Carolina Indian Circle hosts healing circles once or twice every semester, giving Native American students a medium to discuss tragedies or triumphs, academics or relationships — or anything that comes to mind.
Alicia Freeman, the Mental Health First Aid program manager at the UNC School of Social Work, leads the discussion. She said culturally relevant practices like healing circles are just one aspect of a holistic approach to mental health care for Native Americans.
Culturally relevant practices take into account cultural stressors, which are unique to Native American experiences, Anna Kawennison Fetter, a postdoctoral fellow in the UNC Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York, said.
A long commute, paired with a lack of internet access, rules out both in-person and telehealth care options for many. Only 57 percent of Native American households in North Carolina had access to high-speed internet in 2022, the lowest proportion among any racial subgroup in the state, according to the N.C. Department of Information Technology.
Another obstacle for the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe lies within the community itself.
The stigma surrounding mental health within the tribe is a pervasive one that has defined the approach of entire generations to mental health care. Freeman said older members of the tribe often believe poor mental health can be treated through prayer, while others believe mental health is best left undiscussed.
Cherokee Choices is a program developed to increase education about preventing chronic diseases, which disproportionately impact members of the EBCI, through holistic approaches that include historical grief counseling, Cherokee culture classes and physical health education.
Read more at DailyTarHeel.com.
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