Safe Communities of North Dakota

 
Explore SafeCommunities.org:

Free Safe Communities Newsletter
Stay informed on the latest Safe Communities news and resources through our free e-newsletter, Perceptions.

Click here to subscribe!
Partner Sites:

North Dakota
Motorcycle Safety Program

North Dakota
Department of Transportation
Fast Facts

BAL of .40 and above can result in alcohol-induced coma and possible death.

More Fast Facts...

Profile on Colleen Hokanson

Posted: Mar 27, 2003

Printer-friendly version | bookmark this page | discuss this article in the forums |

Colleen Hokanson is a single mother with “three really great children” that she enjoys spending time with. Her oldest child and only daughter, Lacey, is a junior at Minot State University and scheduled to graduate in May of 2004 with degrees in Finance and Accounting. Levi, her oldest son, will graduate from Trenton High School this May. Colleen’s youngest child, Logan, is a seventh grader at Trenton Middle School and expects to graduate from high school in 2008.

Colleen graduated from Trenton High School as an Honor Student in 1981, and attended UND-Williston. In her free time she enjoys rodeos, football, basketball, yard work and crafts. Her dreams include traveling to Australia and Italy, and raising "three happy, healthy, God-loving, well-educated, well-rounded children with a passion for life and compassion for their fellow mankind." Their household mottos are:

  1. "Always treat others the way you want them to treat you."
  2. "Never pass up an adventure (live life, don't just exist)."


Colleen has been the full-time Injury Prevention Program Coordinator since March 9, 1999, under a Federally-funded competitive grant governed by the Indian Health Service in Aberdeen, South Dakota. As a part of these duties, Colleen monitors traffic safety as a part-time Safe Communities coordinator under a grant funded by the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

When this position became available, Colleen was working at the Family Crisis Shelter in Williston, North Dakota. She decided to pursue this job, as she felt it was "an advancement in the field of work I had a great passion for (helping to make peoples lives better)." Colleen lists several perks of the job:
  1. This job allows me to contribute to the improvement and enhancement of the Trenton Indian Service Area and the great people it serves.
  2. This job provides travel; I love to fly - I find "big" cities fun and exciting and full of adventure (remember the second household motto: "never pass up an adventure").
  3. This job has a short commute - it's about one mile from home.
  4. This job provides wonderful people to work with here at TISA, IHS, at DLN Consulting, Inc., and the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
And lists several challenges of the job:
  1. There is an endless amount of paperwork.
  2. There are always "New" and "Fresh" ideas to study and learn for repetitive activities and campaigns.
  3. The injury data collection system needs some minor adjustments.


Colleen is a continuing reliable source of Indian history and theory, and has provided the following as it relates to her culture, social order, and governing body:

Brief history of the Trenton Indian Service Area (T.I.S.A.)
(and "why" we are not considered a reservation)

TISA was originally created as a result of the decrease in size of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation located in Rollette County, North Dakota, some 250 miles away. The Indian Allotment Act of 1904 was set in place to alleviate the land base problem the Tribe was facing, and allotted public domain lands of 160 acres to tribal members willing to relocate to western North Dakota and Eastern Montana. Many members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa subsequently relocated to TISA. Ordinance #28 created by the Turtle Mountain Tribal Council on March 25, 1975, gave TISA power to act in whatever legal manner necessary to advance the socio-economic conditions of the Indian population living within the TISA boundary. Consequently, TISA constitutes an organization of Indians with powers of self-governance to act on behalf of the tribal members living within it's boundaries and who are eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States because of their status as Indians. TISA is presently governed by an elected seven member Board of Directors.
(excerpt from the "Feasibility Study as conducted for the Trenton Indian Service Area" by Wordsmith Grant Writers January 2001)

Colleen Hokanson, Injury Prevention/Safe Communities Coordinator
Cynthia La Counte, TISA Tribal Chair Person
John Weaver, Aberdeen Area IHS Injury Prevention Specialist
Ron Falcon, TISA Service Unit Director (seated)
TISA Injury Prevention/Safe Communities Program
PO Box 210 Trenton, ND 58853
Phone: 572.5857 Fax: 572.5906
Email: TIPP@dia.net[ end of article ]