ADA, Okla. – The Chickasaw Nation Define Your Direction (DYD) program strives to empower individuals of all ages to make positive choices for their futures, while taking a stance against opioid misuse. DYD is a movement of peers, parents, community leaders and educators to change the perception of opioid misuse in Oklahoma. The DYD Community Leaders Summit, conducted Tuesday, July 9, provided an open dialogue to community members and Chickasaw Nation personnel about possible solutions to substance misuse within the state of Oklahoma.
“Knowing that substance misuse is preventable, we're taking a proactive approach to addressing it early by engaging and educating our youth,” Chickasaw Nation Lt. Governor Chris Anoatubby said.
Keynote speaker Todd Crawford presented “The Impact of Opioids, Substance Misuse and Overdose in Southern Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation.” Crawford serves as Chickasaw Nation Under Secretary of Mental Health Services within the department of family services. He holds a master’s degree in psychological services from East Central University. A licensed professional counselor and a licensed alcohol and drug counselor in the state of Oklahoma, Crawford has more than 35 years of experience in the field of behavioral health treatments.
“We know that when substance misuse begins at an early age, a greater degree of impairment is seen in individuals as they grow older,” Crawford said.
Crawford’s keynote topic promoted the key role community connection and family fellowship play into the importance of preventing substance misuse in young adults.
“Frequent and intentional discussions with families, children and youth that target managing emotions and relationships are essential,” he said.
Crawford’s background of working with diverse populations includes children, adolescents, teens and families. Crawford provides leadership to mental health services and programs serving Chickasaw citizens and employees and ensures high quality operation and performance. He currently serves the Chickasaw Nation Department of Family Services safety and quality divisions, strong family development and integrated services, as well as the cultural engagement and specialty services programs.
Featured speaker Misty Boyd presented “Connection is Prevention.” Boyd is a clinical psychologist with a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. She serves as the senior public health psychologist within the Chickasaw Nation Division of Research and Public Health. Boyd has been providing innovative approaches to improve wellness in direct clinical care for more than 20 years.
Boyd’s presentation brought attention to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score. The assessment was designed by Dr. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda in the 1990s to measure a person’s exposure to adverse childhood experiences and how it correlated with negative health outcomes in adulthood.
“In a group of people with zero ACEs, there’s a relatively low occurrence or low risk for later health and social conditions,” Boyd said. “In a group of people with five or more ACEs, you see a much higher prevalence of health and social problems later.”
The presentation offered ways to engineer protective systems in everyday life to promote a safe, happy lifestyle. Examples of protective systems include healthy connections, individual capabilities and secure, thriving communities.
Boyd’s current work focuses on strengthening communities and the child-serving workforce to provide nurturing environments for children and families to thrive. She is passionate about bridging the best of psychological science, public health practice and cultural wisdom for the well-being of children and their families.
Define Your Direction has been implemented into school districts to serve and empower students to make constructive lifestyle choices. Bobby Saunkeah, director of the Chickasaw Nation Research and Public Health Division, led a community interview with faculty and students involved in the initiative.
Tishomingo High School teacher and DYD adviser Delaina Higgins said the program has financially supported many activities for students to enjoy. These activities include school dances, Red Ribbon Week campaigns and after-school sports tournaments. Teresia Jors, Stratford High School teacher and DYD community partner, said DYD staff has planned and funded after prom parties for students with safety and entertainment in mind for three years. In addition, DYD program supervisor Mindy Northcutt said DYD regularly hosts community movie nights in Stratford and Tishomingo to encourage community engagement and fellowship among families, friends and peers.
In 2023, Tishomingo and Stratford’s DYD advisory groups had more than 20 student members combined. DYD staff hope to build the program and encourage other schools within Chickasaw Nation treaty territory to create advisory groups.
Conference patrons received a blanket for attending the event. The blanket design weaved the DYD logo of two arrows pointing in opposite directions through the foundational Chickasaw story of the white dog that helped guide Chickasaws to their Homeland, Ofi’ Tohbi ishto’. The blanket symbolized a commitment to substance misuse prevention in the Chickasaw Nation while honoring Chickasaw culture. The conference concluded with a call to action for attendees to provide insight on how DYD staff can continue to help prevent substance misuse through a community assessment survey.
Get involved
DYD seeks to inspire teens and young adults to be leaders in their communities and live healthy, productive lifestyles. DYD brings people together by providing mentorship and assistance with plans and goals for communities to maintain a way of life free of prescription drug misuse. To learn more or become a DYD partner, visit
DefineYourDirection.com.