Surviving and keeping life in balance CAIR Conference. Tucson, AZ 8/7/2013

More attention given to acknowledging Native Peoples’ resiliency

Defining resilience

Resilience “[We are like a] blade of grass. When stepped on, it bounces back and suggests that there’s a strong inner core there that allows families to carry on [with the] stresses of life that come to everyone.” Goodluck, C. and Willeto, A. A. (2009). Seeing the Protective Rainbow: How Families Survive and Thrive in the American Indian and Alaska Native Community. Annie E. Casey Foundation. Page 1.

Visible signs of Native resiliency

Familial signs of resiliency through teaching and maintaining cultural traditions

A history of Native resilience in face of many forced changes

Being different and seeing its value

What does academia tell us about American Indian resilience? “Allow us to remain Native”

Looking for protective factors: The family study *A SENSE OF BELONGING/BEING OF VALUE a name, a member of family, member of a clan *RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY a belief in a greater power & having access to that power through ceremonial, prayer, etc. *LANGUAGE to utilize the right words (traditional prayers/songs) to relieve stress or disharmony * Goodluck C. & A.A.A. Willeto. (2009). Seeing the Protective Rainbow. The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Continued: *EXTENDED FAMILY/FRIENDS to call on during times of need *MAINTAINING CULTURAL-BASED PRACTICES, KNOWLEDGE, & SKILLS that which has cultural meaning and creativity *HUMOR ability not to take life so seriously Goodluck C. & A.A.A. Willeto. (2009). Seeing the Protective Rainbow. The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Resilience and successful aging Schure MB, et al., The Association of Resilience with Mental and Physical Health among Older American Indians: The Native Elder Care Study. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research. Found those with high levels of resiliency from a cross-sectional study of 185 native elders * greater social engagement *higher optimism *Stronger physical strength *higher level of functional independence

Native Elder Care Study Elder with high levels of resilience : *had lower levels of depression and chronic pain *reported higher levels of mental and physical health *compared to women, men showed stronger inheritable resilience *Researchers suggest resilience training to help improve diabetes self-management for Native elders Schure MB, et al., The Association of Resilience with Mental and Physical Health among Older American Indians: The Native Elder Care Study. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research.

Traditional cultural factors Help foster resilience: * Spirituality * Mental well-being * Emotional well-being * Physical well-being HeavyRunner, I. and Morris, J.S. (1997).Traditional native culture and resilience. Research Practice, 5(1). MN: University of Minnesota. Center for Applied Research & Educational Improvement.

Youth: examining self-esteem Youth with high self-esteem: *know they belong, are loved & cared for by their family *are gaining mastery or confidence through observation, imitation, having role model, etc. *have opportunities and encouragement to develop independence *are taught and encouraged to be generous, respectful Brendtro, L., Brokenleg, M. and Van Bockern, S. (1990). Reclaiming youth at risk: Our hope for the future. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service.

Unstable Family Environment Risk factors for youth: *did not have strong connection to their families *did not feel they were understood, loved, wanted, or received attention *more likely to have access to guns, tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs *knew someone who had attempted or committed suicide in the preceding year Blum, RW and Rinehart, PM (1997). Reducing the risk: Connections that make a difference in the lives of youth. Bethesda, MD: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED

Resilient Students *Believed they had good qualities *Liked themselves *Felt loved and wanted *Believed that spirituality, religion, and prayers were important *Were doing well academically * Blum, RW and Rinehart, PM (1997). Reducing the risk: Connections that make a difference in the lives of youth. Bethesda, MD: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED

Adolescents’ view of school *Felt teachers treated students fairly *Felt close to people at school *Said they got along with teachers & other students *Felt their fellow students were not prejudiced Blum, RW and Rhinehart, PM (1997). Reducing the risk: Connections that make a difference in the lives of youth. Bethesda, MD: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED

A supportive school environment *Had high daily attendance *Strong parent-teacher organizations *Low dropout rates *High percentage of teachers with master’s degrees or above *High percentage of college bound students Blum, RW and Rinehart, PM (1997). Reducing the risk: Connections that make a difference in the lives of youth. Bethesda, MD: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED

What does American Culture tell us about resilience?

*Do not let what you can do interfere with what you can do *Problems are not stop signs, they’re guidelines *Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall *Behold the turtle, he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.

The longstanding star of resiliency Wiley E. Coyote

Egotistical and confident: the resiliency character of Coyote

He never gives up, at any cost

And he resolves to try a new way again and again

In the end, he appears to come up with a meaningful resolution

Challenges in studying resilience Our understanding (through research) on resiliency and native peoples is confounded by tribal/ethnic diversity Tools used to measure resiliency are not always appropriate Rapid and ongoing cultural change are not easily delineated The experiences of poverty, discrimination, and other factors become factors that are hard to isolate or explain Residential lifestyle (urban and non-urban) also add to the challenges *

Global impact on personal identity: among the many challenges