Carmella Kahn-Thornbrugh Agnes Attakai Kerstin Resinschmidt Shannon Whitewater Tara Chico

1. Urban American Indian Elders Resiliency: Sources of Strength for Building a Healthy Future for Today’s Youth Carmella Kahn-Thornbrugh Agnes Attakai Kerstin Resinschmidt Shannon Whitewater Tara Chico NolandoNeswood Kathryn Foster Nicolette Teufel-Shone

2. Background • Role of American Indian (AI) elders • Keepers and transmitters of knowledge (Wexler, 2011) • Endured many adversities (Grandbois & Sanders, 2009) • Life stories hold life lessons and foundational knowledge to better understand resilience • Youth in today’s society • Disconnect between elders and youth (Wexler, 2011) • Urban AI youth face greater challenges connecting with elders (Stumblingbear-Riddle, 2012) • Previous research acknowledges that ties to culture and other variables (i.e. social support) may be protective and lead to resilient outcomes for positive youth development (LaFromboiseet al., 2006; Wexler, 2011)

3. Protective intergenerational strategies • Spirituality • Tribal identity • Elders • Ceremonies and rituals • Humor • Oral tradition • Family • Support networks (HeavyRunner and Morris, 1997) • What protective strategies can elders offer to enhance resiliency among urban American Indian youth?

4. Methods: Literature review • Medical and Social science databases were surveyed • (1) Peer-reviewed English based articles • (2) Published from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2013 • (3) AIAN and Hawaiian elders as the target population • (4) Non-clinical based • (5) Key words and terms for American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Resilience

5. Key words and terms used in literature review

6. Methods:

7. Methods: Pilot research project • Documenting and Promoting Resilience in Urban American Indians (Co-PIs: Agnes Attakai, Kerstin Reinschmidt) • CBPR approach; partnership with Tucson Indian Center • Defining resilience from the perspective of urban American Indian elders. • Qualitative methods: focus groups and individual interviews with 13 urban American Indian elders • Utilized thematic analysis • Digital stories and a curriculum for a youth program

8. Results: Literature review • Protective factors • Resilience • Understanding elders resilience • Intergenerational relationships • Family/community/collective connectedness • Culture • Storytelling, activities, sense of belonging, sense-making • Spirituality • Higher power, God

9. Results: Pilot Research Project • Revealed protective factors for youth related to culture, youth activities, education, spirituality, connecting elders with youth

10. Resilience factors: Culture

11. Resilience factors: Activities

12. Resilience factors: Education

13. Discussion • Literature search and qualitative data from elder’s narratives helped identify key resiliency factors uniquely specific for urban AI youth • Strengths in knowing history and roots • Adults and elders views on culture were different from youth • Adults & elders: Culture is a collective experience; draw from intergenerational strengths/ practice; get strength from those who came before; feeling grounded • Youth: Culture was related to specific activities/skills; culture is slipping away; had cultural strengths but didn’t know it • Oppressive policies have disrupted the relationship between youth and their Elders

14. Recommendations • Strategies for enhancing resilience among youth • intergenerational communication (stories about historical trauma and elder resilience) • Teach youth how culture can be a sustaining force and how it is linked to strengths (personal to collective) to overcome challenges • Appropriate methods: Storytelling and narratives are culturally relevant methods that can be combined in CBPR approaches • Future research: Increase funding and opportunities for public health research to explore how culture fosters resilience among urban American Indians • Tribal opportunities—self-determination policies (include elders in schools)

15. Thank you Carmella Kahn-Thornbrugh ckahn@email.arizona.edu This work was supported by the Center for American Indian Resilience (CAIR) a NIH-NIMHD P20 Exploratory Center of Excellence (1P20MD006872) awarded to Northern Arizona University with subcontracts to University of Arizona and Dine College

16. References • Gandbois, D. M., & Sanders, G. F. (2009). The resilience of Native American elders. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 30, 569-580. • HeavyRunner, I., & Morris, J. S. (1997). Traditional Native culture and resilience. CAREI Research/Practice Newsletter, 5(1). • LaFromboise, T. D., Hoyt, D. R., Oliver, L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (2006). Family, community, and school influences on resilience among American Indian adolescents in the upper midwest. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), 193-209. • Stumblingbear-Riddle, G., & Romans, J. S. C. (2012). Resilience among urban American Indian adolescents: Exploration into the role of culture, self-esteem, subjective well-being, and social support. American Indian and Alaska Mental Health Research, 19(2), 1-19. • Wexler, L. (2011). Intergenerational dialogue exchange and action: Introducing a community-based participatory approach to connect youth, adults and elders in an Alaskan Native community. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 10(3), 248-264.