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Elliott E, Bang M. Reducing Indigenous suicide: Recognizing vital land and food systems for livelihoods. Am J Community Psychol 2024; 73:267-279. [PMID: 37822070 DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Colonial trauma poses a significant risk to the physical, intellectual, and mental health of Indigenous youth and young adults. Education and mental health scholars are increasingly concerned about the emotional wellbeing of young people, particularly as rates of suicide have increased across the United States. With interest in identifying the unique contextual dynamics involved in understanding Indigenous suicide, this work considers characteristics related to colonialism that may uncover strategies for both educators and mental health practitioners that address disparities. Drawing on a larger ethnographic study, this inquiry asks how settler encroachment upon Indigenous land and food systems is related to death by suicide from the perspective of Cowichan Tribes members. Comprehensive semi-structured interviews were conducted (n = 21); each interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed deductively based upon a priori suppositions related to settler colonial theory. Cowichan members' narrated explanations for suicide rooted in disruptions to (1) relationships with the land and (2) traditional food systems. They described how settler encroachment infringed upon their subsistence way of living and introduced incongruent constructions of nature-culture relations (e.g., humans as distinct and separate from the natural world). Settler futurity is secured through the arrogation of territorial dominance coupled with physical or conceptual acts of erasure, placing Indigenous lives and lifeways at risk. One outcome of the disruption to Indigenous collective capacities is a dramatic increase in Indigenous suicide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Elliott
- College of Education, Learning Sciences and Human Development, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Megan Bang
- School of Education & Social Policy, Learning Sciences and Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
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Schultz K, Taylor E, McKinney S, Hamby S. Exploring strengths, psychological functioning and youth victimization among American Indians and Alaska Natives in four southern states. Child Abuse Negl 2024; 148:106197. [PMID: 37208233 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identifying factors that support healthy psychological functioning after experiencing violence or other adversities in youth can lead to better prevention and intervention efforts. This is particularly important among communities with disproportionately high rates of adversity resulting from legacies of social and political injustices, such as American Indian and Alaska Native populations. METHODS Data were pooled from four studies in the southern U.S. to examine a subsample of American Indian/Alaska Native participants (N = 147; mean age 28.54 years, SD = 16.3). Using the resilience portfolio model, we investigate the impact of three categories of psychosocial strengths (regulatory, meaning making, and interpersonal) on psychological functioning (subjective well-being and trauma symptoms), controlling for youth victimization, lifetime adversities, age, and gender. RESULTS In examining subjective well-being, the full model accounted for 52 % of the variance, with strengths explaining more variance than adversities (45 % vs 6 %). For trauma symptoms, the full model accounted for 28 % of the variance, with strengths and adversities accounting nearly equally for the variance (14 % and 13 %). DISCUSSION Psychological endurance and sense of purpose showed the most promise for bolstering subjective well-being while poly-strengths (having a diversity of multiple strengths) was most predictive of fewer trauma symptoms. Building psychosocial strengths offers promising strategies for prevention and intervention in Native nations and communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Schultz
- University of Michigan School of Social Work, 1080 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA,.
| | - Elizabeth Taylor
- Life Paths Research Center, Oakland University, 654 Pioneer Drive, Pryale Hall, Rochester, MI 48309, USA.
| | - Sherise McKinney
- University of Michigan School of Social Work, 1080 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| | - Sherry Hamby
- Life Paths Research Center, University of the South, PO Box 187, Sewanee, TN 37375, USA.
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Hamby S, Schultz K, Taylor E. Health-Related Quality of Life among American Indian and Alaska Native People: Exploring Associations with Adversities and Psychosocial Strengths. Health Soc Work 2023; 48:105-114. [PMID: 36928132 DOI: 10.1093/hsw/hlad007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Identifying psychosocial strengths that support physical health can lead to better pathways to prevention and intervention. Relying on the resilience portfolio model as a conceptual framework, this study explores strengths in three domains (regulation, meaning making, and interpersonal) to identify promising protective factors to support physical health-related quality of life (P-HRQOL), controlling for prior exposure to adversity, age, and gender. This study uses data from four resilience portfolio model studies collected in the southern United States, combined to increase the number of people who identified as American Indian/Alaska Native. The sample included 147 people (M age = 28.5 years; SD = 16.26), of which 57 percent are female. The surveys collected data on adversities (polyvictimization, other adversities, county poverty), psychosocial strengths (psychological endurance, sense of purpose, religious meaning making, compassion, and community support), and P-HRQOL. The full model accounted for 24 percent of the variance in P-HRQOL, with strengths explaining more than twice as much variance as adversities (13 percent versus 6 percent). A sense of purpose showed the most promise for supporting P-HRQOL. Regarding implications, authors recommend exploring a wider range of protective factors that might improve resilience in Native communities. Several evidence-based pathways to meaning making, such as narrative and mindfulness, may improve health outcomes for Native people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherry Hamby
- PhD, is distinguished research professor of psychology, Psychology Department, University of the South, 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA; and director, Life Paths Research Center, Sewanee, TN 37375, USA
| | - Katie Schultz
- PhD, MSW, is assistant professor of social work, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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McKinley CE, Walters Choctaw Nation Of Oklahoma K. "It's Always About Sharing, and Caring, and Loving, and Giving": Decolonized and Transcendent Indigenist Foodways Fostering Health and Resilience. Advers Resil Sci 2023; 4:89-103. [PMID: 37139345 PMCID: PMC10153538 DOI: 10.1007/s42844-022-00086-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Centuries of historical oppression have targeted and undermined Indigenous foodways, which fundamentally disrupts the culture and wellness, yet decolonized, resilient, and transcendent Indigenist practices persist. The purpose of this research was to use the framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT) to understand foodway practices among Indigenous Peoples. Given a limited understanding of how foodways may promote health and wellness the focal research questions for this critical ethnographic inquiry were: (a) How do participants describe Indigenist foodways? (b) How do Indigenist foodways reflect decolonized values and practices? and (c) How may Indigenist foodways be promotive for health and wellness? Data were drawn from 31 participants across a rural, reservation-based Southeast (SE) region and an urban Northwest (NW) region. Reconstructive data analysis revealed the following emergent themes: (a) Indigenous Values of Generosity Expressed Through Foodways: "It's Always About Sharing, and Caring, and Loving, and Giving"; (b) Gardening, Subsistence, and Food Sharing: "You Bring Enough for Everybody to Share"; (c) Decolonized Feasts and Foodways: "Everybody Pitch in and Help as Much as They Can." Despite centuries of historical oppression, participants reported decolonized values, worldviews, and foodways that reflected unity, cooperation, sharing, and social cohesion and caring, which were promotive factors for family resilience, health, and cultural identification. This research provides promising pathways about how Indigenist foodways remain salient in daily and cultural life, reflect decolonized values and practices, and may be promotive for health and wellness within the natural world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E McKinley
- Associate Professor, Tulane University School of Social Work, 127 Elk Place, New Orleans, LA 70112
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Louvel S, Soulier A. Biological embedding vs. embodiment of social experiences: How these two concepts form distinct thought styles around the social production of health inequalities. Soc Sci Med 2022; 314:115470. [PMID: 36327636 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This article compares research on biological embedding and the embodiment of social experiences, two concepts proposed in the 1990s to introduce a new perspective on the social production of health inequalities. We draw on Ludwig Fleck's concept of 'thought style' (1935/2008) to question the possible emergence of a common research program around the processes by which the social becomes biological. METHODS We compiled a corpus of 322 articles referring to either biological embedding or to the embodiment of social experiences, identified in the Web of Science core collection and published from 1990 to 2021. We analyzed the articles' use of these concepts using scientometric indicators and qualitative content analysis. RESULTS Initial differences between the research agendas associated with biological embedding and embodiment are strengthened as both concepts circulate around scientific communities studying the social production of health inequalities. Thought styles formed around embedding and embodiment differ significantly in terms of shared references, sets of methods and research questions, and policy recommendations. Research on biological embedding forms a thought style shared by researchers in the biomedical and public health sciences. Conversely, the concept of embodiment of social experiences connects perspectives from biomedical, public health, human and social sciences, and gathers three thought styles, one identical to that of biological embedding and two formed in social epidemiology and in medical anthropology. CONCLUSIONS Acknowledging the differences between the concepts and divergences in their evolution provides an opportunity for identification of topics where thought styles are either complementary or in tension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Séverine Louvel
- PACTE - Sciences Po Grenoble, 1030 Avenue Centrale, Domaine Universitaire, 38040 Grenoble Cedex 09, France.
| | - Alexandra Soulier
- IHPST - Institut D'histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques (UMR 8590), Maison de La Philosophie - Marin Mersenne, 13, Rue Du Four, 75006 Paris, France.
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Abstract
This paper has two goals regarding cultural rigor, defined as privileging cultural ways of knowing and being as a means to achieving health and well-being for future generations. First, we move the continuum of health practices beyond cultural grounding to include Indigenous Culture-as-Health. Second, this project expands the concept of Indigenous Culture-as-Health in addiction and recovery to include a broader range of health, inclusive of prevention, to further understand this emerging model. Our review of the literature yielded an expanded cultural continuum that includes Indigenous Culture-as-Health, which appears to rely on four modalities: 1) Indigenous ways of knowing, 2) Indigenous cultural practices, 3) place-based/sacred sites, and 4) Indigenous spirituality. For Indigenous health, standards are defined by centuries of ancestral consciousness among Indigenous people across generations, in spite of settler-colonial systems that do not serve them. In other words, Indigenous Culture-as-Health practices contribute to self-determination, sovereignty, and liberation. Incorporating these strategies also will ameliorate other problems related to White supremacy and health, such as epistemic exploitation. Additional implications for prevention practice and policy are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cherry Y E W Yamane
- Department of Psychiatry, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
| | - Susana Helm
- Department of Psychiatry, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
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Fernandez AR, Beltrán RE. “Wherever I Go, I Have It Inside of Me”: Indigenous Cultural Dance Narratives as Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention in an Urban Danza Mexica Community. Front Public Health 2022; 9:789865. [PMID: 35127622 PMCID: PMC8814356 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.789865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction “Mexican American Indian” (MAI) is a large and diverse population for which little empirical research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and HIV is available, yet for which there is a disproportionate risk. Indigenous health narratives and participation in place- and settings-based cultural practices can be protective in chronic and co-occurring disease prevention and health promotion for Indigenous people. This study explores the role of participation in cultural dance in generating narratives of prevention and health promotion among a sample of MAIs from an Urban Danza Mexica Community (UDMC), framed within a decolonizing narratives of health (DNOH) model. Methods This secondary data analysis (n = 9) is drawn from a qualitative AOD and HIV health needs assessment of UDMC living in the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountain West (n = 21). This study uses a community-based participatory research approach and employs narrative, Indigenized methods to analyze in-depth interviews from adult cisgender females (n = 5) and males (n = 4). The DNOH model is developed as a relational, analytic framework that contextualizes Indigenous stories in relationship to three distinct yet interconnected levels—the personal, the communal, and Indigeneity in the larger world. These levels of narrative analysis function as culturally grounded, relational pathways through which to articulate health education and promotion approaches. Results Narratives delve into the complex and nuanced relationships within participants' internal worlds (personal), between themselves and their Danza community (communal), and between themselves and their complex, intersectional Indigenous identities within society (Indigeneity). Stories of ancestral teachings about health and prevention shared within the Danza circle create spaces wherein participants navigate complex conversations that resist oppressive colonial narratives, reconnect with and strengthen their Indigenous identities, and strive toward ancestral visions of health and well-being. Discussion This study contributes to Indigenized theoretical and methodological expansion and the development of place/settings-based, narrative, cultural health interventions aimed at preventing chronic and co-occurring disease and promoting wellness among populations similar to the UDMC. Identifying cultural practices as Native Hubs (relational, socially constructed places) that foster decolonizing narratives helps increase understanding of their role in public health education and promotion through recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems and frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela R. Fernandez
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
- *Correspondence: Angela R. Fernandez
| | - Ramona E. Beltrán
- Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
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