Kick Butts Day Continues Despite Challenging Weather

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Kick Butts Day Continues Despite Challenging Weather

Osage Nation prevention programs keep up efforts to educate despite tornadoes and rain

By ON Communications

PAWHUSKA, Okla. (March 26, 2015)— The 20th Annual Kick Butts Day was March 18. It is a national day of activism addressing the issue of stopping big tobacco companies from targeting children as young as two years old as potential replacement customers. Osage Nation Communities of Excellence and Native American M-Power in Pawhuska provide this message every year and this year they still delivered their message despite Oklahoma’s signature thunderstorms and tornados.

Native American M-Power

“It started to rain so we decided to take our message to everyone wherever they were…we weren’t going to let the rain stop us,” said Timber White, M-Power project specialist, who walked to local businesses and Osage Nation program offices to talk to people about quitting tobacco and protecting children from being big tobacco targets. Originally an outdoor walk was planned for March 18 but had to be rescheduled for the following week when it started to rain.

While delivering their message White and M-Power coordinator, Mary Bighorse, had the opportunity to listen to other people’s stories about quitting or about having a loved one who suffered from tobacco addiction.

“There were so many people who wanted to tell us about why they quit or why they don’t smoke or have never smoked,” said White about turning the rainy day into an opportunity to spread their message.

Both ladies had the opportunity to visit with the Osage Nation Principal Chief and Assistant Principal Chief. Both chiefs shared their stories with White and Bighorse.

“When your leadership takes steps towards a healthier lifestyle it will encourage others. The Chief has been smoke free for five years and the Assistant Chief said he hasn’t smoked for ten years after losing his first wife to lung cancer,” said Bighorse. “Those are both very powerful messages and when it comes from your leaders it leaves an impression.”

Native American M-Power, funded by the Oklahoma State Health Department, offers tobacco consulting and prevention services to Native American communities. White and Bighorse work from Pawhuska and provide services to seven area tribes.

Communities of Excellence

Communities of Excellence in Pawhuska helped deliver the Kick Butts message too. The program is funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, and provides the same tobacco prevention message along with healthy lifestyle choices such as healthier diets and more exercise.

On the rescheduled Kick Butts day, March 25, tornado warnings didn't stop both programs from taking their message to Pawhuska Main Street and encouraging mid-day traffic and more than forty healthy walk participants to, “stand up, speak out, and seize their power over big tobacco,” according to Electa Red Corn, Communities of Excellence program coordinator.

“[Kick Butts Day] is about more than just saying, ‘don’t smoke.’ It’s about understanding that there’s a lot of planning and researching by big tobacco companies to get people hooked on tobacco,” she said.

On March 11, Red Corn visited Hominy Public Schools in Hominy, Okla., where she and high school students picked up cigarette butts in downtown Hominy.

“In about fifteen minutes we had overflowed a fish bowl with cigarette butts and the kids also found a used syringe and pipe for smoking marijuana,” said Red Corn. The fish bowl was presented to Hominy City Council as a visual of how the city’s downtown was littered with cigarette butts. Red Corn hopes the city will pass an ordinance making city property tobacco free. She said the council is planning on starting prevention efforts by making all city parks tobacco free.

Tobacco Facts

Total annual public and private healthcare expenditures caused by smoking - $170 billion

Annual tobacco industry spending on marketing its product nationwide - $8.8 billion

People who die each year from their own cigarette smoking – 480,000

Kids alive today who will die from smoking unless smoking rates decline – 5.6 million

People in the U.S. who suffer from smoking caused illness – 16 million

Source: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund

For information about quitting smoking call 1-800-Quit-Now. For more information about Kick Butts Day visit their website at kickbuttsday.org.

For more information about Osage Nation Communities of Excellence call 918-287-5267 or visit their webpage at osagenation-nsn.gov.

For more information about Native American M-Power call 918-287-5595 or visit their webpage at osagenation-nsn.gov.

For Media Inquiries:

Osage Nation Communications

918-287-5599