needs of minority groups in the United States. This lecture series will feature faculty and scholars from all over the country. Speakers will deliver lectures on a variety of topics relating to minority health and provide a question-and-answer session after each lecture.
Spring 2024 Lecture Series:
January 2024: the Indigenous Paradigm training session for the entire College of Health faculty and staff.
Trainers: Lona Running Wolf and Wendy Bremner
Lona Running Wolf
Lona Running Wolf was born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, where she lives and works and where her identity is rooted. She is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a descendant of the Blackfeet, Haida, Tlingit, and Gros Ventre Tribes. Lona has 7 children and 10 grandchildren. Lona has served in many capacities in education including a K-8 teacher, instructional coach, instructional leader, and curriculum development. She recently worked with districts across Montana in school improvement in her role at the Montana Office of Public Instruction. She is currently a faculty member at the University of Montana Western, assisting several tribal community college educator prep programs in curriculum development and alignment with a cultural and trauma foundation. Lona is also a principal owner of a Montana-based educational consulting firm and co-founder of a tribal non-profit organization. Lona and her husband
are cultural leaders in the cultural practices of the Blackfeet.
Lona has an Associate of Arts in Elementary Education from Blackfeet Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Salish Kootenai College, and a Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction- Triple Literacy from the University of Texas. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Montana Teaching and Learning Department.
Wendy Bremner
Wendy Bremner was born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, where she lives and works and where her self-identity is rooted. She is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a descendant of the Blackfeet, Haida, Tlingit, and Gros Ventre Tribes. Wendy is the mother of 6 and grandmother of 7. Since 2011, Wendy has worked as a victim specialist for the BIA Office of Justice Services National Victim Assistance Program, stationed on her home Reservation. Before that, she was the Chief Prosecutor of the Blackfeet Tribe for over 10 years. Wendy was appointed to serve on several national and state committees including the Operation Lady Justice Presidential Task Force on Murdered and Missing Indian Women, the U.S. Sentencing Commission Tribal Issues
Advisory Group, the Montana Native American Domestic Violence Fatality Review, and the Montana Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Teams. She is most passionate about serving in her own community as a part of the Blackfeet Healing to Wellness Program adult and juvenile teams.
As a grant writer, she has written for millions of dollars in grant funding that have served to fund programs in education, justice, and cultural healing. She received a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies in Sociology, Statistics, and Indian Law in 2010 and a B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Native American Studies in 2006 from the University of Montana; and is a proud graduate of
Blackfeet Community College and Browning High School.
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April 3rd, 2024, 12 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. in the Payne building, room 103:
Cultural Safety in Health Care Presentation
Speaker: Dr. Amy Stiffarm, Ph.D., MPH
Dr. Stiffarm is the Director of Native American at the Montana Coalition for the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. She is a member of the Aaniiih (white Clay) Tribe of the Fort Belknap Indian Community. She also is a descendant of the Chippewa Cree and Blackfeet Tribes of Montana. She received her Master of Public Health from the University of Montana. Amy earned a PhD in Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota in 2023. She specializes in Maternal Mental Health issues in American Indian communities. She is so excited and grateful to work with HMHB in supporting mothers, pregnant people, and babies across Montana.
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April 17th, 2024 12 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. in Skaggs room 117:
Indian Health Service Pharmacy Presentation
Speaker: Captain Damion Killsback, PharmD, MPH
Captain (CAPT) Damion Killsback, PharmD, MPH, is the Director of the Office of Tribal Affairs and Strategic Alliances (OTASA) with the CDC. In this role, he will continue the agency’s committed focus and supportive role working with American Indian/Alaska Native communities ensuring they receive public health services that keep them safe and healthy. Damion has over 20 years’ experience in clinical pharmacy, public health, and administration, and work dedicated to AI/AN healthcare, health policy, and public health issues. Most recently, Damion served as the Chief Executive Officer for the Northern Cheyenne Service Unit in the Indian Health Service. His previous leadership roles include the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) acting director for the Division of Policy and Data and the AI/AN Policy Lead. He later became the Senior Advisor for Tribal Affairs and lead of the Tribal Affairs Team. There, Damion helped establish the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity Tribal Advisory Committee and served as OMH’s Tribal Liaison on all Tribal Affairs activities including the HHS Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee, the Interdepartmental Council on Native American Affairs, and the Missing Murdered Indigenous Persons Work Group. Damion received his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Montana and his Masters in Public Health from American Public University in Charles Town, West Virginia. He makes his home near his Northern Cheyenne Community as a proud member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and a direct descendant of Chief Dull Knife. Damion is the oldest of six, and son of Jacqueline Limpy Tang. He is married to his beautiful wife and partner, Danelle Killsback, and they have four children: Daliyah (27), Konner (25), Kamden (10), and Hattie (8)
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Please look forward to our upcoming Lecture Series in the Fall of 2024.