January 25, 2021 - Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) technical trainers LaVonne Fox, PhD, OTR, and Sarah Nielsen, PhD, OTR, have been selected to present at the 29th Annual National Association of African American Studies (NAAAS) & Affiliates Virtual Conference.
Fox and Nielsen’s presentation, entitled “Education to Heal the Broken Circle of Cultural Genocide,” will explore the circle, which is sacred in many U.S. Indigenous cultures. The circle symbolizes wholeness and represents the cycles of life. It represents strength, unity, and balance, and has no beginning or ending. The circle has been damaged by historical traumatic events, with education being one of the primary vehicles for cultural genocide. “There is very little understanding of the impact of boarding schools on all aspects of Indigenous identity,” says Fox. The presentation will focus on preserving Indigenous culture by decolonizing education.
Fox and Nielsen were instrumental in the development of Mountain Plains MHTTC’s newest toolkit, Strengthening Resilience: Promoting Positive School Mental Health among Indigenous Youth. This toolkit addresses the role of trauma to assist educators and providers to advance a greater understanding of the cultural context of Indigenous youth. The historical review provides a greater understanding of the role of boarding schools, forced colonization, and assimilation resulting in cultural genocide and their impact on education. Strategies and resources are provided to include the Seven Teachings and the Circle of Courage that can be incorporated into traditional teachings in the k-12 curriculums and adapted in any school. Additional resources will be shared that are based on best-practices to include increasing cultural awareness of tribal history, language, and culture within the full continuum of educational and behavioral health response. “We hope participants understand that there are practical strategies to help Indigenous youth develop a positive identity, which is key to improving their mental health,” says Nielsen.
