Happy Holidays! For years, there was no other way to describe this time of year, other than heart-breaking. I desperately didn't want to succumb to the Western way of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years celebrations. I felt Thanksgiving was a celebration of genocide. Moving to Arizona rendered me furiously making complaints with all the major stores that displayed "Merry Christmas" signs in their windows. Didn't they realize that there are millions and millions of non-Christians all over...

Do you live in Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada or the US Pacific Islands?If so...Check it out! 👇 NO COST. MENTAL HEALTH & SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE. AMAZING FACULTY. JANUARY 14, 15, & 16th! LONG BEACH, CA. JOIN US. 🤝 👏 Learn more here: http://bit.ly/mhttc-winterinstitute-flyer Register here: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07egq2f9gaebafa6bd&llr=8wdk4ubab

The elementary school principal routinely broke into tears. At Wednesday afternoon meetings of the Creating Trauma Sensitive Arizona Schools work group, a committee of the Arizona ACE Consortium , the leader of a high-need, inner-city K-5 school frequently wept as she talked about the trauma her students carried into the classroom and the ways it percolated throughout her campus: in lagging test scores, behavior problems, even teacher retention. The other committee members became her...

My previous life was devoted to physical health and wellness. Thorughout my lifetime, I have researched numerous diets and a plethora of nutrition information. The most profound work I found was in the 1980's when I was a teenager and seeing a nutritionist, Dr. H.L. Newbold. Dr. Newbold was a huge supporter of the fact that a person's diet should reflect their ancestry. In other words, if you are a descendant of Jamaica, for example, your diet should consist heavily of fresh fruits, nuts,...

Dear Healers/Warriors, Thank you to everyone who participated in today's meeting! I deeply apologize to everyone who wanted to attend, but was unable due to the scheduled time. I felt like it was really important to get the momentum rolling. We have so much to do! With that said, it is NOT TOO LATE to join the movement. We welcome you! Meeting Agenda: 1. Substance Abuse Curriculum- The group will be reading the 7 Module curriculum designed by the AZ ACES Consortium Executive Board in...

Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed into law a bill to create a task force that will investigate and gather data about missing and murdered Indigenous women. The committee will serve as a way to assess the scope of the problem and identify methods to address cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, or MMNWG. Ducey tweeted that he was proud to sign House Bill 2570 , adding, "the crisis of missing and murdered and indigenous women and girls must be addressed." {To read...

Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children Drop by Phoenix Children's Hospital on April 24th anytime between 7:30-9:30 AM for breakfast, networking and discussion. Learn about ATTACh and have an impact on the the 31st annual conference scheduled for this October. This event is free. Phoenix Children's Hospital 2632 N 20th st. Phoenix AZ . RSVP to attachorg@gmail.com

Please join us for ATTACh's 31st annual conference in Scottsdale, AZ from October 3-5, 2019. For the past 30 years ATTACh has provided training to parents and professionals to promote healthy attachment and heal trauma. To learn more go to; https://www.attach.org/

Please join ACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) for a free 60-minute webinar on Thursday, Feb. 28 starting noon PT/3:00 pm ET that features the Self-Healing Communities Model (SHCM) presented by Interface, Inc. co-founder, Laura Porter. The webinar is the second in a series on state-to-state best practices; the first webinar was on Alaska’s new statute directing state policy to incorporate principles of brain development. Self-Healing Community...

During the last 10 minutes of the Historical Trauma break-out session of the 5th Annual Arizona ACEs Summit, Elder Prosper Waukon reiterated a magnificent story from the elders. It was the 2nd time I heard it and I was equally impacted by it on Tuesday. Today, I called him to hear it one last time so that I could accurately share it with all of you: Our essence is tied to our land of origin. In the Americas, after 500 years of blood from foreign lands mixing in the soil, all ethnic...

After attending the amazing and informative Calling Upon the Warrior Spirit to Heal Historical Trauma Conference and Ceremony in the Gila River Indian Community, I was introduced to the Roundtable on Native American Trauma Informed Initiatives. This organization is a great collaboration of elders, educators, attorneys, clinicians and advocates working to heal Historical Trauma and improve the lives of people in Indian Country. Elder Prosper Waukon connected our organization with Renee...

A year and a half ago, I lost my father. As an indigenous person, my spirit knows that relationships are never lost, they only transform. As a newborn, you enter into the world with a total dependency on your mother. With each month, neurological development and newly acquired skill, the relationship transforms over the course of your lifetime. When we finally transcend the physical world to join the ancestors, the relationship transforms once again. In my great love and connection to my...