About the Episode
In this episode of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation at the Trauma Resource Institute is joined by Magdalena Sunshine Serrano, an Indigenous woman of Serrano, Apache, and Tarahumara descent, and Julene A. Jose, an Indigenous woman of the Tohono O’odham Nation who also serves on the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe. Magdalena and Julene will share their perspectives and their wisdom about healing, hope, and empowerment in their communities. We can all learn from their collective wisdom. They will also address how the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) is congruent to their organic views of healing.
November is National Native American Heritage Month, which pays tribute to the rich history and culture of the indigenous people of the Americas. In 2009, during President Barack H. Obama’s first term in office, November became National Native American Heritage Month. This month celebrates and honors the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples and their resilience and immeasurable positive impacts on American society, even as they faced assimilation, discrimination, and genocide. For Indigenous people across the country, it’s a chance to share the unique ancestry, traditions, and contributions their communities make today and have made throughout history.
Over the last decade, the Trauma Resource Institute has had the honor to learn about the true history of the Indigenous people who lived in these lands prior to the Europeans who settled in the Americas. The suffering has been great and the maltreatment of Indigenous people has been a holocaust often not acknowledged. In this episode, the strength and beauty of the diverse cultures and traditions of Indigenous people will be discussed as well as the strength that springs forth from their cultural traditions.
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About the Guests
Magdalena Sunshine Serrano (she/her/hers) is an Indigenous woman of Serrano, Apache, and Tarahumara descent. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in Trauma-Informed treatment with Indigenous populations. She was born in Guadalupe, California, and returned to the Central Coast in 2007 due to her desire to serve the local community. She has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Allan Hancock College, a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and American Indian Studies from UCLA, and a Master’s of Social Work from USC. In 2015, she completed a Public Health program focused on health equity and community organizing in American Indian and Indigenous populations from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the Director of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry Services for Community Health Centers of the Central Coast and oversees the adolescent and adult mental health programs. In 2017, she received the Latino Legacy Award for her contributions to increasing access to mental health treatment in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County. Over the last 6 years, Magdalena and the CHC clinical leadership team have committed to developing a culturally and linguistically inclusive care model where diversity is celebrated at all levels. Magdalena is currently a fellow of the California Health Care Foundation Health Care Leadership Program Fellowship where she is focusing on the development of a culturally and linguistically behavioral health integration model.
Julene A. Jose is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and serves on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. She is a Resource Coordinator for the Sewa Uusim Community Partnership, Pascua Yaqui Health Department. She is a granddaughter, daughter, sister, wife, and mother. She has been married for 18 years and has seven children with ages ranging from 21 years old to 10 months old. She also has been on a journey in sobriety that reached 20 years in October. Julene’s background experience is in early childhood, parenting, prenatal and childhood development, adolescent sexual health, childhood trauma, domestic violence, sexual assault, and MMIWG/P awareness. She has been a CRM Teacher and has been a CRM guide for the last 4 years. She has used the Community Resiliency Model with youth, families, co-workers, and mostly in everyday life since learning the model. The tangible experience has brought so much hope, transformation, and growth.
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