Yale Psychiatry Grand Rounds: March 26, 2021

March 26, 2021

Information

"Stepping Into the Light to Work Together"

Iva GreyWolf, PhD, Psychologist, Society of Indian Psychologists

ID6348

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00:00Just briefly, everyone's gotten
00:02sort of an introduction through
00:04the informal discussion here,
00:06but I'm really happy that we have doctor.
00:09I have a Gray Wolf here today, and.
00:14Invited through the.
00:16Thoughts and an wishes of a
00:20Stephanie Gilsenan Rea Crouch.
00:23Stephanie is a third year
00:25resident and forth your Sky Tree
00:27resident and she's one of the
00:30chief residents in the diversity,
00:32equity and Inclusion Committee.
00:34Anne Maria crouched is a predoctoral
00:37psychology intern at Yale,
00:38so let me turn it over to
00:42Stephane to start the day. Hi
00:46Bojati brush day my name is Stephanie
00:48Gilsenan because I'm in Walkerton Sue
00:51originally from Minnesota Massage which
00:53is also known commonly as Minnesota.
00:55Just going to do a brief land
00:58acknowledgement before passing it off
01:00to Doctor Maria Crouch who's going to
01:03introduce our wonderful speaker today.
01:05So, Elena knowledge Minton,
01:07it does not exist in the past
01:10tense historical context.
01:11Colonialism is a current and ongoing
01:13process and it's important for us
01:15all understand the long standing
01:17history and our place within it.
01:19So since we are yales is yo grand rounds,
01:23I'm going to name the indigenous people
01:25who stewarded this land thousands
01:27of years prior to colonization.
01:29And many of these tribes are still here.
01:33I just want to acknowledge the
01:36Mohegan Mashantucket Pequots Eastern
01:37Peak Watt Golden Hill Pasaquan,
01:39Niantic Quinnipiac and there were many other
01:42Algonquian speaking nations that were here.
01:44We honor and respect their relationship
01:46that can exist between these people
01:48and the land as Indigenous people.
01:50It's part of who we are.
01:53It's mature of our blood,
01:54our past,
01:55current and future.
01:56I'm going to put a link in the chat if you're
02:00curious of the world of what indigenous
02:03peoples land that you may reside on.
02:06And just one final point is Atlanta
02:11acknowledgement is not enough.
02:11We need to consider how to support our
02:15indigenous communities by donating
02:17your time or money to indigenous
02:19organizations support indigenous
02:21grassroots movements and consider committing,
02:23returning the land to indigenous people.
02:26So with that I will pass it
02:28off to Doctor Maria Crouch.
02:31Thank you, Boo.
02:34Thank you Stephanie.
02:36Adeia huts hello everyone,
02:37I am real Crouch my dad knock
02:40name is tovo my family is from
02:42the native village of Anvik which
02:45is in the lower Yukon in Alaska.
02:47Doctor Grey Wolf has been a mentor
02:49and supporter of not only me but many,
02:51many other indigenous people and
02:53I'm very happy to be here and
02:55also honored to introduce her.
02:57I have a Gray Wolf. PhD.
02:59Is Assiniboine an initial Nabi.
03:01She's a clinical psychologist with
03:0340 years of experience and has
03:05primarily served native peoples
03:07in rural and remote areas.
03:09She is committed to serving the
03:11underserved and is a trainer and
03:13consultant both nationally and
03:15internationally on a variety of health
03:18issues including complex trauma,
03:19Co occurring disorders, grief,
03:21clinical supervision,
03:22and indigenous resilience.
03:23Doctor Gray Wolf has served as a
03:26member and chair of the American
03:28Psychological Association.
03:29Committee on Ethnic minority Affairs,
03:31Anaza member and chair of the
03:35Ethnic minority affairs.
03:37She was a member and chair of the AP,
03:40a Committee on Rural Health,
03:41a commissioner of the Alaska Commission
03:43of Behavioral Health Certification,
03:45and on the Alaska Board of Psychologists.
03:48Doctor Gray Wolf is an AP,
03:50a fellow.
03:51She has served it on the AP,
03:53a Commission of ethnic minority recruitment,
03:55retention and training,
03:56and the AP a committee on
03:58Socioeconomic Status.
03:59She's currently the president of the
04:01Society of Indigenous Psychologists,
04:02which is an organization that
04:04promotes the advancement.
04:05Will being in holistic health of Alaska
04:08Native and American Indian peoples.
04:10I'd also like to highlight
04:12that she's a well respected
04:14elder teacher community member,
04:15and she's a fiercely intelligent,
04:17skilled and compassionate human being.
04:20Even in preparation for this ground round,
04:22she said, don't take time to talk about me.
04:25Let's talk about our people,
04:26which really highlights her heart to
04:28God and thank you for being here.
04:30Doctor Gray Wolf.
04:33Thank you all for that kind introduction.
04:36I realize that our time is very
04:38limited today and I know that we've
04:40probably all experienced zoom
04:42exhaustion and death by PowerPoint,
04:44but this is the only way that I could
04:47figure out how to squeeze in as much
04:49information as I possibly could,
04:51and so I would like to go through the slides.
04:55But I also want you to know that the
04:58slides are available if you want to
05:00check out any of the information
05:02that is presented in them.
05:04There's a lift list of references.
05:06At the end, and I also sent
05:09some optional kinds of.
05:11One is a traditional storyteller
05:13Lakota man that is telling a
05:16story in the traditional way,
05:18so it's an audio and a couple of
05:21DVD's that really have to do with
05:24colonization around the world,
05:26not just with our native populations.
05:29So let us begin.
05:33This first image is a bentwood box,
05:36and, as you can see from the
05:38left side of the screen,
05:39these slides have a very northwest. Kind of.
05:43Appeal this I spent many years in Alaska
05:47and particularly serving in Southeast Alaska,
05:50and things that were very valuable
05:53are stored in bentwood boxes.
05:55They're so watertight that they actually
05:57carried water in canoe trips and travel,
06:00and carried regalia in this particular story,
06:03the Raven is the trickster, and it's he.
06:07The character is used in multiple
06:09legends and ways of teaching the
06:12people about our human frailties.
06:14Well, in this particular story,
06:16Raven is a very curious little boy,
06:19and the Grand Father tells him not to go
06:22to the box that he can play with anything.
06:25He can have anything but not too
06:27bothered that particular box.
06:29And so of course,
06:30that was like a magnet for him and he decided
06:33he was tired of stumbling around in the dark.
06:37And so he got into the box and he stole
06:40the sun and brought light to the world.
06:43And in this presentation I'm
06:45hoping to honor that.
06:46Our tradition of the oral tradition
06:49of storytelling and also to
06:51bring us out of darkness.
06:53Many of you are probably very
06:55unaware because of our education
06:57system about an accurate history of
07:00indigenous people in the United States.
07:03So let us begin.
07:06Great diversity across Indian country.
07:09I am Nekota,
07:11which is Assiniboine with the
07:14way that it was translated and.
07:17As you can see, not it,
07:20just from our tiny little representation.
07:23Not all Indians look alike.
07:25We have over we have 574 federally
07:28recognized tribes in the United States.
07:31We have 63 state recognized
07:34tribes tribes in 11 states.
07:37We it is vastly shrinking from just
07:40a few years ago we had 200 / 200
07:44Indigenous languages still being
07:46spoken and now we only have 175.
07:49And in this sense,
07:51is the latest census 2.9 million
07:54people identified as only as
07:56American Indian or Alaska Native?
07:59And I also think Maria has posted
08:01or is going to post a link to
08:05doctor Doctor Donald Warren's
08:08presentation and he does a very
08:11nice job of explaining terminology.
08:13American Indian Native American First
08:15Nations, Aboriginal native people.
08:17So that would be an excellent.
08:20Presentation.
08:23Review and we have 2.3 million identifying
08:26as being mixed with some other ethnicity
08:29and American Indian or Alaska native.
08:32The group that I am going to.
08:36Probably put the heaviest concentration
08:38on are the 22% that still live on
08:41reservations or in Alaska villages?
08:43And I think this is our most
08:45underserved population.
08:46We have underserved.
08:47Certainly in our urban areas,
08:49but the the reservation life in the village.
08:52Life is very different and so
08:54I'd like to spend as much time
08:56as I can highlighting that.
09:02I thought history was a great place to start,
09:05and as we went over the slides we decided
09:08that it might be more effective for us to
09:11start talking about what is successful.
09:14What helps a practitioner be successful in
09:16working in a native community and then to
09:19talk about the history and then to really
09:22emphasize it is all three branches of our
09:25government that impact native people today.
09:28And this is just a reference point.
09:31You're probably all very
09:32familiar with this about culture,
09:34and we're going to focus on the world view.
09:39And the cultural competence is really it's
09:42what our northern relatives talk about.
09:44Two I'd seen.
09:45In other words, you're taking,
09:47you're seeing through the
09:49eyes of your western trained.
09:51Mind all of those skills that you've
09:54been developing and you're also
09:56looking at what is traditional and
09:58what is has been working in that.
10:00Unity for a long period of time,
10:03so you're valuing both as you're
10:05approaching your services.
10:09Recognizing the traditional world
10:11views and concepts at one time,
10:13I taught a course called the
10:15Native ways of knowing and
10:17Alaska was very progressive.
10:19The University made that the
10:21first required course in their
10:23graduate program in psychology,
10:25and so you had to have this one to begin.
10:32This first one you may have heard
10:35before me talk Oh yeah, Oh yeah,
10:37I seen said it translates to we are
10:40all related and this isn't talking
10:42just about our human relatives.
10:44It is talking about our relationship
10:47with the land with the animals
10:50with all all living beings.
10:52And this is a constant reminder.
10:54Almost every prayer,
10:55if you're in the plain states,
10:57you will hear them.
10:58And with this praise or
11:00they will translate it to.
11:02We are all related.
11:05And when we're looking at.
11:08Self, it's a very different orientation
11:11and that we're looking at our history.
11:14It's looking 7 generations back
11:16and seven generations forward.
11:18So it's always at relationship.
11:21Acknowledge your ancestors and
11:23thinking ahead for your children,
11:25your grandchildren,
11:26and so on through the generations.
11:32As part of healing.
11:35It's incredibly important that
11:36we recognize our interdependence,
11:38and there is a very strong sense of
11:41community in healing ceremonies that it
11:43may be people that you don't even know.
11:46You may have seen them in the community,
11:49but you do not know them.
11:51That will come and support you,
11:54and in your healing experience there
11:56is very much that communal support.
12:03Oftentimes were sent back into
12:06nature to learn. To learn.
12:10I think part of it is humility.
12:13For example, even if we were to go
12:15out on what they call Humble Asia or
12:18crying for a vision that you fast,
12:21you have no food or water for it's
12:24usually three or four days and
12:26you're there to pray and that you
12:29are not harm any anything in any
12:31living being in that environment.
12:33And so while you're there with
12:36no food or no water, you maybe.
12:39Have mosquitoes that are bothering you,
12:41but it's important for you,
12:43not even to take the life not to
12:46spill the blood. Even of a mosquito.
12:48So very important that we are always
12:50looking at the gifts that we receive
12:53from nature and recognizing how very
12:55important each one of those gifts are.
12:57For example,
12:58if you're roasting in your in the
13:00bright sunshine in your fasting,
13:02just that little grease can mean so
13:05much to you so it keeps taking you
13:08back and realizing what a small speck
13:10we are in the whole scheme of things.
13:13We're nothing yet,
13:15we're everything.
13:17And the appreciation of spirit.
13:19This is one that it often takes people
13:22from a western perspective of back.
13:25For example,
13:26we have treated traditional healers
13:29that may have healing ceremonies
13:32and offered tease or other things
13:34to the person being healed.
13:37And it is gotten to the point
13:39where our elders are our people
13:41that carry the medicine stay.
13:43I will help you, but you must not tell.
13:48Any of your doctors about what I
13:49am doing and sometimes they will
13:51give you different directions,
13:53but this is a typical one.
13:55Because then the doctors want
13:57to analyze what is in the tea,
13:59what is in this and not understanding
14:02it is the prayer and it is the spirit
14:05that is the healing element for the
14:07person as well as that the teeth,
14:10the teacher, whatever is given,
14:12always appreciating the spirit
14:13of what is around us.
14:17And it's very important.
14:19Found the mindset that we don't look
14:21so much at the symptom as the source.
14:24We're constantly looking at.
14:25What is the deeper source
14:27of what is going on?
14:28Anna, part of that for all of us
14:31that are in this healing profession,
14:33is making sure that we have that
14:35kind of essential training on
14:37the impacts of colonization.
14:39And this is really not exclusive to
14:41native people here in the United States,
14:43this is around the world.
14:45It doesn't matter if it's Greenland,
14:47if it is New Zealand.
14:49Australia we see the same
14:51kind of dynamics happening.
14:56We have quite the legacy
14:58of violence and trauma.
14:59As native people we have a lot
15:02of government policies which I'm
15:05going to talk about at another
15:07later in the presentation.
15:09The you're probably quite familiar with
15:12this stories about boarding schools,
15:14and this was very disruptive because
15:16I have three grandparents that were
15:19essentially raised in boarding school.
15:21My grandparents were born in the late 1800s.
15:25And spent their young years in
15:28boarding school from about six years
15:30old until they were young adults.
15:33And of course,
15:34in a boarding school situation.
15:36You don't have that exposure to.
15:40The culture the traditional parenting.
15:42There are many things that
15:44are lost in this and so.
15:47We adapt and we fill in
15:49the best way possible,
15:50but we look at what has been learned and
15:53what is being passed to the next generation.
15:56We have a lot of unresolved grief and
15:58what has been termed generational
16:00trauma or historical trauma.
16:02And this is a piece that.
16:05If we're doing a good job,
16:07we cannot ignore.
16:08And so these each one of these
16:11things carry a burden.
16:13So if you can imagine in your
16:17mind a person with.
16:19A blanket like holding a blanket
16:21like a bag on their back.
16:24As you're carrying this bag,
16:25you can see that when we talk about trauma,
16:28each of these pieces going in that bag,
16:30and the burden that is carried.
16:34So we have ongoing negative responses
16:37that have been well documented and
16:39we have a lot of stereotypes that
16:42we are challenged by oftentimes
16:44will hear about the drunken Indian
16:47we hear about the extreme poverty.
16:49We have a lot of blaming people
16:52for the condition that they're in,
16:55and so these are all things
16:57that we keep in mind.
17:03This I like this term.
17:05Actually this colonial trauma response
17:07that is in bold because it is you
17:11have a current event that connects you
17:13to what is happened in the past and
17:16it's much like going to a funeral.
17:19And even though it may be it's.
17:23Someone elses child that you're going
17:26to that funeral all of a sudden when
17:28you're in that funeral situation,
17:30you start thinking about the losses
17:32that you personally have experienced.
17:34It's a normal reaction.
17:36And as you think about that,
17:38you transfer that to.
17:39What is this like for a native person
17:41who witnesses all of these different
17:44kinds of things happening on an ongoing
17:46basis with the history that they carry?
17:49And as I go through the history of me,
17:52become more clear.
17:55I think what is really important to remember.
17:59Is that we have a tremendous
18:01number of challenges,
18:02like many groups of people.
18:04But we remain.
18:05There are many of us that remain
18:07optimistic during this adversity,
18:10and we are able to.
18:13Keep going and we are able to thrive
18:15and this is related to our spirituality
18:18on the compassion for all living
18:21beings that empathy and humor.
18:23And sometimes you think.
18:24How can it be humorous?
18:26But in the darkest times we find
18:29something to laugh about and this
18:32communal kind of strength where
18:34they're calling it friendships
18:35with fam family and I think it
18:38is that larger sense of community
18:40that really keeps us going.
18:47So helping us heal.
18:48I think the first essential
18:50piece is having that the knowing
18:53the history are US education
18:55system has done a very poor
18:57job in educating us about the.
19:01The realities of what we
19:03have done as a country.
19:07Understanding the history helps
19:09you give that context and put the
19:14current situation gives it meaning.
19:17One the thing that is off putting is
19:20that people have had rotating providers
19:23come through our small communities.
19:26And there is a lot of mistrust.
19:28A lot of white. Should I really be?
19:31Why am I disclosing these things
19:33that are so close to my heart when
19:36this person is going to leave?
19:38This person isn't going to be here.
19:40Sometimes it comes across as being
19:43angry and really understanding that.
19:45That kind of response may have protected
19:48that person in another situation,
19:50but it it can be something different
19:52now and we oftentimes will model.
19:55How do we handle when people
19:57throw their anger at us?
19:59We have that. Opportunity to model.
20:01How do we respond to that in a good way,
20:04in a healthy way?
20:09We oftentimes aren't hearing about
20:11the resilience among native people,
20:13and I I told I mentioned the
20:16drunken Indian stereotype.
20:18We also have a very high number
20:21of people that are completely
20:23abstinent and I think that's
20:25also to be acknowledged so.
20:28There's a study out of Arizona
20:31that talked about.
20:33We actually had higher rates of
20:35abstinence then needed women,
20:36then some of the non native women.
20:41K, that's how and why did it
20:44then behaviors are learned.
20:46This last part is no one is
20:48asking anyone to convert to take
20:50on someone elses belief system,
20:53but it is asking that you respect
20:55that and understand that that the
20:58healing rituals ceremonies may be
21:00things that are very helpful to the
21:03individual that you're serving.
21:05And we have had some of our doctors
21:08go through Sundance with us,
21:10so this isn't an unusual thing that
21:13people that are non native come in
21:15and become a part of the community.
21:18And that actually is the best
21:20way to be accepted is to come in
21:23with that attitude that we can
21:25learn and become a part of.
21:28Roll up our sleeves and help out.
21:35This one remember you are the
21:37guest came from one of our allies.
21:40We had a psychiatrist that was going
21:42to set us straight and going to tell
21:45us what we needed to do and had been
21:49in the community only three months.
21:51And one of our white allies on other
21:54psychologist said you have to remember that
21:57when you're a guest in someone elses home,
22:00you don't come in and start
22:02rearranging the furniture.
22:04And I thought, beautiful,
22:05beautiful and that really is the way it is.
22:09Even though I'm what they call
22:11in Alaska or Lower 48 Indian.
22:14When I'm in Alaska and I go to a village,
22:18I always remember I am the guest.
22:21I am there at their invitation to learn.
22:28We hear an awful lot about what is wrong,
22:31and I think that being strength
22:33base is one of the keys to to it.
22:36Is that progress, not perfection,
22:38so we're always looking at what
22:40can be built on what is going
22:43right in that person's life.
22:45And I emphasizing that
22:46reflecting that back to them.
22:51An I say respectful of the protocols and
22:53you might not understand what that is right
22:55off the top of your head. But Oh well.
22:58One of my jobs when my younger years was
23:00to take great grandma to the doctor.
23:03And she was always I would.
23:05I would even classify her as jollet.
23:07She was always a very happy person.
23:10And. I took her to a new Doctor Ann.
23:14She wouldn't talk to him and when we left
23:17and I I said, grandma, what's wrong.
23:19You wouldn't even talk to him.
23:21She said he did not even have the
23:23courtesy to introduce himself.
23:25And he never. Ask me about me.
23:29He said she said I have nothing
23:32to say to him.
23:33And so the protocol of what is.
23:37How can we be respectful in that
23:39community that we are serving or visiting?
23:45And it is relational supportive.
23:49Kind of relationship.
23:50I know that this goes contrary to
23:53so many of us that have these timed.
23:55You have so many minutes with the
23:58patient and then you move on and
24:00so this gets to be a real challenge
24:02the whole time. Management.
24:04And how can we respond and really
24:06listen and be there for the person
24:09and in our small communities.
24:10How do we greet the person
24:12outside of those offices?
24:17And again, the spirit. This is one that.
24:23Oftentimes people are put out
24:25when they go to a traditional.
24:28A non native, it can be put out when
24:31they go to a traditional gathering
24:34because so much time is spent in
24:37prayer and people feel like, well,
24:39that that's I kind of feel that's being
24:42pushed on me and I take it back to I
24:45can go into someone else's church.
24:48I can go into other ceremonies as a guest
24:51and I don't question their belief system.
24:54I'm there too.
24:57Share that experience and be
24:59and be there in a good way.
25:04Individualized, we talked about 570 some
25:07federally recognized tribes in our state.
25:09Recognized tribes.
25:1080% about of our population being
25:13urban and we really need to see what
25:16is the truth for that individual.
25:19As I'm going to talk about in a few minutes,
25:23the number of kids that have been adopted
25:26out and it is truly heartbreaking.
25:29When you have someone come back
25:32to the reservation and say.
25:34I only know that my grandmother's
25:37name is Red Eagle.
25:39Can you help me find my family?
25:41I was adopted out and raised in Chicago.
25:45And so it's individualized.
25:46Some of us have been raised in it,
25:49immersed in it, and others are.
25:52Just now discovering it for themselves.
25:56Community based interventions.
25:57These tend to have tremendous
25:59power when the community decides
26:00what it is they're going to do.
26:03I'll give you an example and I'm
26:05sorry I'm being such a Clock watcher,
26:08but I also wanted to have some
26:10time for questions at the end so
26:12the community based interventions.
26:14There was an example way up,
26:16and then one of the northern villages.
26:18They were having an issue with.
26:21Suicide young people and so they the
26:25elders got together and they told.
26:29University staff we need to be
26:31like the Musk ox and you can look
26:33up Musk ox if you aren't familiar
26:35with that animal in the far North,
26:38that what the Musk ox will do when
26:40there is danger is that they gathered
26:43the young ones in the center and
26:45then they all put their rear ends
26:47tored the young ones and they face
26:50the danger that is from the outside.
26:52And they said that is what we
26:54need to do for our young people.
26:57So listening to the people is.
26:59One of the ways that we can
27:01make a difference.
27:03Stage based First things first,
27:04and it's kind of like doing
27:06any kind of that safety first.
27:09What is it that we need to do and then
27:12help the person through to prioritize?
27:17And we can't do it alone.
27:19We honor the. The education,
27:22the experience that is brought into
27:25our communities and we understand when
27:27we're working in our communities.
27:29We need others and so for
27:31us it is working with.
27:33Oftentimes it is the different churches
27:36in our communities because there
27:38aren't a lot of other providers there.
27:43Evidence based practices
27:44you're very familiar with.
27:46Practice based evidence is one that
27:48you're you may see more and more of.
27:50It's about what has worked in our
27:53communities an what is valued by the people,
27:56and I'm not going to go too much into this.
27:59But because this is kind
28:01of the content anyway.
28:04Well known traditional ways of
28:05healing are not to be discounted.
28:07I guess I should have put that one in bold
28:10because that one speaks to the people.
28:13If the people, if that is their path.
28:16If they are on what is called the Red Rd,
28:19it is really important to respect that.
28:26Indigenous interventions doctor
28:27Joseph gone is over at Harvard.
28:30Ann is doing a lot of research
28:33on historical trauma.
28:34An indigenous interventions.
28:35Lots of good work coming from him.
28:38The solutions and answers come
28:40from the community themselves.
28:42Doctor Mohatt did the People awakening
28:45project and that was looking at
28:48what help people native people.
28:50Achieve long term sobriety,
28:52and I think the criteria for that
28:55one was 15 years of sobriety.
28:57And so they looked at,
28:59looked at that,
29:00interviewed many of the people
29:02all across Alaska,
29:03and what they found is that it was.
29:08That they gave back to their community.
29:12Interesting Lee, and maybe they
29:14weren't there was an employment,
29:16but maybe they cut wood for an elder
29:19or they brought fish to an elder
29:21or some other game and so it was
29:24giving back to the community and they
29:27had a strong spiritual component.
29:29And that doesn't mean traditional.
29:31It doesn't mean Christianity.
29:33The point of it was they had a strong
29:37spiritual belief system in practice.
29:39So it was just two of the
29:41highlights on there.
29:41It was called the people awakening.
29:45So when we look at this.
29:47G 36% of US adults use complementary
29:50or alternative medicine along with
29:53the traditional medicine.
29:54So you look at this.
29:57This is what they have going on.
30:00Now I want to look at it
30:02for native communities.
30:04We also have things that are going on.
30:08These are all. Options in almost
30:12every community and what I think
30:14is really interesting is that
30:16we have 80% approximately of
30:19our population in urban areas.
30:21But about 30% of them report they
30:23go back for ceremony or for healing
30:26to a reservation, and so I think
30:29this is something to really keep in.
30:32Keep in mind that it is being kept alive.
30:37I could talk about each one of these.
30:40In an hour. So this is like it's
30:43almost kind of painful to go through
30:45so quickly, but we must. OK.
30:47This native people are often triggered
30:50because of those traumatic experiences,
30:53and I'd like you to go
30:55down to the bottom one.
30:57You can go back through these slides,
30:59but a native woman's response to
31:01this situation isn't just based on
31:03her own experience like an assault,
31:05but also on the experiences of
31:07generations of her female ancestors.
31:09Ann, I think that we're sharing with Maria
31:13and Stephanie that one of my daughter said.
31:17You know, I realized I am the 1st.
31:20Female in our family and seven generations.
31:24That hasn't known abuse.
31:28And on one side I was very happy.
31:32On one side I was very sad that that pain.
31:36Has been present for so long.
31:41The doctrine of discovery.
31:42If you aren't familiar with this,
31:44I hope you do get take
31:46the time to get familiar.
31:48This was used as a justification to take
31:50the land and enslave the native people.
31:53Anybody that was non Christian was
31:56considered an enemy of the faith and
31:58this is really important because it
32:00was used by our Supreme Court later to
32:03justify some of the actions that the
32:05US had taken against native people.
32:09So this was and some of the churches now are.
32:15Are standing up and saying no, we do
32:18not support the doctrine of discovery.
32:24These are probably things that you have heard
32:26about the extermination policy's relocation.
32:29We even have our most recently
32:31relocation policy from the US government,
32:34was in the 1950s, where essentially,
32:36you got a one way ticket into
32:38one of the major cities,
32:41and were there to find work to blend in,
32:44to assimilate and. It didn't work.
32:47We created new pockets of poverty in cities.
32:52Segregated assimilation OK.
32:55Let's go on.
32:57If you went back through the
33:00correspondence from some of our
33:01people that were in charge way back,
33:04this is even the 1700s.
33:05They talked about the Spaniard
33:07using hounds to hunt Indians and
33:09they consider that as an option,
33:11but there weren't enough dogs available.
33:13Then they considered smallpox infected
33:15blankets as a strategy to exterminate
33:17the native people in North America,
33:19and this is outbreak of smallpox, the image.
33:24The forced relocation.
33:26Trail of Tears.
33:27You may have heard about 100,000
33:31about began this thousand mile March
33:34and about 15,000 died along the
33:37way from cold starvation disease.
33:40And we have many of these people
33:42that are still.
33:46Suffering app from having relatives
33:48that were in the Trail of Tears.
33:51The Long Walk is another one that
33:53many people haven't heard of,
33:55but it was following the
33:57scorched Earth campaign kit.
33:58Carson's against the Navajo or the Dinnet,
34:01and they were also forced.
34:03Depending on their location,
34:04anywhere from 250 to 450 miles.
34:06An If people couldn't make it,
34:08they were left on the
34:11sides sides of the trail.
34:13And they were prodded along in a very harsh,
34:17harsh manner.
34:19And then they were speaking it basically
34:21in an internment camp after that.
34:25The environmental trauma we come from.
34:27I come from the Buffalo people and.
34:32We sing to the Buffalo.
34:33Many of us will still have like Buffalo
34:35skulls on our around our homes and we
34:37sing to them and they say we sing.
34:40This is where we live now
34:42come and live with me. And.
34:46General Sheridan said the way to
34:47kill a SU is to kill the Buffalo.
34:50And then this is that other famous quote
34:52is the only good Indian is a dead Indian.
34:58So this 1870s slaughter was horrible,
35:00horrible for the people,
35:01because then we became dependent
35:03on the government for food.
35:04An I look back at some of our old writing.
35:08Some of our leaders saying don't take
35:10from them, even if they offer it to you.
35:13Don't take for them,
35:14but many of them were in the places of
35:17starvation and they had to take that.
35:19And when I was a girl I remember being in
35:22the commit what was called commodities.
35:24At that time the commodity line.
35:28It was a long wait hot sun moon.
35:31We get get that we would get like
35:33a bucket of lard and we would get
35:36flour and cornmeal and my job as
35:39a kid was to sift the cornmeal
35:42because it had weevils in it,
35:44and oftentimes the lard because it hadn't
35:47been kept cool enough with rancid and so.
35:50That was, you know,
35:52coming from a very poor environment.
35:54I never felt poor.
35:55Everyone around me was in the
35:58same boat and we didn't have that
36:00mentality that we were poor.
36:02We knew that. Food was hard to come by.
36:05We shared what we had.
36:09This is Red Cloud an I see you
36:11see this around the world.
36:13In 1868,
36:14men came out and brought papers we
36:17could not read and they did not tell us.
36:20We see this in treaties around the world.
36:24They made many promises,
36:25but they kept only one.
36:27They promised to take our land and they did.
36:34I couldn't figure out how to put
36:37quotes on discovered. Let's see.
36:41We were here, but we were discovered
36:44so I did not put quotes on that.
36:47And this is 1790. We had already lost
36:51this northeastern eastern seaboard.
36:541830 was the pushback.
36:56An anything beyond that Mississippi
36:59was considered Indian country.
37:02And this is where the Trail of Tears
37:05when they forced them to walk.
37:071860 then they is.
37:08This also has to do with legislation about
37:12taking the land, opening it up for settlers,
37:16and also the discovery of gold,
37:18and so pushing further and further West.
37:22This is 1890.
37:24And we're even smaller today.
37:26This is all that's left.
37:29Up in the northeastern corner
37:31of Montana near the Canadian and
37:33North Dakota border is actually
37:35where my mom's reservation is from.
37:38My father's is in northern
37:40Wisconsin and we over here.
37:43Shrinking
37:46the battles to take the lands and exterminate
37:50the natives throughout the United States.
37:52You probably heard the Victor side of this,
37:55and we often would say that if it was.
38:00A massacre. That means that the Indians won
38:04that particular one and it was a battle.
38:06If the cavalry won.
38:09But in the descriptions.
38:11Lots of massacres.
38:14We were sent to reservations and we could not
38:17leave the reservations without permission.
38:21Today we can we move in and out in and out,
38:24but at one time we had to stay
38:26there in order to control to
38:29minimize the threat of violence.
38:31From the government's perspective.
38:33These, I thought, were incredibly important,
38:35and Maria, I think you're you're
38:37doing a time watch for me, right?
38:41These are incredibly important
38:43decisions that have been made
38:46that have an impact on us today.
38:49This even in 1823 they supported
38:52the doctrine of discovery.
38:53the US Supreme Court and said
38:56American Indians don't own land.
38:58This was landed.
39:00We've been on for.
39:02Very thousands of years,
39:03but they said we do not own the land,
39:06the Removal Act,
39:07the ex parte Crow dog is a huge huge
39:10case in Indian country and the reason
39:12for this is this was one Indian man
39:15that killed another Indian man and
39:17this is in South Dakota and they said,
39:20well if they're going to kill each other.
39:22This is also the time of discovering gold.
39:25What would they do to us?
39:28You got to control them.
39:30So in this particular situation
39:33they had traditional.
39:35Their traditional way of making restitution,
39:37so he had because he killed,
39:39he had to support that other man's family
39:42for the rest of his life and treat
39:45them just like he would treat his own family.
39:48And he had to do other things
39:50besides that to make restitution.
39:52And that was his sentence within the.
39:56Within the tribal system and they said no,
39:59they have to be more civil.
40:00Lies and so they sentenced him to hang.
40:04So that was the non Indian
40:06way of handling it.
40:07And then the Supreme Court
40:10stepped in and said.
40:12No Indian against Indian on the reservation.
40:15They can take care of their own business.
40:19Then the Major Crimes
40:20Act came in and no more.
40:23If it was anything that was a felony,
40:26Indians could no longer handle it.
40:28It went to the federal court system and
40:31today you see Indians overrepresented
40:33in the federal court prisons and
40:36the federal prisons because of this.
40:39The Dawes Act of 1887 took more
40:42land away from the Indians and gave
40:44us a allotments an if you refuse
40:47to take part in this,
40:49you could not become a citizen.
40:52Which you didn't become a
40:53citizen anyway until 1924,
40:55and in some states you weren't allowed
40:58to vote until much later than that,
41:00like in the middle of last century.
41:03So it was.
41:04There have been a lot of things that
41:08have had had an impact on us today.
41:11The relocation Act of 1956.
41:13Many of that's how we got 80% of our
41:17population approximately and cities.
41:18So then you look at 1978.
41:21I was a young woman.
41:23My kids were young and they finally
41:26passed this and we could practice
41:29our ceremonies in the open.
41:34And then we going now into
41:36cultural appropriation.
41:37So he's going like oh boy,
41:40so now you see people having sweat lodges
41:43or and then serving wine afterwards.
41:46Charging for it is all kinds of things,
41:49and the appropriation another huge one here.
41:53This Oliphant decision is huge when you think
41:56of missing and murdered indigenous women.
41:59This is a problem area for us
42:02because essentially, was it?
42:03What it says is you can treat Indian
42:06to Indian decisions on the reservation.
42:08But if it involves a non Indian,
42:11you can't do anything.
42:12So if they **** if they physically
42:15assault if they steal.
42:17If there are, if they go off reservation.
42:20There is no nothing legally that can be done,
42:23but Oliphant decision is a krippler.
42:26And for many of our people,
42:28Indian Child Welfare Act so many
42:30children were removed in order to
42:33give them a better chance in life
42:35to civilize them to assimilate them.
42:37So the Indian Child Welfare Act is
42:40another one to be very familiar with.
42:44Nagpra oops I was skipping around here.
42:48Nagpra is the Native American Graves
42:50Protection and Repatriation Act huge, huge.
42:53To get back, healing. Remains of humans or.
42:59Sacred objects from museums.
43:01It's huge.
43:04So these little handcuffs were actually
43:07used at Haskell Haskell Institute,
43:09which is now the University.
43:13And one of the.
43:16Ancestor decided to they found that
43:19in grandparents kind of collection
43:21and gave it back to the school.
43:24Sad.
43:27And Mrs Carlyle.
43:32And as you can see, we aren't going
43:34to have a lot of personal attention,
43:37a lot of nurturing,
43:38a lot of the things that we
43:40require for healthy parenting.
43:42When you have this many children
43:44and what do you taught,
43:46you're taught to doubt your parents,
43:48your grandparents, their religion.
43:50You're taught to obey.
43:52You're taught physical
43:54and Corporal punishment.
43:56Lots of sadness there.
44:01This is what it was.
44:02This picture was labeled 7.
44:04Indian children of uneducated parents.
44:05Before they entered boarding school,
44:07I'd like you to look at these two
44:10little girls on the end because if
44:13you know anything about regalia.
44:15That is an incredible amount
44:17of work that went into dressing
44:19these children and this finery.
44:21These are gentilium shells.
44:23This is incredible. Her pipe.
44:27They're very highly valued,
44:28but all of it taken from them
44:30when they went to school.
44:33These are different kinds of oppression
44:35and I'm skipping and you need to
44:38tell me when I need to stop, OK?
44:40Hold up your fingers or something.
44:44Stop don't go anymore OK because one
44:47out of every four native kids under
44:49the age of 1 was removed and adopted,
44:53usually by a non native family.
44:55That was one of the pushes to get
44:58the Indian Child Welfare Act.
45:00So many kids were being farmed out
45:02and they were being measured that
45:05because housing is in short supply,
45:08their being measured by a Western standard
45:11of how much space is needed for child.
45:15So these.
45:16Lots of reasons he probably heard
45:17about the forced sterilizations
45:19that uninformed sterilizations.
45:21And this was the Indian Religious Freedom
45:24Act and I kind of quickly went over that.
45:28So we'll go this is it?
45:30We still try to protect our sacred sites
45:33and even with our in the last few years,
45:37we're still trying to protect
45:39sacred sites from the government,
45:41from them being taken defiled.
45:44And I actually have to carry a paper.
45:48With me that says that I'm Indian an I
45:52have permission to carry eagle feathers.
45:56So these are these are things that other
45:58people don't have to do for their faith,
46:01but we we still have to do that.
46:04So you're probably wondering
46:06about health care.
46:07It isn't that easy when you look
46:09at the amount of expenditures per
46:11capita for these different programs,
46:14you can see that we only get a fraction
46:16through the Indian Health Service.
46:19People are trying to do the best they
46:21can with very limited funds and is
46:24Stephanie O'Malley or Doctor O'Malley.
46:26Could speak to the trying to get in it
46:29something like no trucks own on the
46:31formulary of IHS is extremely challenging.
46:33Oftentimes they want to go
46:36with the least expensive.
46:38Medication option to save money and
46:40so when we look at this spending you
46:43can see that it's very underfunded
46:46and has been historically.
46:50So the losses are not confined
46:53to a single catastrophic period.
46:55They are ongoing, and that's when
46:57I said when you have that blanket,
47:00that bundle of stuff on
47:02your back of the burdens.
47:04This is what I'm talking about.
47:07It's continual persistent.
47:09And even now, with social media,
47:11it's even more present for many of us.
47:16The reality is that we're more likely
47:18to be assaulted than any other ethnic
47:21Group One in three native women raped.
47:2530% of the this statistic is based on
47:2930% of women who reported the rapes.
47:32And because we have different
47:34law enforcement and different
47:36jurisdictions on different reservations.
47:38It's not inclusive of rapes of women
47:41on reservations and 64% of native
47:44women will be physically assaulted.
47:46We do not even have good information on the
47:50magnitude of this problem of ****** assault.
47:55This is an old report,
47:57but I wanted to give you a taste of this.
48:00This is the garden of Truth report
48:02and they interviewed 100 Indigenous
48:04women who were trafficked in the
48:06Midwest and this is out of Minneapolis.
48:08And as you can see from these statistics,
48:12these are women,
48:13women that were known to our
48:15social service system.
48:17But somewhere we dropped the ball.
48:21We were familiar.
48:22We see the same thing with suicide.
48:25These aren't strangers to
48:26the helping professions,
48:27but somewhere we dropped the ball.
48:34The work ahead.
48:36We have layers of grief work.
48:39We have the erosion of the family.
48:42The seeds of doubt were the worst,
48:44I think the worst thing that could have
48:47happened in the boarding school to have
48:49you doubt about your own your own value.
48:52Your family spiritual beliefs,
48:55your ways of parenting.
48:58All of those things,
49:01so those layers and.
49:03Multiple traumas?
49:09Physical assaults, ****** assaults,
49:11the historical traumas that have
49:14taken place and each community has
49:16their own history and I think that's
49:18part of when we serve in a community
49:21is to learn from the local people.
49:24One of the things that they have
49:27experienced because there are
49:29unique tribal histories and we
49:31oftentimes are lumped together.
49:33And the ongoing traumas.
49:36It hurts to see others hurt.
49:40I like this image because do
49:42you see this quite often young?
49:45Native art, the transformation mask,
49:48and for me.
49:51That is oftentimes what we're doing
49:53is that we're looking for that
49:55transformation in our field that
49:57we're constantly looking about.
49:59How do we uncover? How do we expose?
50:03That other part?
50:06This is from a graduation high
50:09school graduation in Juneau, AK and.
50:13To me it just embodies that happiness
50:16that they are still embracing their
50:19culture and it's a celebration.
50:22It's a real celebration and so
50:24not buying into the stereotypes.
50:26No, we don't get monthly checks.
50:29No, we don't all look like no,
50:31we don't have the same faith traditions.
50:35When they divided our reservations,
50:37they oftentimes divided them
50:39between churches as well,
50:40and so we have now divisions
50:42in some of our communities,
50:45and some of our families that are
50:48very devout Catholic for example,
50:50or Presbyterian,
50:51and on the other side they
50:53have the members of the family
50:55that are very traditional,
50:57and so we still have ongoing
51:00kinds of different views.
51:01And then we have those that
51:04walk in both worlds so.
51:06I would like to open it
51:08for questions I'm gonna.
51:09Stop the screen share and I
51:12hope I can see some people.
51:14Oh yes I can, yeah. Alright.
51:19Maria or Stephanie, do you want it?
51:23Give me a questions can be sent to the chat.
51:26And.
51:31I'll let you go ahead
51:32and ask me the questions.
51:41Oh, where'd you go?
51:44So I have a question.
51:49So I I know you're very involved
51:52in the American Psychological
51:54Association and. Ann, are you?
51:56What are your thoughts about the training
52:00opportunities or foci that should be?
52:04Included in an internship programs or this,
52:07you know, training for psychologist
52:10may apply to Santa psychiatrist too,
52:13but you've talked a lot
52:16about checking so important.
52:18Historical overview.
52:20Being knowledgeable,
52:21but I wonder if you have any
52:22additional thoughts about that.
52:24One of the things that I'm currently
52:27working on is a research project
52:29about serving the the lower income,
52:32lower SES, poverty, poverty level,
52:34and I think that's another area that.
52:38We're very weekend. I it is.
52:42It's really, you know,
52:44when you look at the small
52:46number of Native American Indian,
52:48Alaska native psychologists,
52:50many of them are working in
52:52University systems are working
52:54in research and there are very
52:56small population that are working.
52:58In our most underserved areas,
53:00which is where my heart is.
53:02That's where my passion is.
53:05And.
53:05I was once invited to give a
53:08keynote address because for an
53:10Indian organization and they were
53:13looking for a nobody he called me.
53:16OK, and they said, well,
53:17you know what we mean and they said
53:19we want somebody that has actually
53:21been working in the trenches.
53:23That hasn't written a book or
53:25anything and I'm going like,
53:26well,
53:27I guess that's a I guess that's
53:29kind of nobody that I am so.
53:31But I think that we.
53:34It's easy to go for the low hanging fruit.
53:37The work is still can be enriching.
53:40It can be challenging,
53:42but I think that I would love
53:44to see more people drawn to
53:46serving our most underserved.
53:49And if we aren't doing that,
53:51at least to become aware of that
53:53high need out there and how we can
53:56better address that and the research
53:59project that I'm currently working on,
54:02it is a series of interviews of people
54:04who've had long term success in delivering.
54:08In the most poverty stricken areas,
54:10and I think that's one that I would
54:13really like to see Appa and others,
54:16of course.
54:18Address.
54:19Because there is a different so you
54:22come into the office and even what
54:24we have around us in the office?
54:27Is it off putting to those
54:29people that we're serving is it?
54:31Is it a welcoming environment?
54:32Are they going to have some sense of
54:35comfort there that we might possibly
54:37understand where they're coming from?
54:39What their situation is?
54:42So it's the temptation of not
54:44having all of your vacation pictures
54:47posted and that kind of thing,
54:49so it's a it's a different
54:53world and an recognizing.
54:55How we might better meet them
54:57where they're at so they can open
54:59up so they can feel comfortable
55:01with us and not judged?
55:05Now at the same time,
55:07when I have one last question and I
55:09don't and then maybe I could step back,
55:12but I'm curious when you talked
55:15about practice based evidence.
55:17Are you finding or do you think that there
55:20are support in this country Department?
55:23People here are very focused on
55:25evidence based practice, right?
55:26And are you?
55:28Are you finding that there are certain?
55:31Evidence based practices that
55:33you think are really ripe for
55:35adaptation or adoption,
55:36or I think adaptation for the
55:39communities that you serve.
55:42I was really on.
55:44They had the curriculum.
55:46Martin Seligman yeah,
55:47and did a curriculum and he was
55:50known for positive psychology
55:51and I got very excited about that,
55:54so I thought, oh,
55:55this is the ticket and I I took
55:58the assessment tools and it turned
56:00out according to that assessment
56:02tool that I wasn't an optimistic
56:04person and I thought how can it
56:07be an so I'm going like wow,
56:09so I looked at the questions
56:11an all of the questions that
56:14fit into that had to do with.
56:16Uh.
56:19I am a successful because my
56:22team because of my team or
56:24because of my leadership and you
56:27had to choose an if you chose.
56:30It was because of me.
56:31Then you rated higher on that that
56:33scale and I thought isn't that
56:35interesting because that would be
56:37the way to get yourself run out of
56:40town and an Indian community is.
56:41It's not all about me.
56:43You don't go insane, I'm doctor.
56:46Whatever doctor you are.
56:49So I think that looking at that closely
56:52and looking with our partners in our
56:55indigenous communities and saying,
56:56does this make sense to you?
56:59And taking it to the elders,
57:01the people that are trusted.
57:03And once you get one of my favorite
57:06things to do is to go to elder centers
57:09when I go out to villages because.
57:12If you can get them laughing and playing,
57:15you're gonna get the referrals and you're
57:17gonna get the acceptance and the connections.
57:20And so I'm a firm believer in.
57:22I would take silk scarves into the into
57:24the senior centers and they would be
57:27totally goofy and laughing and having
57:29a good time and and all they were
57:31getting her simple range of motion.
57:33But it got that range of motion.
57:36Got them talking.
57:39And if we can get them laughing and get
57:42them talking. We build relationship.
57:45It's a shorter way to build relationship and
57:49so I think running it by the people because
57:52it's one of the heart breaks that I have is.
57:56So many of our people now have been raised
58:00in the city away from their culture that.
58:05Their last and they read about it in a book.
58:09And we've had young people come to
58:12meetings and interrupt the elders until
58:13the elders how it's supposed to be done,
58:16because they've read about it in a book.
58:19Missing missing that connection that?
58:24The elders hold the their the wisdom keepers,
58:27and so we need to.
58:30Pay attention to what is.
58:31What is being told to us,
58:34and we're used to having this formula.
58:37And a lot of times this storytelling.
58:41It takes this.
58:42Kind of a long way around,
58:44and we've things back and forth and
58:46they don't tell you the message
58:48you're supposed to get from it.
58:49It is for you to sit with and to.
58:53Come up with that answer.
58:55Thank
58:55you, I think we have one.
58:57We have a couple of questions
58:58now from other people.
58:59I'm going to thank you very much.
59:03You're welcome.
59:07Does someone want to tell me what the
59:10questions are? Stephanie,
59:11do you want to handle the questions?
59:14Sure, sure, yeah. Do
59:18you anticipate improvement in mental
59:19health services to native peoples from the
59:21Pandemic Relief Fund that was recently
59:23passed by Congress?
59:27I remain hopeful. I remain hopeful,
59:30and one of the things that we're doing
59:33in this Society of Indian psychologist
59:36is that we're trying to make sure that
59:40we have representation from the DNA,
59:42the Navajos that were hit so hard
59:47by the pandemic as as a group and.
59:51I think that it it's going to
59:53vary by tribe and that's I.
59:56That's why I say I'm hopeful
59:58and then I have a pause because.
01:00:02We have had some people that have said
01:00:05immediately that their tribe helped him,
01:00:07that it was great that they got
01:00:10support and that they're working on
01:00:12new ways of communicating with people,
01:00:15and some of our reservations
01:00:17don't have Internet connection.
01:00:18You know, it's not broad.
01:00:20It doesn't matter if you have money in
01:00:23some areas of the Navajo reservation,
01:00:25you're not going to have running water,
01:00:28period.
01:00:28It's not a matter of money, so connectivity.
01:00:32Things like that are.
01:00:34The infrastructure isn't there for them,
01:00:37and so how do we get the
01:00:39messages out to them?
01:00:41And one of our Navajo psychologist said
01:00:44we need to use the radio and Alaska.
01:00:47We use the scene.
01:00:48Guess it was called a CB in
01:00:51the Little Village radio,
01:00:53so it's it's it's going to be gathering
01:00:55the people together afterwards.
01:00:58An I think that we're going to.
01:01:00We're going to see some good things happen
01:01:03from that because people have been.
01:01:06Isolated for so long and one of the
01:01:10challenges is the losing people and
01:01:12not being able to go to the usual.
01:01:16Grieving kind of ceremonies.
01:01:18I think that there's going to be a lot
01:01:22of community healing kinds of events
01:01:24that are going to be taken place and
01:01:27how much actually whittles dribbles down.
01:01:29To the hands that are going to
01:01:31use it responsibly as a question
01:01:34throughout our United States.
01:01:35You know, so I might.
01:01:37I remain hopeful though.
01:01:46Another question from Doctor Robot.
01:01:47Thanks so much for your presentation.
01:01:49You spoke briefly about the concept of
01:01:51the Red Road and wondered if you could
01:01:54speak more about what that entails and
01:01:56how do you think about incorporating
01:01:57that perspective into clinical care.
01:02:02I think it's an easy fit.
01:02:04The Red Rd is. Is.
01:02:08When you, it doesn't necessarily mean
01:02:11that you're following a traditional path.
01:02:14That doesn't mean that you've
01:02:16left Christianity behind.
01:02:17If that's your, you know.
01:02:19If that's your your faith tradition,
01:02:22it doesn't mean leaving that behind
01:02:24what it may mean is encompassing more,
01:02:27and it's about being a responsible
01:02:30member of the community.
01:02:32It is about sobriety and.
01:02:35This is Zach.
01:02:36I was told a long time ago that you're
01:02:39at the point now where you decide
01:02:41if you're going to be on this path.
01:02:43Then it means a total abstinence for me.
01:02:48That's what it meant in the.
01:02:50In the tradition where I was from,
01:02:53and so that was the path that I chose.
01:02:55Numbers.
01:02:56No going back from that.
01:02:57And the Red Rd is kind of.
01:03:01It kind of gives you the structure
01:03:04of how to conduct your life on a.
01:03:07On a daily basis of being a
01:03:10compassionate individual and it
01:03:12isn't a something that is like you,
01:03:14go to church on Sunday kind of thing.
01:03:17It is a daily practice.
01:03:19It is a daily practice.
01:03:21And isn't that what we really
01:03:24want for people is that they have
01:03:26something that they engage in that is
01:03:29healthy on a regular basis and where
01:03:32they choose to find their faith is
01:03:35their personal decision. But it is.
01:03:39Being a good relative, we have a.
01:03:44We have a tradition that is
01:03:46called home coffee and that means
01:03:48a making of relatives,
01:03:50and I think this isn't a very
01:03:53important concept and what that
01:03:55means is that we don't leave people
01:03:57behind an when we've had adoptions
01:04:00and death that that we may have
01:04:02people that no longer have a mom
01:04:05or no longer have a sister or
01:04:08brother and so who copy means that
01:04:11you will take someone as your son.
01:04:14As your mother and that you treat
01:04:16them as you would your own,
01:04:18and that's called the making of
01:04:20relatives along time ago it was
01:04:22used to make peace between different
01:04:24tribal groups and I have three what
01:04:26they call Hunke daughters might
01:04:28have three adopted daughters and
01:04:30I'm the only grandmother that some
01:04:32of them have ever known.
01:04:34Because it's that strong from the
01:04:37time that they are living in my home,
01:04:40Mary have children.
01:04:43And so that that those kinds of things
01:04:46are part of being on the Red Rd it is.
01:04:49Not just talking about it, it's doing it.
01:05:05That's very powerful, thank you.
01:05:09Welcome if there's one thing
01:05:11that I would dash through this
01:05:13because I so wanted to make sure
01:05:15that I covered the the topics.
01:05:17If there's one thing that I
01:05:20would encourage you to do,
01:05:21it would be to go back and understand
01:05:24that all three branches of our
01:05:26government have done things in the past,
01:05:29and I and currently that are impacting.
01:05:32Indigenous people and we oftentimes
01:05:35will get this kind of like.
01:05:41They call it the risk triangle where you
01:05:44get people that have suffered abuses and
01:05:47then in order to relieve some of that pain
01:05:52they self medicate and. Then they are.
01:05:55Then they engage in risky behavior
01:05:57while their high while they are musing.
01:06:00And then they are blamed.
01:06:02And so it is like that.
01:06:05That we keep blaming the people instead of
01:06:08looking at the source of what is going on.
01:06:11I don't mean that people aren't
01:06:13accountable for their actions,
01:06:15but I also believe that we need to.
01:06:18Celebrate our small victories
01:06:20when we see people.
01:06:22In that now trucks and stuff.
01:06:25Honey, you know it was like
01:06:27somebody drink seven days a week,
01:06:29but they only drink 5 days last week.
01:06:32That's that's progress, you know,
01:06:33and so it's acknowledging that it may take
01:06:36small steps to get to where we want to go.
01:06:39But if you know that you have.
01:06:43It's kind of like your cheerleader.
01:06:45Somebody there that is supporting you.
01:06:47It makes a big difference when you have been.
01:06:51Trying to figure things out on your
01:06:53own for so long and many of our
01:06:56folks because of these disruptions.
01:06:57Don't know their own history.
01:07:01And that to me,
01:07:02is heartbreaking to not know
01:07:04your own history.
01:07:14Are there any other questions or?
01:07:18Comments.
01:07:24Well, I want to thank you so
01:07:26much for this really very
01:07:28informative and heartfelt and talk.
01:07:30And I think you've really provided
01:07:33a lot of information to us about
01:07:36the historical contributions to
01:07:37where Indigenous people are now
01:07:39and how we might be more effective.
01:07:42And I think it's great to have
01:07:44you kind of talk to our community.
01:07:47We're very interested in this.
01:07:49I don't know if Maria or Stephanie
01:07:52wants to add anything or.
01:07:54And when I said get some comments
01:07:56in the chat thanking you for
01:07:58your presentation too.
01:08:01I appreciate that I would like to say just
01:08:04a little bit about Alaska native villages.
01:08:07Annemarie is probably better versed
01:08:09than I am to speak to this, but.
01:08:13I think many people don't realize that
01:08:15we have Third world living conditions
01:08:18in many of our communities in Alaska,
01:08:21in particular because of its unique
01:08:23geography, there is no connecting Rd
01:08:26system on the main part of Alaska. I.
01:08:30So you have to get in by boat or you
01:08:34have to fly in so it's very expensive.
01:08:38And if you were to go to one
01:08:40of the village stores,
01:08:42if you were to buy a block of cheese,
01:08:45it might be $27.00 a gallon of gas
01:08:47might be $12.00 fifteen dollars
01:08:49depending on your location,
01:08:51because everything has to be brought
01:08:53in by barge or has to be flown in.
01:08:57And so when we talk we have
01:08:59food deserts where we're saying,
01:09:01well, people just need to.
01:09:03Eat healthier,
01:09:03they just need to do this or that.
01:09:06It's looking at what is the real
01:09:08life condition that that the
01:09:10folks are living in and it is.
01:09:12I'll give you an example.
01:09:14This not even Alaska.
01:09:15My great grandma about I said
01:09:17I took to the doctor.
01:09:18We had a young doctor Kim come
01:09:22in and she had.
01:09:24Congestive heart failure
01:09:25is essentially what it was,
01:09:26but he wanted to wear support pantyhose.
01:09:29Keep in mind this Grandma is like 200 pounds.
01:09:34And I asked the Doctor Who we
01:09:37thought was going to wrestle.
01:09:39Those on grandma.
01:09:40You know,
01:09:41it's like the unrealistic recommendations
01:09:43that can sometimes be made.
01:09:45Just because we aren't thinking
01:09:47ahead about what is unique to that
01:09:50individual and what will work for them.
01:09:53We don't have running water in some of
01:09:56those communities that are in permafrost,
01:09:59it's permanently.
01:09:59Frozen.
01:10:00And so they have what they call a washateria.
01:10:04During the pandemic it was the wash.
01:10:07Your hands keep social distancing,
01:10:08but if you've been there,
01:10:10you know that you have maybe eight people
01:10:13living in this very small structure.
01:10:15And so it's constantly looking at.
01:10:20What is the truth for that person?
01:10:23What is their life like?
01:10:25The living conditions?
01:10:26And so I just like?
01:10:29I hope.
01:10:31Hope you have the opportunity to
01:10:33actually go out and live in that kind
01:10:36of environment for awhile just to
01:10:39understand some of the challenges and
01:10:41then to see some of the strengths.
01:10:44Some of the beautiful things that
01:10:46happened in spite of those hardships.
01:10:58Well, thank you. I think we're
01:10:59at the end of the time and again,
01:11:02thank you so much for your
01:11:04presentation today and it's
01:11:05so great to see you again so.
01:11:08Take care, thank you. Goodbye.