Home > The ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog > ATTC’s Pearls of Wisdom: Learning from Indigenous Ways of Knowing
By Meg Schneider, communications coordinator, National American Indian/Alaska Native ATTC
"I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself."
- Lone Man (Isna-la-wica), Teton Sioux
Western science has relatively recently come to understand the importance of social wellness in promoting better physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Community is a foundational component of virtually every Indigenous society and has been since time immemorial. Thousands of years of experience have taught Indigenous peoples the individual and collective benefits of cultivating strong community ties.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced nearly universal shutdowns in March 2020, our Native friends and colleagues told us that one of the most devastating aspects of the health crisis was the sudden absence of in-person get-togethers. Ceremonies, celebrations, even community meals were no longer available to nurture and strengthen these communities, and the social hurt was almost as damaging as the virus itself.
Indigenous communities suffered disproportionately from COVID-19: Compared with white non-Hispanic persons, they were 1.6 times more likely to contract the disease, 3 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 2.1 times more likely to die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When vaccines became available, American Indians and Alaska Natives had one of the highest inoculation rates in the U.S., yet COVID-related morbidity and mortality among this population continued to be higher than for other groups.
Over the past 25 years, the National American Indian and Alaska Native ATTC (first known as Prairielands ATTC, serving four Midwestern states when it launched in 1998) has adopted as a guiding principle the truth that Indigenous communities are the experts in what they need and what works for them.
Feedback from these listening sessions led to the development of several culturally informed programs:
Face-to-face gatherings are still highly preferred among our Indigenous colleagues and communities. Adapting to technology-based alternatives during the restrictions of the pandemic helped ease some of the stress and grief induced by both the physical challenges of COVID-19 and the isolation that prohibited traditional ways of connecting with others. Like Lone Man, the staff at the National AI/AN ATTC have learned how critical interpersonal relationships and community connections are to the success of any undertaking, great or small.
In many Indigenous cultures, such honoring is demonstrated via the presentation of gifts that are meaningful in the culture from which they come. The National AI/AN ATTC staff believe the most meaningful gifts we can offer are tools and resources to help Indigenous communities thrive. Thus we devote many of our own resources to developing things like the TOR Resource Guide and our monthly Essential Substance Abuse Skills (ESAS) trainings. As always, these offerings originate from those we serve, who generously share their insights and expertise on what they need to continue and improve the important work they do.
We are honored and grateful to be able to learn so much from the people we aim to serve. And we are eager to see what lessons the next 30 years hold.
The opinions expressed herein are the views of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), SAMHSA, CSAT or the ATTC Network. No official support or endorsement of DHHS, SAMHSA, or CSAT for the opinions of authors presented in this e-publication is intended or should be inferred.