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Tribal populations experience a greater risk for traffic injuries than other populations. Statistics from the CDC show that tribal populations in North Dakota have a substantially higher mortality rate from traffic injuries than other residents in the state for the teen to 44-year-old age group.
The Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota recently enacted a primary seat belt law to try to improve public safety on its roads. The law became effective in January 2016. An early-intervention seat belt observation survey was conducted in December 2015 with a post-intervention survey scheduled for March 2016. A second post-intervention survey was conducted in June of 2017. Ten sites were early-selected to encompass the overall area, and included two town and eight rural highway locations.
The full brief, including results and conclusion can be found here.
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 NTICC Call for Presentations
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The 2018 National Transportation in Indian Country Conference Planning Committee is seeking dynamic, engaging, and knowledgeable presenters for the 2018 NTICC. The conference will be held in Duluth, MN, Sept. 17-20, 2018.
All details and presentation requirements can be found at the Call for Presentation link at: https://www.nticc.org/call-for-presentation.
Deadline to submit presentation proposal (via link ONLY) is March 1, 2018. Selected presentations will be announced in early April.
Please visit the newly renovated website for additional event details.
In addition to the call for presentations, I am happy to announce that I will be representing UGPTI/NDSU and our tribal outreach effort on the 2018 National Transportation in Indian Country Conference (NTICC) planning committee! In this role, I will assist with reviewing submissions from potential presenters and participate in other planning activities. Please contact me with any suggestions about what you'd like to see and hear, and with any ideas for potential changes to the format. I'm excited to be part of the team and look forward to serving you.
Please email me your suggestions and content requests. Note that suggestions/requests will be reviewed and forwarded to the committee, but that does not guarantee confirmation of any kind.
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UGPTI has set aside funds to offer a scholarship to a Native American college student pursuing a degree in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, or agricultural and applied economics. The $1,500.00 scholarship is funded through the Mountain-Plains Consortium and is intended to encourage tribal students to enter transportation-related fields.
Applications for this scholarship will be released in January-February 2018 and can be used at North Dakota State University (NDSU) beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. |
| Take-aways from 2017 |
| 2017 was our first full calendar year of having a dedicated outreach program serving our tribal communities. We conducted site visits and worked to create a positive rapport with tribal representatives. We've made progress in the way of generating awareness and opportunities to enhance transportation safety within tribal communities. Here a some of the talking points from 2017:
- Presented at tribal transportation workshops in SD, ND, AZ and MN.
- Developed a Tribal Transportation Task Force (TTTF) that is comprised of a variety of state, local, federal, academic, non-profit and individual representatives interested in improving transportation safety in Indian country.
- In the process of creating a focus group that will continue to develop a proposed traffic safety program (to reduce Native American traffic fatalities) and propose legislation for state-wide support in 2019.
- Alive @ 25 certification via North Dakota Safety Council - this allows UGPTI to provide training to tribal communities.
- Developed a tribal transportation technical assistance effort that will include free web-based programs and software to enhance road inventory tracking and maintenance efforts.
- Collaborated on training opportunities from within the UGPTI umbrella (TLN, LTAP, etc.).
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| Goals & Opportunities for 2018 |
With a full calendar year under our belt, we thought it best to choose projects for the coming year, judiciously, so that we can serve our tribal partners most effectively.
As we have tried to find a purposeful path, a focus has developed on bringing awareness to traffic safety issues and improvements for tribal communities. With that in mind we've established specific goals for 2018:
- Continue developing and advancing a tribal traffic safety program (similar to Montana's SOAR program). We have an outline and timeline for implementation in place.
- Increase site visits/community forums to hear from tribal communities and discuss ways to reduce Native American traffic fatalities.
- Offer Alive @ 25 (North Dakota Safety Council) training exclusively to tribal communities.
- Offer car seat checks and training presentations to tribal communities. The outreach coordinator will be a certified Child Passenger Safety Tech by February.
- Apply for grant funding to implement a Bike & Pedestrian Safety Initiative within tribal communities. This would be a collaborative effort with University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
- Attend and present at more tribal transportation events and workshops.
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About Us
Mission:
The UGPTI's Tribal Outreach effort improves safe transportation of people and goods on tribal reservations to enhance livability, community and cultural values through increased accessibility to employment, workforce development opportunities, education, healthcare and housing.
Vision:
The Tribal Outreach effort will be a leader in facilitating improvements in tribal transportation to enhance livability, community and cultural values for reservation residents.
Currently, the effort offers outreach in:
- funding opportunities
- grant writing assistance
- training (workforce development, youth, education, technology)
- program/resource assistance
- partnership/collaborative opportunities
- outreach task force
- monthly newsletter
Other resources and services will be offered as they become available. Please visit us on the web to
apply for assistance.
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North Dakota State University does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender expression/identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, public assistance status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a U.S. veteran. Direct inquiries to: Vice Provost for Faculty and Equity, Old Main 201, 701-231-7708 or Title IX/ADA Coordinator, Old Main 102, 701-231-6409.
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