This article is by Orly Morgan, board member AlterNATIVE Education, Columbia College Class of 2017. Summer is known as a time for students to rest and relax after months of classes; but for AlterNATIVE Education , summer means business. The team is quickly preparing to train facilitators, book flights and put the finishing touches on curriculum that it will teach to Native American students on 10 different reservation communities around the country AlterNATIVE Education is a not-for-profit...

Dear Members of the Native American Group -- As the attached notice describes, on April 4 th and 5 th , a coalition of national and local organizations will host a trauma-informed conference in Window Rock Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. The goal is to promote the implementation of trauma-informed programs on reservations in the Four Corners area, with a particular focus on education, health care, and law enforcement/courts. Called the Four Corners Warrior Spirit Conference and Ceremony,...

On April 21-22 nd , a group of about 60 representatives of tribes, non-profit organizations, reservation schools, and others gathered at the Wellington Ranch, a lovely oasis in the middle of the Gila River Reservation in Arizona, to discuss and experience traditional and western practices for healing historical and childhood trauma. The agenda nourished both the brain and the spiritual side, the combination that is needed in order to combat historical and childhood trauma that pervades so...

Calling Upon the Warrior Spirit to Heal Historical Trauma -- A Conference on Creating Trauma-informed Tribal Communities and Using Traditional Practices to Address Historical and Childhood Trauma On Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22, the Roundtable on Native American Trauma Informed Initiatives, supported by the Gila River Tribal Employment Rights Office, the Viejas Mission Band of Indians, Native Health Care Solutions LLC, the Van Ness Feldman Law Firm will be hosting a conference entitled...

This article is by Orly Morgan, board member AlterNATIVE Education, Columbia College Class of 2017. Summer is known as a time for students to rest and relax after months of classes; but for AlterNATIVE Education , summer means business. The team is quickly preparing to train facilitators, book flights and put the finishing touches on curriculum that it will teach to Native American students on 10 different reservation communities around the country AlterNATIVE Education is a not-for-profit...

As Elizabeth Prewitt reported earlier , in December 12 U.S. Senators sent a letter to DHHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell asking that she direct the agencies in DHHS serving Native Americans to plan and implement a comprehensive integrated trauma-informed strategy. In February, Secretary Burwell responded positively to the Senators, informing them that she has directed the Administrator of the Administration on Native Americans (ANA) to take the lead in developing such a strategy and plan. She...