Healing Native Minds thru Native Voice

Struggling with sharing mental health problems, the Tulalip tribal community suffers in silence. With the lack of mental health resources available, mistrust of the health systems in place and current stigmas, tribal members are lost to navigate an unfamiliar world due to a lack of awareness.  This project is dedicated both to breaking the stigma of mental health and bringing awareness to the reservation.

The project will also provide a digital space to give a voice to tribal community members who are willing to share their battles.  When one member shares a personal story that makes them vulnerable, trust is built between the storyteller and listener.  The listener then feels safe to reciprocate and share their experience. For the development of the project, a Tulalip-tribally owned media production company will film community members who volunteer to tell their story.  The video clips will be uploaded onto a community-based app.

The solution strives to bring awareness of individuals’ experiences suffering from mental illness disorders to the Tulalip community.  The information will be available to tribal members living on or off the reservation. A lack of; available resources, awareness on mental health issues and access to health care, have all led to increased rates of suicide, drug and alcohol addiction, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and overall well-being of community members.

 The culturally responsive digital resource build bridges to allow suffering individuals to cross over while feeling safe, secure and supported. The goal is to let the individual explore healing at their own pace.  It is a resource that will be developed by Indigenous individuals who have already combatted mental health issues for other Indigenous Individuals.  Many mental health resources that target Native peoples have been developed by non-profit organizations or the federal government which some Natives may not find relevant or trustworthy. A study performed on the Tulalip tribal community in November of 2020 found that many members rely on social media sites to find information and ask questions.  From this finding, the easiest method to disseminate the information is in a digital format with a culturally responsive method of storytelling. 

The solution is to work with Quilceda Media, a Tulalip-owned production company to film and produce video interviews of tribal members sharing their personal experiences of managing, living and dealing with mental health disorders.

The individuals will be asked to share information such as the physical and physiological symptoms, thinking patterns such as intrusive thoughts, behaviors and patterns they first experienced when the mental disorder came on.  The storyteller will also share what they experienced on their journey of healing (e.g., how and where they received help, coping skills and medication information). Last, they will also be asked if they integrated cultural and spiritual practices to assist with coping and dealing with their disorder.  These stories will help the community members relate to and understand their own experiences and will be available on app that will be developed.  A resource page with the same information available on the app will be uploaded onto the Tulalip tribal website.

Individuals may feel more anxious or stressed after watching a video or navigating the app. In order to address this, the site will offer mental health resources to find help specifically for Native Americans in western Washington state. 

The target population is directed towards the Tulalip Tribal community located in Washington state.  The reservation currently has 4,900 enrolled members and is growing, with 2,700 members residing on the reservation.  The digital resource will be beneficial to the community because it is the first step in addressing how to discuss mental health challenges.  It is a method where members can watch videos independently and anonymously.  The goal is to help our tribal community learn how to take care themselves so they can take care of others and Mother Earth.

Overall, the criteria of the problem, solution, population and dimension all align well with the challenge creating a wheel of harmony.  The tribal community has long struggled with openly addressing mental health issues due to shame and the stigma associated with talking about personal problems.  If a solution goes undiscovered for this population, the cycle of a mental health crisis will continuously roll over the generations throughout the years, carrying on the wheel of discord among the community.

The technology to develop an app is always available. However, research must be done to better understand how the tribal community utilizes mobile applications.  Once the data is collected, analyzed and measured, an app that is reflective of the community can be developed. The goal of the project is to be as inclusive as possible with the involvement of the Tulalip tribal community. After the development of the app, the content can be gathered and uploaded onto the site and user-testing can be done among the community.

A digital app that targets mental health disorders is a novel idea within our reservation.  Tribal members utilize web-based applications for finding information, entertainment, problem solving and keeping updated on local, national and tribal news.  The solution is innovative because there haven’t been any specific resources specifically for mental health (e.g., virtual, in-person support, websites, brochures, etc.) that have been developed for the community.  The issue addresses how to engage the community safely to encourage sharing stories in a culturally appropriate manner. 

 The solution will foster connections among the tribal community.  Once tribal members begin to learn and understand that having a mental health crisis or disorder is common and there isn’t a threat or danger in sharing personal experiences.  Hearing that others have the same experience will make listeners feel that they aren’t alone.

The goal is to develop an application that meets the needs of the tribal community and that is culturally relevant.  A qualitative analysis will be performed on the tribal community to investigate usage behaviors in order to create a viable application that impacts social change among the tribal community.  

Due to the project having highly personal and sensitive content, the app will be written with a secure code.  This ensures that no one breaks into the application and steals information.  The data within the app will be encrypted.  The application will have tribal members create accounts using their tribal identification numbers to register an account.  The application will be designed to encourage high-level authentication.  The goal is to create a project that feels a secure, safe space and trustworthy to navigate.

The Tulalip Tribes has developed applications that are used among the community such as the Tulalip TV app.  The application will be similar in nature to Tulalip TV but will include high-level authentication. 

There is an identified issue of anonymity and privacy.  Tribal members may not want their stories to be out in the public domain as they contain highly personal and sensitive information.  To address privacy, the application being developed is for the Tulalip tribal community only. There is the goal to share the pilot digital outline plan with other tribal communities. 

To address the challenges of anonymity, those who share their story have the option to remain anonymous.  Instead of being on a camera, their silhouette can be shown on camera instead of their face.  A voiceover software program can be implemented to conceal the voice of the speaker.

The activities will be to foster a safe space for the tribal community to share and listen to personal stories that pertain to mental health issues.  The output will be the community having a connection to a community-developed resource so they can learn about mental health at their own pace. 

The short term outcome is to have tribal members have an awareness that they aren't alone in their mental health journey and that it is safe to talk about these issues.  The short-term goal is to get the community talking about mental health openly and safely without feeling ashamed.  

The long-term goals will be to have tribal members advocate for themselves and their own mental well-being.  It is a challenge to seek help if the problem can't be communicated due to lack of awareness or shame.  Once open communication is established, members can ask for help and know where and how to get help.  The overall goal is to create a mentally healthy community which will lead to reduced rates in suicide, depression, anxiety, crime rates and drug and alcohol addiction. 

The solution intends to serve the Tulalip tribal community within the boundaries with the Tulalip reservation and beyond.  Currently there are an estimated 5,000 enrolled members. The solution is still in the concept and development phase so there are currently no one being served at this time.  The solution will serve tribal members who access the resource as soon as it is launched.  Once the project is available it will be available to the entire community and will serve tribal adults ages 18 to elderly. Currently there are 2900 individuals within this age group.  

 In five years, the goal will to be sharing the project idea with other federally recognized tribes in Washington state. There are currently an estimated 105,000 Native Americans who live in Washington state.

After the application has been implemented and used among the Tulalip tribal community, I aim to share the success story with other tribes in Washington state.  I plan to do outreach to other tribes via personal visitation to community health centers (if it is safe to visit in-person five years from now due to COVID).  In Indian country, it is more successful and impactful to communicate in-person than via email.  Not every tribe has access to a video production team so this project can be completed through using what resources are available such as a cell phone camera. 

There is the goal to start hosting community events that revolve around the application.  To continue fostering communication around mental health issues, events would include mental health talking circles and hosting events where an individual who shared their story on the app gives a talk.  This would allow for questions and answers and build dialogue among the community. 

A qualitative analysis will be performed in stages after the deployment after the app.  When the app is released, the study will ask for participants who have mental health issues.  It will measure their well-being prior to using the app and then another assessment will take place two months after the individual has used the app. 

The only identified issue is financial barriers.  The application will need to be updated and maintained.  It would be more beneficial to continually update the application with new content and personal story videos.  Funding will be needed to create more high-quality content videos with Quilceda Media. 

To address, financial barriers, there is the intention to apply for more funding opportunities in future.  

Overall, there will be three people on the solution team. 

Tessa Campbell (Tulalip/Tlingit) Full-Time PhD student at the University of Washington

Lita Mowrer (Tulalip) Owner of Quilceda Media

JD Mowrer (Tulalip) Video producer at Quilceda Media

Quilceda Media is a known production company among the Tulalip tribal reservation. They have produced high quality work that has been submitted to the American Indian Film Festival.  They have years of experience and the founder of Quilceda Media was instrumental in the start of NW Indian News.

The tribal community knows the founder of Quilceda Media and due to the relationship, those being interviewed will feel comfortable sharing their stories.  I am a survivor of mental health issues.  I was hospitalized in 2019 for depression, anxiety disorder and PTSD at the University of Washington Psychiatric Hospital.  I have been very vocal about my experience to start breaking the stigma of mental health issues. I have found once I share my personal story with others, they feel it is okay to share their personal story.  

It is my goal to be inclusive as possible and include the entire tribal community, whoever is willing to participate, to help steer the direction of the project.  I hope to include youth, Elders, tribal veterans and adults.  With the inclusion of others in the development, the more reflective of community needs the project will be. 

As the former curator of the Tulalip tribal cultural center, Hibulb, I have experience in developing community-based exhibitions.  For example, community members are often interviewed, asked to contribute ideas or artwork to the exhibit in order to create an accurate representation of the community. 

I am committed to improving the lives of my tribal community.  In May of 2019, I found that I really had to advocate for myself and finally checked myself into the emergency room at Swedish Hospital and transported to UW Psychiatric Hospital. Spending one week at this hospital was one of the most life-changing experiences because it was exactly what I needed. A problem I have identified is how our contemporary society and our tribal community view mental health issues in a negative light, thus creating the stigma of them which leads to lack of funding for mental health care and its institutions. In addition, there is little to no understanding of symptoms, behaviors, needs or care practices for PTSD. The westernized solution is often to “take a pill and everything will improve on its own”. It is from my personal experience that I am passionate sharing my personal story of the journey I endured over a 3-year period to confront my past trauma head on. My story demonstrates how an individual can evolve into the feeling of being a helpless victim into a self- sufficient survivor. It is my goal to undo the negative stigmas of mental health issues within our society and on my reservation. Individuals on my reservation have struggled with these issues but are too ashamed to share their story. It is time to break the stigma of mental health issues on our reservation and Solve can help make the first step.

The team involved in the project do not have any experience with developing applications.  We will need assistance with the steps in developing app, design and updating.  We appreciate any assistance that can be provided.

We are thrilled about the idea of partnering with MIT as it is a unique opportunity.  The partnership will offering learning experiences for both MIT and the tribal community.  I hope that it is a true reciprocal collaboration so that all parties involved have a invaluable experience.  A partnership would ensure an app that is ethically and successfully developed while be culturally relevant through the power of storytelling.  

The solution proposed aligns well with the criteria of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation prize.   The well-being of my own tribal community is of vital importance that is long overdue to be addressed. The solution is a method to address the inter-generational and historical trauma that our community has endured since times of colonization.  The solution is social change through technology within an Indigenous community. The project demonstrates how Native Americans can integrate themselves into technological spaces that is reflective of cultural needs.