Intergenerational Healing - Resilience through Culture

Solution Pitch

The Problem

Mental health is a predictor of educational outcomes. Native students in Washington State, and nationally, have the poorest educational outcomes by race since the boarding school era. Poor educational outcomes create barriers to socioeconomic stability. This leads to a wide variety of social issues that plague all tribes in America.

The Solution

Intergenerational Healing - Resilience through Culture is a paradigm shift that elevates the voices of First Language Speakers to recreate traditional upbringing from womb to adulthood. From these teachings, educational and mental health experts package the information to educators or community members working with or caring for Native children to provide cultural curricula and resources that are engaging, healing, and cognitively substantive. Within the cultural practice itself, detailed narratives of what is happening physiologically to improve mental health and cross curricular integration (state educational standards) is spelled out to allow educators to easily implement into schools. To support this shift, professional development and mentorship opportunities will be provided throughout the year to support educators and communities to implement programs to cultural fidelity. By targeting mental health through language and cultural education, the aim is to improve community health, wellness, and social outcomes.

Stats

• Six formal partners with memorandums of understanding in place, and three informal partners who support and benefit from Intergenerational Healing’s efforts.

• Conducted a full day workshop with 131 registrations.

Market Opportunity

kwu cnxi operates within Native language/culture revitalization, education, and behavioral health markets. Partners and beneficiaries are schools and early childcare programs which include 59 school districts in Washington State.

Organization Highlights

Formal partners:

• Outma Sqilxw Cultural School

• Colville Tribe Head Start

• Paschal Sherman Indian School

• t̓iʔ kʷu t̓iʔ x̌ilx Indigenous Association

• Rural Resources Victim Services - Tribal Program

• Osoyoos Indian Band.

This solution does not include intellectual property in the legal sense, but heavily involves traditional knowledge. Cultural integrity is the practice of respecting and honoring the collective ownership of materials, traditions, and knowledge that originate from a particular culture or community. Individuals or groups that develop culture and language materials without the guidance, approval or consent of established community First Language Speakers, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers may unknowingly and unintentionally change the culture/language into a European/Western construct. Informed consent is necessary when creating, distributing, or recreating any sqilxʷ language and cultural programs, or curricula. The sqilxʷ people are an Indigenous collective culture. Collectivist cultures are characterized by prioritizing group solidarity over individual goals.

Partnership Goals

Intergenerational Healing seeks:

• Technical Support

• Grant Writing

• Financial and legal matters

• How to find and apply for grants that fit best with our program.