b'families and communities [and] these are the To help Tribal communities in having this returnteachings they will learn to carry on their recognized by Western entities that Tribaltraditions with pride. [The] reward stays with communities may rely for funding and support,them for life, [as they] dont just come out with Caroline has dedicated herself to building anda drum. Caroline explained that it has been sharing templates and adaptable strategies.important for her to enter academic spaces that She hopes that these templates, many of whichvalue evidence-based practices equipped with are included in the pages that follow thisthe language of protective factors, risk article, will serve as tools, a foundation, thefactors, research and evaluation, and the basic recipe, through which Tribal communitiesability to show the relative effectiveness of such can build on the sustainable practices that theirTribal-based, community-oriented, preventative communities have used for countlesspractices as compared to Western interventions.generations. The return to baby boards as a preventativepractice in Warm Springs and implementation ofdrum making in Burns Paiute were only two ofmany examples of successful Tribal-basedprogramming that Caroline has helped toimplement.The through line in all of theseexamples is the intentionality behind their why.When asked what advice she would give toprograms aiming to successfully implementculturally relevant, Tribal-Based practices,Caroline immediately said that communitiesneed to connect to their why. If [we] cantconnect the practice with the why, it just Photo sourced from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Website.becomes a practice like anything else and itdoesnt make a difference if youre usingevidence-based practices or Tribal-based Thank you to Caroline M. Cruz forpractices. Continuing with the metaphor of your time, your willingness to sharefeeding ones community, Caroline noted that your story, and your commitment towe need to make sure not to look at Tribal- serving not only your own community,based practices as a menu, a collection of but all Tribal communities who willalternative practices from which we pick andchoose. Rather, Caroline offered, it is a benefit from your work, passion, andlifestyle, its a way of balance, its a way of life, expertise. We are deeply gratefulits a way of teaching, its a way of turning and honored to share thesepeople back to individual responsibilityby templates on your behalf! returning to [our] biggest protective factors.8'