Mental Health within Native Communities: A Story of Resilience, Recovery, and Employment 

November 1, 2022 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
REGISTER

The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHI TCU), along with the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education, will host a virtual four-part dialogue series that addresses multiple topics that impact employment for the American Indian and Alaska Native community.

 Launching on November 1, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET, the first dialogue will focus on employment opportunities for American Indians and Alaska Native individuals with mental health conditions. This virtual dialogue offers perspectives from Native people who have navigated mental health conditions and/or substance use disorder while also seeking employment. Three American Indian/Alaska Native individuals will share their journey and offer information and strategies that they found beneficial along their pathway to employment. Their experience will be combined with evidence-based strategies that can promote employment for Native individuals.

Event Objectives

•  To gain a deeper understanding of the impact of mental health conditions and substance use disorder across various ages within various Native communities and in finding meaningful employment.
• To learn about personal journeys of resilience, recovery, and employment within the American Indian and Alaska Native community.
• To identify promising practices, areas of need, and policy considerations to inform a national policy agenda.

Featured Speakers

• Spero M. Manson, PhD (Pembina Chippewa) is a distinguished professor of public health and psychiatry, directs the Centers for American Indian & Alaska Native Health, and occupies the Colorado Trust Chair in American Indian Health within the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. A medical anthropologist, his programs include 10 national centers, which pursue research, program development, training, and collaboration with 250 Native communities, spanning rural, reservation, urban, and village settings across the country. 
• Carly Shangreau, MSHS (Oglala Lakota/Hunkpati Dakota) is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran who served 4 years in the United States Air Force as a Critical Care Medical Technician. Throughout her career, she has worked as a Health Educator and Public Health Liaison and has served more than 9 years with the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health on various health research projects, mostly in the Teen Pregnancy and HIV/STI prevention areas. She also sat on the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) Research Review Board and the OST Veterans’ Committee.

• Twila Martin Kekahbah is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, for whom she served as chairperson and was the first female to be seated as the head of the Tribal Government for three terms. Her previous experience includes serving as Director of Tribal Analytic Institute, Community Liaison for the Northwest Area Foundation, and Policy Analyst for the National Indian Health Board. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University of North Dakota and Master of Education and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Pennsylvania State University.