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Community Defined Practices for Ethnic Populations Webinar Series
Native American Focus California Consortium for Urban Indian Health
Lost in Translation: Telling Our StoryWednesday, February 19, 201410:00 AM – 12:00 PM (PST)
.California Institute for Mental HealthCenter for Multicultural Development
Lost in Translation: Telling Our StoryFacilitated by
Dr. Melissa Leal, Ph.D. (Esselen/Ohlone)And
Albert Titman Sr., CADC II (Miwok)
Moderated by Barbara Aragon, MSW(Laguna Pueblo)
• Objectives– Participants will have an understanding of the demography and diversity of the Native American population in California.
– Participants will receive a historical overview from the Native American perspective.
– Participants will be provided an overview and have an understanding of the Mental Health issues among Native Americans living in California today.
A Demographic Overview
A Presentation byDr. Melissa Leal, Ph.D.(Esselen/Ohlone)
Part 1
• General Population Facts– 565 Federally‐recognized U.S. tribes– In 2010, roughly 5.2 million AI/ANs living in the U.S.– Projected U.S. population of AI/ANs for 2050 is estimated to reach 8.6 million
– In 2010, several tribes had groupings with 100,000 or more responses
– In 2010, 15 states with more than 100,000 AI/AN residents.
– In 2010, California had the largest AI/AN population (723,225)
– The percentage of AI/ANs who lacked health insurance in 2010 was 29.2%.
• California/Sacramento Specific– There are currently 109 federally recognized tribes in California.
• Sacramento is home to 5.7% of California’s Native people
– The history of the Sacramento area, and its people, is rich in heritage, culture and tradition.
• Nisenan, Maidu, Valley Miwok, Me‐Wuk, Patwin, Wintun Peoples
– Before the “Round‐Up” of California Indians, villages varied in size from two‐dozen to as many as several hundred individuals.
• California/Sacramento Specific Cont…– The Indian Relocation Act of 1956
• (also known as Public Law 959 or the Adult Vocational Training Program)
– While all areas of urban Indian country share similar challenges of housing, education, employment, healthcare, and maintaining united families, with cultural values and connection… the Sacramento region is unique.
– What constitutes our community
• Health Disparities– 10 Leading Causes of Death for AI/ANs in 2009:
• Heart Disease• Cancer• Unintentional Injuries• Diabetes• Chronic Liver Disease & Cirrhosis• Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases• Stroke• Suicide• Influenza & Pneumonia• Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome & Nephrosis
• Contributing Factors to Health Disparities Among American Indian/Alaska Native Populations– AI/ANs have a unique relationship with the federal government due to historic conflict and subsequent treaties.
• Sovereignty • Limited or no access to IHS services
– Reservation vs. Rancheria • poorer health outcomes for AI/ANs
• Examples of important health disparities noted in the CHDIR– In 2006, AI/AN mothers had the second highest infant death rate
– In 2007, AI/AN populations had the highest rate of motor vehicle‐related deaths, one of the highest rates of suicides, and the second highest death rate due to drugs
– In 2009, AI/AN adults were among those with the highest prevalence of binge drinking
– In 2008, the AI/AN birth rate among females 10‐19 years of age was the third highest
– In 2009, both AI/AN youth aged 12‐17 years and AI/AN adults aged 18 years or older had the highest prevalence of current smoking
• Examples of important health disparities noted in the CHDIR Cont…– In 2009, the prevalence of AI/AN adults aged 18 years and older who did not complete high school represented the second largest prevalence
– In 2009, the percentage of AI/AN adults living in poverty was among the largest
– In 2009, AI/AN adults who owned or rented housing more often lived in inadequate and unhealthy housing
– In 2008, the percentage of AI/AN adults aged 50 years and older who received colorectal screening was 9% less than the percentage of white adults screened.
A Historical Overview and Mental Health Issues Today
A Presentation byAlbert Titman Sr., CADC II
(Miwok)
Part 2
• Everything is Connected
Pre‐ContactPre‐Contact
ContactContact
Post‐ContactPost‐ContactPresent DayPresent Day
Generations Ahead
Generations Ahead
• Native people have lived healthy, balanced lifestyles for thousands of years
• Culture is shared meaning, shared values, spirituality, traditions, language, customs, arts, symbols, history, stories, relationships, ancestors, behaviors, Ceremony
• Our cultures/traditions are science‐based and included systematic methods for prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery support
• Indigenous Epistemology (knowledge systems) were intact to maintain balance
• Traditionally, our cultures had counselors, doctors, psychiatrists, medicines, etc.
Pre‐Contact
• Tribal priorities and strategies were designed according to local scientific data related to the bio‐region, history related to creation/emergence, values, and culture
• Orality ensured balance– Ceremonies– Songs– Stories
• Creation Stories: What do they mean?– Connection/relationship with the earth/land– Balance/reciprocity– Bonds with all relatives (human & nonhuman)– Sets up foundations/principles for the society– Displays consequences for certain actions– Incorporates the importance of particular elements such as food, medicines, etc.
– Integrates prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery support
• 3 major components of Indigenous Identity:– Language – orality, connection to culture
• In Esselen, the word “alpa” means to speak and to pray. This is an important example of how indigenous languages not only imply meanings but create relationships. The words that we speak carry as much power as a prayer.
– Land – reciprocal relationship– Historical experience of colonization, trauma
• Scientific Research & Oral Tradition verify pre‐Columbian contact• Evidence of contact between Polynesians and the Chumash &
Gabrielino of Southern California, between 500 and 700 AD, is the advanced sewn‐plank canoe design, which is used throughout the Polynesian Islands, but is unknown in North America — except for those two tribes. The Chumash word for "sewn‐plank canoe," tomolo'o, may have derived from kumulaa'au, the Polynesian word for the Redwood logs.
• Contact was not an abrupt incident. The impact would occur over hundreds of years.
Contact
• Contributions– European survival on this continent is attributed to Native peoples
• Agriculture• Language• Government• Science: Chemists, Biologists, environmentalists, ecologists, etc.
• Skilled Herbalists/Doctors• Architecture
• Impact: Contact would change the lives of Native peoples FOREVER…– Historical Periods of Trauma
• Colonization‐ First contact period• Devastation to the environment period• Genocide and Extermination period• Subjugation and Reservation period• Missionary period
– Current 4th Grade Mission Projects continue today!• Forced Relocation and termination period• Dependency period• Boarding School period• Removal of Children period
• Disease– By 1640, epidemic diseases such as small pox & measles wiped out approximately 90% of Indian populations
– Mass extermination by disease was federal policy
• In 1837 the United States Army deliberately infected Mandan Indians by distributing blankets that had been exposed to smallpox
• Massacres, War, and Violence– Massacres were carried out in all
places of North, Central, and South America
• In California, the decrease from about a quarter of a million to less than 20,000 is primarily due to the cruelties and massacres perpetrated by miners & early settlers
– Clear Lake, Bloody Island– Round Valley, Longest Walk
– Different perspectives of war– Increased Inter‐tribal
warfare/disputes– Created Intra‐tribal conflicts
Wounded Knee Victims
One of the most famous quotes concerning extermination of Indians
was made by a famous general in the U.S. Army,
“The only good Indian I ever saw was dead”.
General Philip Sheridan
• Exploitation– Attempted to “Civilize” Indians– Spanish Missions in California are an example of Religious Impact of
Colonialism
• Displacement and Disruption of Culture– Geographic displacement & disruption of life ways resulted from
the European colonization of the Americas– In the United States, the relocations of Native Americans resulting
from the policies of Indian Removal & the reservation system created a disruption
• Forced relocations• There are harmful social side effects of “ethnic cleansing” policies
• Boarding Schools– Forced removal based on programs developed for prisons
Carlisle Indian Boarding School
• Long Term Effects of Historical Trauma– Loss of Culture, family, spirituality– Lack of family bonding– Do not learn parenting skills– Abnormal/dysfunction becomes what’s “normal”– Destroyed self image– Learns lateral oppression– Loss of economies and tribal governance– Acceptance of outside behaviors– Self‐medication– Mental Illness, health disparities
Post‐Contact
• Historical and Inter‐generational Trauma– Historical Trauma is the cumulative emotional and psychological
wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma. Native Americans have, for over 500 years, endured physical, emotional, social, and spiritual genocide from European and American colonialist policy
• Six Phases of Historical Unresolved Grief 1. 1st Contact: life shock, genocide, no time for grief. Colonization Period: introduction of disease and alcohol, traumatic events such as Wounded Knee Massacre. 2. Economic competition: sustenance loss (physical/spiritual). 3. Invasion/War Period: extermination4. Subjugation/Reservation Period: confined/translocated, forced dependency on oppressor, lack of security. 5. Boarding School Period: destroyed family system, beatings, rape, prohibition of Native language and religion; Lasting Effect: ill‐prepared for parenting, identity confusion. 6. Forced Relocation and Termination Period: transfer to urban areas, prohibition of religious freedom, racism, loss of community
– Intergenerational Trauma is the transfer of trauma across generation1980’s: Maria Yellow Horse Brave heart
• Mental Health Disparities– Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)– Intergenerational PTSD/Intergenerational trauma– Post‐Colonial Stress Disorder– Wounding of the Soul– Historic Trauma/Historic Trauma Transmission– Microaggression/Lateral Oppression
• Everything is Inter‐related• Health and wellness is directly connected to our sense of self… who we are as Native
people• Results of colonization are Genocide, Historical trauma, Inter‐generational trauma,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, loss of language and culture• The revitalization, maintenance, and continual practice of our culture is vital to
achieving and maintaining optimal wellness• Living in “two worlds” is unhealthy. A balance of our culture and the mainstream
society is necessary for our mental, physical, spiritual wellbeing
• Holistic Approach to Wellness– Emotional– Mental– Physical– Spiritual– Relational– Economic
Present
• Thriving: Imagination carries our vision to the 7th Generation– Our Creation & Emergence Histories give us the ability to
imagine ourselves as Indian people into the 7th generation– The life of a pre-teen, teenager, adult, mother, father,
grandmother, grandfather, warrior, elder, singer, dancer, healer, all begin in the imagination… who and how we envision ourselves
Generations Ahead
• Questions?
Thank You
