Trauma Awareness Month Panel Discussion

For many Native communities, lateral violence is part of a larger cycle of pain that is rooted in colonization. This panel discussion features AI/AN experts and Native community members from across the country. This is an open and honest discussion from a Native perspective on why the oppressed becomes the oppressor and what can be done on a road towards unity. This event will provide strategies for healing and rebuilding what was once taken.

Event Goals and Topics:

· What it is and what it looks like: Define and give personal examples and explain the negative effects of internalized colonialism and lateral violence/oppression.

· Hurt people hurt people: Discuss why this topic is important for Native people, communities, leaders, and Tribal nations.

· What can be done: How AI/AN people, communities, leaders, and Tribal nations can heal and unite.

Panelists:

Rita Hart, MSW (Jicarilla Apache citizen, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma descendant)

Aldora White Eagle, EdD (Northern Arapaho Tribe enrolled

Melanie Perez Johnson, MEd

Connie Locklear, EdD (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina enrolled)

Maria C. Molina, LCSW (Yoeme Tlamanalcah)

Ronalda Tome-Warito, BA, GC (Diné (Navajo))

Jason Butler, MS (Ute Tribe of Fort Duchesne, Utah enrolled)

David Sullivan (Kiowa-Choctaw)

Moderated by Teresa Brewington, MBA, MEdL

Coharie (enrolled), Lumbee (descendant)

Co-Director, National AI/AN Mental Health TTC, K-12 School Mental Health Program

Co-Director, National AI/AN Childhood Trauma TSA, Category II