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Oklahoma Tribal Engagement Partners

About Us

Oklahoma Tribal Engagement Partners (OKTEP) partners with tribal nations, organizations and agencies to extend innovative nutrition and health programming to youth and families. OKTEP team members have more than 100 years of combined experience prioritizing health, integrity and local concerns when developing food and activity related programs to support health improvements.

In October of 2017, OKTEP became the fourth SNAP-Ed implementing agency in Oklahoma. The OKTEP team, formerly SHINE Partners in Indian Country, has developed award winning programs. The Eagle Adventure and Diabetes is Not Our Destiny programs are examples of approaches we have developed based on the insights of Oklahoma families to prevent type 2 diabetes among Native American families.

Program Excellence

OKTEP has received national and state recognition.

In 2024, OKTEP received funds from the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative to plan and lead the nutrition and health segment of the annual Native Youth in Food and Agriculture Leadership Summit held at the University of Arkansas. OKTEP team members are honored to have participated in some capacity since the summit’s inception in 2014. The goal is to help youth explore their nutrition and health interests and help them develop real-world solutions through a capstone project.

In 2023, OKTEP Eagle Adventure programming was featured as part of an article focusing on sustainability of Eagle Book messaging . Satterfield, D., DeBruyn, L., Lofton, T., Francis, C. D., Zoumenou, V., DeCora, L., & Wesner, C. (2023). “Make Stories That Will Always Be There”: Eagle Books’ Appeal, Sustainability, and Contributions to Public Health, 2006–2022. Preventing Chronic Disease, 20, E26.

In 2022, OKTEP and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe’s (AST) diabetes prevention and education departments applied for and received a Farm to School Turnkey Edible Garden Grant. The goal of this project was to encourage healthy eating habits and empower students to grow their own produce through nutrition, physical activity and gardening education. The program also aimed to encourage food sovereignty and uplift gardening as a traditional foodway.

In 2020, OKTEP was awarded the CDC Foundation grant to create “Coloring Books as a learning tool for Tribal Children and Youth”. The goal of this project was to develop age-appropriate materials to engage children ages 5-10 years and their caregivers in COVID mitigation strategies. The coloring book encourages children to become ‘change agents’ to protect themselves, their relatives, and their communities from COVID-19, just as their community protects them. Materials available here.

In 2019, OKTEP was selected to develop and deliver a nutrition paraprofessional training project for Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) staff working at local program sites. The training tools and resources developed support the efforts of FDPIR local staff in conducting nutrition education activities for FDPIR participants. The first training session was held in May 2022.

In 2017, OKTEP (formerly SHINE Partners in Indian Country at Oklahoma State University) led OSU to recognition as one of four member universities of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and was selected as national winner of the 2017 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award. The award recognized the team’s work as exemplary in demonstrating incorporation of learning, discovery and engagement processes.

In 2016, team members accepted the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Award. The award highlights the power and potential of community-campus partnerships successfully using systems and policy change for health improvements. The award recognized leaders who spearhead success in exemplary partnerships between communities and academic institutions.

In 2016, team members were among the first cohort of 40 selected to join Health Policy Research Scholars, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation led by The George Washington University and later Johns Hopkins University.

In 2014, the Eagle Adventure was featured in an NIH webinar Healing Our Community through Narrative: The Power of Storytelling. In this webinar, the Eagle Adventure program was highlighted in a presentation by Dawn Satterfield, PhD, RN, Native Diabetes Wellness Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Video available here.
In 2014, our processes for developing a social marketing campaign were included in a review of “Best practices in social marketing among Aboriginal people.” Ontario Health Promotion E-Bulletin, 19 September 2014 – OHPE Bulletin 858, Volume 2014, No. 858, available here. A research article expanded upon the review: Madill, Judith, et al. “Best practices in social marketing among Aboriginal people.” Journal of Social Marketing 4.2 (2014): 155-175.
In 2014, the team participated in a Let’s Move in Indian Country National webinar to share results and practices related to the Eagle Adventure school-based programming. View webinar here.
In 2012, Eagle Adventure received the Rodney L. Huey Champion of Oklahoma Health Award for contributions to the changing of statewide health and recognition for its unique and effective approach to improve Oklahoma health.
In 2009, the Southwest Regional U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program commended the Eagle Adventure program for its unique and innovative programming.

Diabetes is Not Our Destiny Cooking Demonstration recipe videos have been posted on the FDPIR Sharing Gallery here.

The team continues to develop impactful programs alongside tribal partners with new programs on the horizon. Native American parents and elders have shared a number of ideas for programs that will positively influence the health of families.

Building on Strengths

The OKTEP team has a demonstrated record in working with tribes to promote health. OKTEP contracts with tribes, agencies and organizations to provide technical assistance to support capacity building in coordinated public health approaches. Team strengths and experiences include the areas of qualitative and quantitative assessment strategies, health message development, curriculum development and design, tailored menu planning for low-income meal sites, tailored recipe development and analysis, strategic nutrition education program planning, cooking demonstration training, community and school garden planning and outcomes evaluation. OKTEP is committed to tailoring technical assistance plans based on interests, concerns and assets of our partners.

Delineating reasons for differences in chronic disease rates among limited resource populations is critical to the improved health and well-being of Oklahoma’s population. Our team is currently focused on supporting the nutrition interests of Native American families and aims to co-develop, implement and evaluate strategies for communicating nutrition and health information based on local knowledge.

The approach to programming is “living” in that programs are expanded and revised based on information gained from multi-level evaluation strategies. Focused efforts based on input from teachers, parents and tribal nations are jointly developed to improve educational processes and extend programming to address policy, systems and environmental changes identified as feasible in various settings.

A collaborative approach is necessary to bring about a unity of knowledge to support holistic coordinated and public health approaches. Our team members are trained in, draw from and collaborate with a variety of disciplines including but not limited to anthropology, agriculture, communications, dietetics, human environmental sciences, international health, kinesiology, marketing, nursing, nutritional sciences and public health.

Autumn Only A Cheif
Autumn Only A Chief
Pawnee

The kids choose a vegetable or a fruit from the garden, and I describe the health benefits of each one. It’s a very educational and health promoting activity and the students retain information from the lessons well.
Listening to Dr. Parker speak to the teachers and hearing their ideas about how to create a healthier community is really inspiring.”

Keenan Springer
Keenan Springer
Comanche

I’d like to work in a Native American community where educated minds are needed to make a difference so I can give back to my culture.
My future plans became more solidified after working in the Eagle Adventure program because I got to see the impact the program has on a community. It opened my eyes to the possibility of things I could do in the future.

Student Projects

Students can participate in a variety of OKTEP activities ranging from data entry and analysis to preparation and organization of community events such as health fairs and fun runs. Students learn reciprocity in community-based research and understand meaningful relationships with communities are necessary to promote responsible, community-centered partnerships. They learn that showing up and participating at community events is important to demonstrate shared interest and commitment to community health. A number of students have worked with the OKTEP team over the years. If you are a student interested in an internship or apprenticeship, contact a team member for more information.