Tools for Iina (Life): the journey of the Iina curriculum to the glittering world.

This article presents the participatory curriculum development process and foundational Diné (Navajo) concepts that inform the Tools for Iina (Life) curriculum, designed for grades 4-6 by a group of Diné educators to strengthen resiliency by addressing children's health, relationships, identity, and sense of the future, utilizing core concepts from Diné oral tradition. Rather than develop a curriculum relying only on experts, and rather than utilize existing American Indian curricula addressing specific risk behaviors or diseases, we facilitated a dialogue with a range of community members to identify core concepts from Diné oral tradition that could provide young people with a perspective on life and its conflicts and challenges, tools for building respectful and supportive relationships, and stories to inform their sense of themselves, the Diné People, and their shared future. The Ways of Life: Iina Project will make the curriculum available in 2012. We offer reflections for other tribes interested in adopting a similar curriculum development process.

Rebuilding TRUST: A Community, Multi-Agency, State, and University Partnership to Improve Behavioral Health Care for American Indian Youth, their Families, and Communities.

American Indian/Alaska Native youth represent the strength and survival of many Nations and Tribes. However, the aftermath of colonialism has resulted in numerous health disparities and challenges for Native youth, including the highest rate of suicide in the United States. With the aims of elucidating the causes of behavioral health disparities, eliminating them, and improving behavioral health care for Native youth, a partnership of providers, community members, and university faculty and staff completed a comprehensive literature review; conducted advisory meetings with 71 American Indian youth, parents, and elders; surveyed 25 service providers; and engaged in ongoing consultation with traditional practitioners. Results from the multiple sources were synthesized and are reported with 20 policy, provider, and research recommendations that recognize the importance of moving beyond exclusive reliance on western models of care and that seek to foster transformation of individuals, families, communities, behavioral health service systems of care, and social structures.

Promoting healing and restoring trust: policy recommendations for improving behavioral health care for American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents.

American Indian/Alaska Native youth represent the strength and continued survival of many Nations and Tribes. However, they currently experience numerous health disparities and challenges, including the highest rate of suicide among 15-24 year-olds in the United States. Our comprehensive review of the literature on the mental health of AI/AN youth highlighted seven focal causes of behavioral health disparities: (1) high levels of violence and trauma exposure and traumatic loss, (2) past and current oppression, racism, and discrimination, (3) underfunded systems of care, (4) disregard for effective indigenous practices in service provision, policy, and funding, (5) overreliance on evidence-based practices, (6) lack of cultural competence among systems of care and providers, and (7) barriers to care. Seven policy recommendations that recognize the importance of moving beyond exclusive reliance on western models of care and that seek to foster transformation of individuals, families, communities, behavioral health service systems of care, and social structures are presented, supported, and discussed.