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Center for American Indian Resilience Conference

Center for American Indian Resilience Conference. Plenary A: What Does Academia Tell Us About American Indian Resilience? . Manley A. Begay , Jr. Desert Diamond Conference Center Tucson, Arizona August 7 – 8, 2013. What is Resiliency?. Most C ommon D efinition:

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Center for American Indian Resilience Conference

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  1. Center for American Indian Resilience Conference Plenary A: What Does Academia Tell Us About American Indian Resilience? Manley A. Begay, Jr. Desert Diamond Conference Center Tucson, Arizona August 7 – 8, 2013

  2. What is Resiliency? Most Common Definition: Successful and positive adaptation and transformation despite life stress, risk and adversity Common Misconceptions: • Resilience is a trait • Healthy families don’t have problems • Resilient people are immune to stress and negative emotions

  3. SOME RESEARCH I • Bergstrom, Amy; Cleary, Linda Miller; Peacock, Thomas D. The Seventh Generation: Native Students Speak about Finding the Good Path, ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, Charleston, WV. • Strand, J.A. & Peacock, R. (2003). Resource Guide for Cultural Resilience. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 14 (4). • Strand, J.A. & Peacock, T.D. (2002). Nurturing Resilience and School Success in American Indian and Alaska Native students. ERIC Digest. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearing house on Rural Education and Small Schools (EDO- RC-02-11). • Michael J. ChandlerChristopher E. Lalonde, , Cultural Continuity as a Moderator of Suicide Risk among Canada’s First Nations in Kirmayer, L. & Valaskakis, G. (Eds.). The Mental Health of Canadian Aboriginal Peoples: Transformations, Identity, and Community. University of British Columbia Press. • William G. Demmert, Jr., Improving Academic Performance among Native American Students , A Review of the Research Literature, (December 2001) ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools Charleston, WV. • John Fleming and Robert J. Ledogar, Resilience, an Evolving Concept: A Review of Literature Relevantto Aboriginal Research, PubMed Central CANADA, Pimatisiwin. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 October 18. Published in final edited form as: Pimatisiwin. 2008 ; 6(2): 7–23.

  4. SOME RESEARCH II • Jackson, Aaron P. , Smith, Steven A. Hill, Curtis L. Academic Persistence Among Native American College Students, Journal of College Student Development, Volume 44, Number 4, July/August 2003. • Heavy Runner, Iris, and Marshall, Kathy, Miracle Survivors: Promoting Resilience in Indian Students. Tribal College Journal, v14 n4 p14-18 Sum 2003. • Jan-Richard C Cummins, M.D., Marjorie Ireland,, Ph.D., Michael D Resnick, Ph.D., Robert Wm Blum, M.D., Ph.D., Correlates of Physical and Emotional Health among Native American Adolescents, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 24, Issue 1, Pages 38-44, January 1999. • Teresa D. LaFromboise, Dan R. Hoyt, Lisa Oliver, Les B. Whitbeck,Family, Community, and School Influences on Resilience among American Indian Adolescents in the Upper Midwest, Special Issue: Addressing Mental Health Disparities Through Culturally Competent Research and Community-Based Practice, Journal of Community Psychology,Volume 34, Issue 2, pages 193–209, March 2006.

  5. Some Recurring ThemesRisk Factors: • Perceived Discrimination • Racism • Colonialization • Economic Disparities • Poverty • Native Language and Culture Loss • Loss of Native Identity • Low Sense of Self and Self-Esteem • Lack of Goal Setting

  6. Some Recurring ThemesProtective Factors: • High parental expectations • Structured social support and networks • Faculty/staff warmth • Exposure to college and vocations • Developing independence and assertiveness • Reliance on spiritual resources • Having body pride • Knowing traditional Native ways • Dealing with racism • Personal determination, confidence and goal setting • Bicultural school curriculum • Supportive family, community, and culture • Knowledge of Native spirituality • Family strength • Respect for Elders • Participating in ceremonial rituals • Knowing oral traditions • Having a strong cultural identity • Caring and supportive relationships • Positive and high personal expectations • Opportunities for meaningful participation • Early identification with a goal or profession and participation in student activities

  7. Some Ways to Develop Well-Adjusted, Resilient People I • Provide a safe, challenging, and enriched environment early in the life of children • Support the importance of Native language and cultural programs in schools • Promote a positive sense of identity and self • Stimulate positive attitudes about school and others • Support improved academic performance • Promote levels of congruency between the culture of the school and the culture of the community • Encourage school attendance, • Encourage early goal settings and sense of purpose

  8. Some Ways to Develop Well-Adjusted, Resilient People II • Reinforce positive life experiences • Increase social and economic circumstances of families and communities • Know Native traditional values and practices • Clearly define community and tribal political or traditional roles – assertion of sovereignty • Develop family support • Encourage a sense of identity and self • Promote language development and competence

  9. Areas of Future Research I • Studies to understand Native traditional ways of developing, strengthening and maintaining resilience • More studies about cultural factors promoting resilience • Research into factors that enhance resiliency of entire communities and groups • Studies understanding the resilience process among Native people • More research into how protective factors interact with risk factors to support resilience • Studies to determine traditional Native definitions of resilience

  10. Areas of Future Research II Others have suggested: • Studies to improve understanding of what makes some Native youth respond positively to risk and adversity and others not • Case studies providing empirical confirmation of the theory of resilient reintegration among Native youth • Studies to improve understanding of how Native youth, especially urban youth, who do not live in self-governed communities with strong cultural continuity can be helped to become, or remain, resilient • Greater involvement of Native researchers who can bring a nonlinear world view to resilience research

  11. Traditional Navajo Perspective of Resiliency Wellness: • Live a Healthy Lifestyle • Be Physically Healthy • Have Mental Strength • Have Emotional Strength

  12. Navajo Wellness Model • Concern for Self – Getting up early in the morning and running • Revere the Self –Having respect for your body, mind and spirit • Care for Self – Personal hygiene, exercise, organizing, confidence and pride, attaining knowledge, learning from others • Knowing Limits and Boundaries – Knowing safe and unsafe places, not to be misled, body ages, elders and their teachings, high quality work in work and life • Respecting and Valuing Home – Knowing songs and prayers • Knowing and Respecting What You Live By – Corn, meat, care of livestock, arts and crafts • Ceremonies – Means of wellness

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