Session
Defining Holistic Health and Wellness Approaches for Our People II
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Abstract
Ho‘okahe wai ho‘oulu ‘āina, when the water flows, the land thrives.
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Native Hawaiians thrived in Hawai’i for centuries before western contact. As an isolated people, Native Hawaiians developed a complex system of resource management called the ʻahupuaʻa, a land division of interconnected systems stretching from the mountain to the sea. Pre-contact, our ʻahupuaʻa stretched ma uka i kai (mountain to sea), connected through wai (water), which flowed through each system section to bring life. No one system functioned independently. K naka, our people, tended these systems knowing that resources were finite, and the land must flourish for us to survive.
Utilizing this Indigenous knowledge as a guide, the ʻahupuaʻa provides a metaphorical, cultural, and spiritual model to address the root causes of trauma for Native peoples, and create collective healing through a Native lens, embracing a recovery perspective that recognizes substance use as a symptom of a larger trauma. The ʻahupuaʻa is a living, breathing example of a thriving, healthy Native system. Re-envisioning “the healing journey , utilizing cultural reconnection and methodologies that speak to Native perspectives, is more influential in creating positive health outcomes for Native peoples.
As a recent graduate, and as a Native Hawaiian identifying as having lived experience in addiction, this session will present work from my master’s research on an Indigenous, community-based framework for addressing intergenerational trauma, substance use, and intergenerational healing. Additionally, participants will identify ways to best support Indigenous populations. Finally, participants will discuss how to incorporate this model to promote healing and wellness at all levels.
Abstract
Protective Factors for Negative Outcomes of Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Cross-Sectional Study of Native American Adults
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a public health crisis that can lead to myriad short- and long-term deleterious outcomes and disproportionately impacts Native Americans. ACEs among Native Americans must be understood within the context of colonization and multiple historical traumas. Preliminary research and the wisdom of Elders highlight that cultural identity and connection to Native culture is a protective factor against deleterious outcomes associated with historical and interpersonal trauma, including ACEs. Yet, little research has examined the protective role of culture as well as social support in buffering against the negative outcomes of ACEs (e.g., depression) among Native American caregivers specifically. The purpose of the current study was to examine this gap in the literature. The sample was 119 Native American adults (90% women; ranging in age from 21 to 74; mostly low-income) with children between the ages of 10 and 14 who complete a baseline survey from a larger study to evaluate the impact of a culturally grounded, strengths focused, family-based program to prevent ACEs. Surveys assessed demographics (control variables); ACEs prior to age 19 (independent variables); connection to Lakota culture and social support (moderator variables); and depression, harsh parenting, and intimate partner violence (dependent variables). We will conduct a series of multivariate logistic regressions with moderation to identify protective factors for deleterious outcomes associated with ACEs. We will discuss implications for prevention and intervention; specifically, the protective factors identified in this analysis can be reinforced in strengths-focused, culturally grounded programming to reduce the deleterious outcomes associated with ACEs among Native American adult caregivers.
Abstract
Wherever you are on your journey, we have a place for you: The story of creating a space for indigenous healing and recovery.
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
One of the most pervasive threats to public health is substance use. It permeates every layer of today’s society, and the Wabanaki people in Maine have not been immune. However, through collaboration between Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness and the leaders of each of the tribes in Maine, a new approach to recovery has taken root and continues to blossom. After identifying a lack of recovery path options based on indigenous ways of knowing and building on the commitment to provide a spectrum of services to support Wabanaki people who need recovery and healing, WPHW and the Tribal Chiefs came together to create a place to connect to natural healing ways, traditions, and sacred territory. Wabanaki Healing and Recovery, a department within Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, created a model of substance use recovery that puts culture, ceremony, language, and tradition at the heart of the recovery journey for tribal members. This approach includes places that connect people to treatment, offering services such as intensive outpatient, group, individual, and family therapy, and medication assisted therapy. It offers a place to connect to culture, providing those who seek to heal and achieve wellness an opportunity to connect with the land, situated at the banks of the sacred Penobscot river, in the shadow of the mighty Mount Katahdin. It offers a home for people to reside while they are walking on their recovery journey. Throughout it all, someone walks beside you to support you as you heal.
This presentation will provide the history of how partners came together to develop this approach, how it is different from mainstream substance use treatment options, and how incorporating indigenous ways of knowing support recovery not just for indigenous people, but for all. This approach promises that no matter where an individual is on their recovery journey, we have a place for you.
Abstract
Harvest of the Moon: Early Evaluation Results of Efforts to Strengthen Connections to Indigenous Foods and Learning Systems
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Introduction: Approximately 40% of Menominee County/Nation residents have obesity, reflective of a history of systemic oppression of indigenous peoples. Partners throughout the Menominee County/Nation are advancing food sovereignty and promoting health and well-being through Menominee language, knowledge, and relationships with the environment.
Approach: The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s Kem maceqtaq (“We’re All Moving ) project worked with language and culture carriers to develop Harvest of the Moon. Harvest of the Moon is anchored in Menominee knowledge and features indigenous foods and practices associated with the 13 moons. Process and outcome evaluation efforts are ongoing and include semi-structured interviews with project collaborators and end-users.
Results: Harvest of the Moon was distributed to Language & Culture Teachers in the Menominee Nation K-12 schools and was adopted broadly across the community. Initial themes from the process evaluation reflect the value of Harvest of the Moon as a culturally important tool, the power of connections to language, culture, and traditional foods to promote healthy living, and connection to community that resulted from the development of the materials. Multiple community engagement efforts resulted from the Harvest of the Moon roll-out, including a youth-led food retail project, recipe challenge with HeadStart families, farmers market promotion, and engagement at elder meal sites.
Discussion: Connections with language, culture, and traditional knowledge systems are critical strategies for health promotion and disease prevention among American Indian populations. Menominee’s Harvest of the Moon may serve as a model for intergenerational engagement and community connection with traditional food practices.