>> My name's Lorelei DeCora, and I'm a registered nurse.
And I'm a tribal member from this reservation,
but I'm also the Director of the Native American
Diabetes Project. We're a smaller reservation in
size, but we're also a reservation that's heavily
involved with fighting a war to stop diabetes.
The National Diabetes Education Program is an
important initiative for Indian country because of the epidemic
we're currently in with diabetes.
>> She was one of our elders. This is Ellie Hunter Eagle here.
>> Here, 2 out of 3 adults over the age of 45 have already been
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. >> My name is Georgia Gomez.
I'm a Community Health Representative and emergency
medical technician with the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska.
I've seen too much of what diabetes does to our people.
The quilt is representing our ancestors that we lost.
Hopefully, it's a symbol. It can always be a reminder, but
it also sets a goal for what we want in the future for
our people -- we want to be diabetes-free.
>> This is the time that I'm going to tell you about myself,
and this time, I'm strong enough not to cry.
>> DeCora: I believe that the answer to this epidemic, this
diabetes epidemic, lies within our traditions and our culture.
And this is what I based the rationale and the framework from
which we've developed these diabetes Talking Circles.
>> Each one of us, in the Talking Circle, get to share our
feelings of how we feel about diabetes and what we can do to
help ourselves, help each other. >> What we learned about being
Native Americans, that gives us so much percent more a risk of
getting diabetes -- >> DeCora: Traditionally,
we learned orally, we are an oral people.
Our history is passed down orally, the way that we learned
things was done orally, and so a Talking Circle allows that
mechanism to continue, where you learn about what diabetes is,
its medications, how does it affect your body --
and, because of that, what you can do to prevent it.
And it's all done in an oral way.
Tribal Council took the leadership in our
diabetes prevention. That allows tribal employees
to work out three times a week to promote wellness amongst the
tribal employees, who are all, besides being tribal employees,
heads of their families, and community people.
>> I'm a member of the Winnebago Tribal Council here,
which is the governing body for the tribe.
And I come down here every day before I go to lunch.
The tribe allows people to exercise on company time,
as a means to both maintain patients with diabetes and also
to help prevent diabetes from occurring.
I think it's great. >> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
>> Relax! I think the best part of my job
is being able to see the kids really benefit from this.
When I see them come here, they're learning things,
they're being physically active, we're impacting their nutrition
and their physical lifestyle.
Typically, kids would go home,
they'd sit in front of the
television, they'd eat.
And now, they're coming here and
they get lots of activity and
they're learning a lot of
good things.
If they can prevent diabetes, and not get it, that's our goal.
>> DeCora: Diabetes has been devastating to our community.
We look back at the people we've lost and we don't forget them,
we remember them. In their memory, we're motivated
to build a world where that can be prevented.
>> [ Men drumming and chanting ]