Piñon youths start dialogue on teen drinking

PIÑON, Ariz., March 13, 2008

These kids haven't promised to stop drinking, though that's certainly one of their goals. They have promised to start talking about it, and they want you to do the same in your community.

Meet the BATS: Tyson Tsosie, Amanda Daw, Shondin Yazzie and Bobby Gray.

We'll explain the name later, but for now all you need to know is these four Pinon High students were selected by the Navajo County Coalition Against Drug Abuse to study underage drinking in their community and share their findings with anyone who wants to learn more about the problem.

The four weren't picked for their GPAs, or their athleticism, or because they're on student council. This program wanted youth who openly admit to drinking alcohol.

"We know what it's like out there," said Yazzie, noting that she and the others were approached by the school's librarian, Anne Cambridge, who is acting as their adviser for the program.

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Their task under the Alcohol Retail Mapping in Proximity to Youth project was to map sellers of alcohol within a half-mile radius of youth hangouts like schools, churches, public housing and sports facilities.

If you're a parent, what they found may shock you. Or not.

The problem with Pi–on, the kids agree, is it's pretty hard to shock anybody when it comes to alcohol.

"Everybody drinks," said Tsosie. "Everybody. If you did a survey of this school, 100 percent of the kids would have at least had one drink."

"If you grew up here," added Gray, "you walk by the drunks to get into Basha's and you don't even notice them. It's not until a tourist comes by and says something that you realize, 'This isn't normal.'"

"Alcohol," stated Daw, "is part of our lifestyle."

Pi–on was the only reservation community selected for the study, but when comparing notes with teens from the other high schools - Mogollon, Blue Ridge and Snowflake - at a retreat for participants Saturday, the Diné youth found that living on a supposedly "dry" reservation didn't protect them at all.

In the other Arizona communities, young drinkers at least had to contend with cranky convenience store owners who card.

"In Pi–on, a 2-year-old could buy alcohol," asserted Gray.

The Pi–on team's research turned up more than 40 bootleggers in Pi–on Chapter, 16 of which are located a short walk from youth attractions.

After doing the research, Tsosie is convinced the problem is one of economics.

"In a place where unemployment is so high, bootlegging is a job," he said. "It's a job you can get without a college degree or even a diploma."

And, added Gray, it's good money.

"You look at the bootleggers' houses, they have six or seven vehicles parked there," he said.

Don't they ever get caught?

"Our nearest police station is Chinle," noted Daw. "If you call the police, it takes them an hour to get here."

By then, she said, someone has alerted the bootlegger and he's packed everything up.

"They do get caught sometimes," Gray said. "They serve their time and they're back out on the street the next day."

With the supply side sewed up, the teens are convinced the best solution to underage drinking is to lower the demand.

"We just have to learn to say no," said Yazzie. "It's hard, when your friends offer it to you."

The teens already know that preaching to their buddies doesn't work, especially in the middle of a roaring party.

"I think the best approach is to be a role model," Yazzie said. "We're partiers, so if the other kids see us having fun without alcohol, maybe they'll join us."

Gray said he plans to bring a six-pack of pop to the next party instead of booze and see how people react.

"We started drinking for the experience," said Tsosie. "We can stop for the same reason."

The students plan to get on the agenda for the next school board meeting and share their research findings, but they'd like to do more.

"If people help us out with gas, we're willing to travel anywhere on the rez and make our presentation," Gray said. "We don't have a solution to the problem, but I think awareness is the first step."

They've also formed a club, BATS, to continue the dialogue on teen drinking. Their first project will be to follow one of the alcoholics outside Basha's - the ones nobody looks at - around for the day and videotape his life.

"We want to know what they eat, where they sleep, how they get money, where they buy their liquor," said Daw. "Maybe when people see that lifestyle, they'll make different choices."

They'd also like BATS to be a lot bigger than four people.

"We need more people," Yazzie said. "Anyone can join, not just kids. We'd like to get parents involved too."

The only problem with more people joining is they'll have to shed their cool acronym. "BATS" stands for Bobby, Amanda, Tyson and Shondin.

To contact the BATS, call their advisor, Anne Cambridge, at 928-725-2404.