Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Supported by funding from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P60MD006909
IWRIs Vision
To support the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples to achieve full and complete health and wellness by collaborating in decolonizing research and knowledge building and sharing.
IWRIs Mission
To marshal community, tribal, academic, and governmental resources toward innovative, culturecentered, interdisciplinary, collaborative social and behavioral research and education.
Welcome! IWRIs First Quarterly Newsletter as a Center of Excellence
By: Karina Walters, PhD (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)
As Director of the Indigenous Wellness Research Center (IWRI), I am humbled and honored to announce that we were awarded a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Comprehensive Center of Excellence grant in September 2012. This extremely competitive, 5-year, $5 million grant would never have been awarded to IWRI without the steadfast support and goodwill of our tribal community partners and our
academic allies. The funding will allow IWRI to increase its capacity to further its overarching goal of improving American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) health and eliminate health disparities through the following four aims: 1. Develop an integrated, comprehensive, and centralized trans-disciplinary research infrastructure that builds on the successes of IWRIs research, training activities, and community capacity building; 2. Cultivate existing and establish new innovative partnerships with AIAN tribal communities and other AIAN organizations to facilitate truly collaborative research; 3. Develop new and enhance existing research training activities at IWRI that prepare researchers to conduct scientifically rigorous
and culturally grounded health research; and 4. Strengthen and consolidate AIAN engagement, outreach and institutional partnerships. To accomplish the four aims, the grant funds the establishment of four Cores: (1) Administrative, (2) Research, (3) Research Education and Training, and (4) Community Engagement and Outreach. This inaugural quarterly newsletter is one product of the National Center of Excellence funding. We hope to inform and engage our audience, which ranges from local tribal communities, to our University of Washington partners and other academic institutions, to federal funding agencies, to indigenous and allied partners across this country and across the ocean.
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
IWRI Travels to Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Mori children performing Kapa haka (dance) in Mori regalia at a regional competition.
IWRI and friends ready to go to the International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development Conference in Brisbane, Australia.
Pounamu Stone (Greenstone), a sacred healing stone of Aotearoa.
Cultural sharing with Mori friends and IWRI Native American research partners.
2
Sunrise at Pakowhai Marae- Gisborne, New Zealand
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
The IWRI travelers and the local marae community gesture the Mean Mori, Mean (Sweet or Awesome).
Weaving flax, an important plant to Mori. This is an activity Mori never do solo. Done with family and friends, it brings people together with a shared purpose.
Painting of the female guardian spirit, Hineteiwaiwa, holding a woman giving birth, by the artist Robyn Kahukiwa. She wears a tiki, which is said in one tribal tradition to have been given to her by Tane to assist with conception. Behind her are Hine-Korako and Rona-Whakamau-Tai, who have important associations with birth in Mori tradition. Source: Ms. Christine Waitai-Rapana.
Photos and descriptions courtesy of Derek Jennings, Tetana Oguara, Chris Charles and Christine Waitai-Rapana.
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
Reclaiming the Trail of Tears: Yappalli Project 2012
By Katie Schultz & Tiffany St. Claire
In June of 2012, a small group from the University of Washingtons Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI) and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma walked the historical Trail of Tears. The project was a partnership between Choctaw Nation and IWRI and was named Yappalli, meaning to walk slowly and softly in the Choctaw language. The group was comprised of tribal members from Choctaw Nation, an Indigenous person from the Tluku tribe in Taiwan, and other Native and non-Native IWRI staff, students, and supporters. The goal was to connect culturally with the space to discuss and pledge to the health of future Choctaw generations. During the 1830s, five tribes from the Southeastern U.S. walked The Trail of Tears to Oklahoma: Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole, as part of the Indian Removal Act. The Yappalli group traveled more than 20 miles per day. They walked eight to ten miles a day and the rest was traveled by vehicle. Although the walk was a way for the participants to come together as a group by
4
reconnecting and reclaiming the history of the trail, the journeys goal was to explore ancestral visions of health and explore the
Trail as a place where participants could reconnect with those visions. One of the necessary activities in
planning for the walk was to map the original route. This involved researching historical maps and documents, often using military records, so participants could walk as closely as possible along the original trail. While participants in the Yappalli walk came from various backgrounds, they found common ground and developed strong bonds as they walked, talked, and learned Choctaw words and history. The youngest member walking the trail described the experience and desire to become more involved in her tribal community. That means keeping her tribal ties strong, maintaining a strong tribal identity, and fostering a renewed sense that anything is possible for the health and future of her people.
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
Yappalli Project, continued
Kyle Tiffany expressed feelings of wanting to move people, encourage and support them to change their lives while walking the trail. Physically pushing themselves, beginning and ending with
Director of Indian Education for Washington State Retires
By Tiffany St. Claire
cultural teachings and really reflecting on diet and exercise, presented an opportunity for participants to make meaningful, healthful changes in their lives. The project brought together not only Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma members but others as well, creating and discovering what it means to make a community. Currently, members of the Yappalli research team are conducting data analysis on interviews and focus groups conducted before, during and after the walk in order to illuminate Choctaw-specific views of health. The goal of these analyses are to inform health promotion efforts and to begin to plan ahead for future walks.
The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI), would like to take a moment and recognize the retirement of Denny Hurtado. Mr. Hurtado, is an enrolled member of the Skokomish Indian Tribe and formerly held the position as its tribal chairman. He is retiring from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as the Director of Indian Education, a position he has held for 12 years. Mr. Hurtado, has worked with 29 of the tribes that reside here in Washington State and led the creation and start of a groundbreaking curriculum geared towards educators in elementary, middle and high schools called, Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State. Mr. Hurtado, hopes to teach students that Indians had sovereignty before signing treaties with the U.S.; they have their own tribal governments and have the power and authority to govern their own people and land. With the influence of Native American educators, like Denny Hurtado, Native students can grow and feel they have a Native community that supports them in both place identity and curriculum. This allows students to see they have a living space among the academic community that can contribute to their voices surrounding contemporary issues in Native American education. Thank you, Denny Hurtado, for your pioneering efforts, leadership, passion and dedication in American Indian education!
5
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
Building Capacity in Indigenous Research: the IHART and ISMART Programs
By Tiffany St. Claire
Two research training programs at IWRI are drawing up-and-coming scholars and researchers from around the country: IHART and ISMART. These programs were created to help Native scholars work on their own research projects with the guidance of a mentor. Indigenous HIV/ AIDS Research Training program (IHART) allows Indigenous students and scholars to conduct their own research in the area of HIV/ AIDS and mental health within indigenous communities. The Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) program is a mentorship program that allows scholars of indigenous backgrounds to research in the areas of substance abuse, medicines and addictions within their indigenous communities. IHART is a two-year mentorship and training program. The program is currently in its fourth year of a five-year grant. It is directed by Karina Walters, MSW, PhD and Bonnie Duran, DrPH (Coushatta-Opelousas) and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R25MHO84565. The program is directed by Meg M. MacDonald, PhD. The primary goal is to
6
encourage Native American researchers to start their own research projects in tribal communities. Up to 14 fellows total are selected in five years for this two-year training program. During the two-year training program, two cohorts of four to five scholars will go through the program simultaneously. The program gives the scholars access to experienced scientific mentors who will help them in their own individualized research and grantmaking processes. The benefits to tribes and fellows from this program are many. Fellows will gain through fruitful experience and knowledge provided by the mentorship and guidance of experienced scientists to further benefit their scholarly studies. The hope is to encourage Native scholars to gain research experience and the skills to apply for grant monies to further their research, which in turn would benefit Indigenous communities.
As reported by Karina Walters, The IHART fellows have published more than 15 articles in peerreviewed journals and submitted, or been directly involved in, two NIH research grant proposals, with more under development. The current and growing success of the IHART program has deepened relationships between tribal communities and organizations. Longer-lasting benefits can be expected as Native researchers address HIV/AIDS in culturallyappropriate methodologies. The Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) program is a 12-month fellowship. It is a structured mentored training program that offers seed funding for fellows to support their research. The research the scholars will conduct benefits tribal communities by not only gaining awareness of such issues as substance abuse and other addictions, but also to foster knowledge which will help tribes address the effects of these disparities on Indigenous peoples health. Similar to IHART, the ISMART fellows will receive guidance from mentors to develop a
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
IHART and ISMART continued
research and grant/publishing plan to assist in their scholarly endeavors. With the development of a cohort of AIAN substance abuse and addiction research scientists, ISMART would provide a unique opportunity to support and engage AIAN scholars in substance abuse and addictions research. Directed by Karina Walters and Tessa Evans-Campbell, MSW, PhD (Snohomish), the programs longterm outlook is to help eliminate substance abuse and related health disparities among Native communities allowing them to find optimal health and wellness. Anastasia Ramey, MSW (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians) is project director for the ISMART program. The ISMART program is being funded for one year. Five Native scholars have been selected for the program cycle, which lasts 12 months. This program is made possible through funding by the National Institutes of Health grant P60MD006909. Our long-nurtured relationships with the tribal communities and organizations will enhance the success of ISMART participants and the ISMART program.
New Personnel at IWRI
By Tetana Oguara
IWRI has indeed grown significantly since its inception and thus I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the following bios for our new staff: Nicole Fossos-Wong is a new member of the Sacred Journey Project Team. Nicole grew up in the Seattle area and briefly lived in Austin, TX before returning to Seattle last spring. Her passions in life are cooking, enjoying the outdoors, and spending time with her family and Golden Retriever, Charlie. She and her husband are expecting their first child, a daughter, later this spring. She is very excited to take on the new adventure of becoming a parent. Nicole joined the University of Washington as a staff member in 2005 and has worked in the research areas of trauma, substance use and risk prevention and intervention since that time. She will serve as a Project Coordinator and will be assisting in the cultural adaptation of the Cognitive Processing Therapy Treatment Manual for use with young women in the Yakama Nation and in carrying out the pilot study this fall. My name is Rachelle McCarty, ND MPH. Im originally
from Idaho but have lived in the Puget Sound region since 1991, and I love it here. I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology, a Masters in Public Health Epidemiology, and my Naturopathic Doctorate degree. The common thread linking all of these educational pursuits is my desire to empower individuals and communities to optimize health-promoting behavior effectively and in a manner that is respectful of beliefs, culture, and environment. When Im not at my workstation in Tulalip, I enjoy skiing at Stevens Pass, training for my second sprint triathlon, spending time with family, and enjoying my friends while playing music, discussing books, or catching up over a potluck. A great passion is travel; my family hosted many foreign exchange students when I was growing up and I was also an exchange student to Germany, and studied abroad in England. Im thrilled to join the IWRI team as a Project Director on the Healthy Hearts 2 project at Tulalip. My name is Cam Solomon. I am IWRIs new Data Analyst/ Data Manager for the IWRINoCE. I have a wonderful family,
7
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
New Personnel at IWRI, continued
a wife, Amy, and a 5-year-old boy named West, who are my main focus in life. I have a number of interests, including biking, hiking, skiing, camping and anything else that gets me out into the woods and mountains. I am starting to get involved with urban infrastructure to improve biking and pedestrian experiences, to provide more health, more happiness, and a better city and world. In particular, Im working with a Greenways group up in my sidewalk-less community in Lake City, to try to provide ways for folks to get around without cars, if thats what they choose. Familiar faces, continuing IWRI-NoCE Staff: Michelle Tiedeman Ms. Tiedeman, a member of the Alutiiq tribe, graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Psychology and has been working with IWRI since 2009 as a Research Coordinator on the original Healthy Hearts project based at Tulalip. She will continue this role
8
Events Calendar
May 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 Indigenous Foods Conference UW Kane Hall Friday, May 3, 2013 Native Organization of Indigenous Scholars 12th Annual Symposium Thu-Fri, May 9-10, 2013 Native College Days IWRI & UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Wed-Fri, May 22-24, 2013 IWRI Vision to Action Partnership Summit Suquamish Lodge Mon-Thu, May 13-16, 2013 Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Mid-Year Conference Airway Heights (Spokane), WA
on the Healthy Hearts 2 project, also based at Tulalip. She has a 6-month-old son named Leo who she describes as amazing and her greatest blessing. In her free time (when she can find any), she enjoys playing and watching basketball. Chuan Zhou Dr. Zhou has worked with Dr. Bonnie Duran and the Center for Indigenous Health Research with the National Congress of American Indians for several years as a statistician. He is a Research Associate Professor with the Department of Pediatrics and Health Services here at the University of Washington. As a member of the IWRI-NoCE, he will continue to provide his statistical expertise to all of our Centers research projects. Please give a warm welcome to these team members we are glad to have you as a part of our IWRI National Center of Excellence family!
June 2013
Mon-Thu, June 27-27, 2013 National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Conference Reno, NV
For more info on any of these events please visit our events calendar http://news.iwri.org
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
Students from the University of Newcastles Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies Visit IWRI
By Polly Olsen
As an Indigenous person, I was recently reminded that we are connected in so many ways to our relatives beyond the borders of Indian Country or any other country. On November 27, 2013, the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute was honored to act as host for a group of Australian Aboriginal health career students from the University of Newcastles Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies. Our guests are studying to become doctors, teachers, nutritionists and social workers. They came from places like the islands of the Torres Strait, the desert and the rain-forest. They represented indigenous peoples of Kamilaroi, Wiradjui, Bundjalung, Kala Kawaw Ya and others. What began as a simple request for a dinner with Dr. Terry Maresca (Mohawk) and me to share stories became two full days of experiences I wont soon forget. We brought the students to the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, the College of Education and had lunch in our IWRI
space at the School of Social Work. The students were amazed at the similarities in the health care system, disease, and access to culturally-based education and curriculum. They were truly shocked to find American Indians and Alaska Natives mirroring the healthcare challenges that they face halfway around the planet. Our hope was that the students knew they were not alone in the uphill battle that Indigenous students, staff, and faculty face in a homogeneous health care field. Emotions shifted, not at Turtles pace but rather like the swift flitting movements of Hummingbird. One moment we were all feeling heavy with the isolation of being Indigenous people in health care, and the next a sense of unity. When we sat down to share a meal, I realized how special it is that we have space at IWRI: A place within an academic institution where the room is not sterile, where the fire alarm doesnt go off for the smell of sweet grass burning and where the important act of sharing a meal together creates family.
We learned so much from these beautiful people. They reminded us that the work we do at IWRI is important to all the worlds indigenous communities. We need healing and acceptance from the impact of colonization. When Terry and I introduced ourselves (in the storyteller role), we acknowledged our lineage and where we came from. It was the homogenizing of culture and community we heard from the students when they introduced themselves. By the end of their time with us, they felt safe to acknowledge where they came from and who they are. The students said they felt like they were part of the family. They even seemed surprised to feel that way. Im glad that they were able to find family halfway across the planet and I am proud of each and every one of those students and the difficult path they have chosen. They will be amazing teachers, doctors, health care professionals, and more than that, leaders within their communities.
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
IWRIs 2013 Graduates
Kerrie Sumner Murphy
Osiyo! I am of Cherokee, Irish and English descent, growing up mostly in Iowa in a moderately urban setting. I moved to Washington in 1994 after graduating from the University of Iowa where I majored in anthropology and womens studies. One of my first jobs in Washington was with the Native American Science Outreach Network at the University of Washington, a middle and high school pipeline project focused on culturally relevant science curriculum and peer-mentorship for Native youth entering Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields. I am a non-traditional graduate student returning to school after raising my daughter and working for many years as an administrator in the medical field, then as a program director and part-time instructor in the community college arena, where I also advised the Native American student association for about ten years. My concerns regarding institutional barriers for Native students steered me in the direction of social work. I entered the Masters in Social Work Extended Degree Program in fall of 2010. My studies at the School of Social
10
Jessica Lusk
Work have centered on multi-generational health and wellness, with a particular focus on indigenous health and community resilience. In 2012, I was honored to have the opportunity to work with the Tulalip Office of Civil Legal Aid to complete my foundation practicum. My experience there was invaluable and I am forever grateful! I joined IWRI in fall 2012 to complete the advanced practicum. My experience at IWRI has been a refreshing change where Native perspectives are not just included and respected but are at the forefront of everything we do. The staff and faculty are amazing, doing revolutionary work that is inspiring. As a young person with mixed identity, born in the midst of the civil rights movement, it was often difficult to navigate the politics of race going on around me, even within my own family. I am grateful for the elders, my teachers and mentors who have taught me so much and have encouraged me through the years to persevere, stay grounded and continue to learn and develop with an open heart and open mind. I credit their mentorship for getting me to where I am now; ready to graduate this June looking toward the future. I am excited to continue my journey with a renewed focus and commitment to the health and wellbeing of all indigenous peoples. Wa-do! to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. O si yo, dia duit, keshi, Hey, yall! (Hello.) My name is Jessica Lusk and I am of Eastern Cherokee, Irish, Zuni, Dutch, etc. descent, but spent most of childhood living in Austin, Texas (hence the Hey, yall). Growing up in Texas, my childhood was filled with the experiences of living in a family burdened by a multi-generational history of poverty, abuse, and neglect. Apart from a way to get a better job, my interest in education began as an attempt to understand these experiences; but as I began to learn about the multitude of complex environmental and social contextual factors contributing to my background, I found that my compassion and empathy for others had deepened. As a result, I entered the UWs Master of Social Work program in the fall of 2011, focusing on developing a practice working with children, youth, and families. I cant say that being a non traditional student (a single mother in my 30s with two girls) and having to navigate the college system has been easy, or for that matter, practical. At times being in a classroom learning about the impacts of poverty, discrimination,
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence
IWRIs 2013 Graduates
and cultural genocide on individuals and families brings up very difficult memories and really hard emotions. Being at IWRI this last year of a very long and hard 8-year journey has been a blessing. The staff and faculty are not only doing amazing work, they have also become a sort of safe haven for me, people I can turn to for support when it all just becomes too much. Yet somehow, I found the strength, courage, and support to make it doable, and in just a few short weeks I will be the first person from my family to have a college degree, and a Masters to boot! My hopes are that after graduation, I will continue my practice with youth and families, and more importantly, have my two girls to pursue their own paths. that my grandparents were native French speakers and that my dad was taught by the father of Louise Erdrichs (currently one of the most critically-acclaimed, Native American authors) at a boarding school in North Dakota. I am very honored to be graduating from the University of Washington with a Bachelors degree in English with an emphasis in Language and Literature. Graduating this June is a huge milestone, as I am the first to graduate from college in my family. As a child, I struggled tremendously with reading, writing and math and was told I wouldnt be smart enough to go to college. I am proud to be a UW Husky, let alone a college graduate. Interning at IWRI has been an excellent learning experience in many ways. The biggest challenge has been writing for a variety of people and their important research projects. These talented academics put their heart into their work and conveying that has been an enjoyable challenge. Simply reading their research and listening to them explain their projects only scratches the surface. At IWRI, I have found a sense of community and have learned more about my own tribe and myself. That newfound knowledge has empowered me to consider Tribal law as a future academic endeavor. Although it has taken me 14 years to get to the UW, and has been anything but easy being married with two little girls, it has been very rewarding and worth the effort.
IWRIs Newsletter Team
IWRI Faculty
Karina L. Walters, PhD (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) William P. & Ruth Gerberding University Professor Principal Investigator Director - IWRI Tessa Evans-Campbell, PhD (Snohomish Tribe of Indians) Associate Director - IWRI Director, IWRI Center for Indigenous Child & Family Research; Research Training & Education Core Bonnie Duran, DrPH (Opelousas/Coushatta) Director - IWRI Center for Indigenous Health Research; Community Engagement and Outreach Core David Takeuchi, PhD (Japanese American ally) Director - IWRI Research Core Cynthia Pearson, PhD (Hungarian Jewish ally) Associate Director - IWRI Research Core
Tiffany St. Claire
I am an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. I am mostly French-Canadian, Native and one quarter Norwegian. My dads family is from Dunseith, North Dakota and my moms family is from the Seattle area. I am the only one of four siblings born outside of the Turtle Mountain reservation. Last year I learned that my great-grandfathers real name was Franois,
IWRI Newsletter Staff
Chris Charles (Cowichan/Nanaimo/Duwamish) Media & Technology Division Director Leo Egashira (Japanese American ally) Research Coordinator/IWRI Editor Meg MacDonald (White Ally) IHART Director/IWRI Editor Tetana Oguara (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation) Administrative Director IWRI Admin. Core Tiffany St. Claire (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) Writing Intern Kyle Tiffany (Japanese American Hapa ally) Research Coordinator
Newsletter - Issue 7 - April 2013
11
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence Box 354900 Seattle, WA 98195 USA www.iwri.org
