Protecting and Healing from Trauma Through Native Nation Building and Community Strengthening
This collection of research and commentary, compiled by the National Native Children’s Trauma Center at the University of Montana and the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona with support from Casey Family Programs, proposes an “upstream” approach to trauma-informed care, one that demonstrates a broad awareness of the causes of trauma while supporting the development of effective tribal systems and interventions. A nation-building approach engages not only tribal human and social services programs but all parts of tribal government in taking responsibility for creating a comprehensive approach to trauma that helps safeguard children and families and restores collective wellbeing.
Note: The figure above is a modified version of the figure on p. 12 in Jason Brennen, et. al., Building a Multi-System Trauma-Informed Collaborative: A Guide for Adopting a Cross-System, Trauma-Informed Approach among Child-Serving Agencies and Their Partners (Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago & Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research, 2019).
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Rather than asking, “What can we do to help people after they are traumatized?" a Native nation-building approach proceeds from the questions, “What can we do to eliminate the conditions that commonly result in trauma?” and “What can we do to build and sustain resilience at a community level?”
The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and the Native Nations Institute define Native nation building (or rebuilding) as “the process by which a Native nation strengthens its own capacity for effective and culturally relevant self-government and for self-determined and sustainable community development.” Because Native nation building and related approaches to community strengthening help create healthy and thriving Native communities, they are crucial elements of the trauma-informed approach proposed in this collection. In fact, they offer a means of Indigenizing trauma intervention rather than treating individual psychological traumas in isolation, as approaches rooted in Western medicine do. Nation building and Native community strengthening are the needed community-wide, foundational response for Native nations, Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiians (i.e., the bottom stripe of the figure above).
The collection is organized by topic area, and each item in the collection has been chosen to help users understand:
the characteristics of healthy and thriving Native communities
how Native nations can advance their community wellbeing goals, especially through the development of laws, policies, and cross-systems work
how such communities are themselves a protective factor and healing force for Native children and families
The introduction to each topic area provides an overview of the connections between upstream Native nation-building and community strengthening efforts and the given health and wellbeing issue. The selected articles, reports, and webpages encourage users to explore these connections and posit further linkages among Native nation building, community development, thriving and healthy Native nations, and children and family wellbeing.
General Connections
The Role of Culture
Housing Connections
Health Connections
Education Connections
Food Systems Connections