2022 Indigenous Communities Fellowship
Intergenerational Healing - Resilience through Culture
Reclaiming Indigenous education through curriculum development guided by First Language Speakers and backed by neurobiology, behavioral health experts, and education experts.
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.
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Headquarters: Spokane, Washington
Stage: Prototype
Working In: Washington, United States
Current Employees: 1
Solution Website: https://kwucnxi.wixsite.com/website
Solution Team:
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Cree Whelshula Executive Director
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