Abstract
The traditions, strengths, and resilience of communities have carried Indigenous peoples for generations. However, collective traumatic memories of past infectious diseases and the current impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in many Indigenous communities point to the need for Indigenous strengths-based public health resources. Further, recent data suggest that COVID-19 is escalating mental health and psychosocial health inequities for Indigenous communities. To align with the intergenerational strengths of Indigenous communities in the face of the pandemic, we developed a strengths- and culturally-based public health education and mental health coping resource for Indigenous children and families. Using a community-engaged process, the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health collaborated with 14 Indigenous and allied child development, mental health, health communications experts and public health professionals, as well as a Native American youth artist. Indigenous collaborators and Indigenous Johns Hopkins project team members collectively represented 12 tribes, and reservation-based, off-reservation, and urban geographies. This group shared responsibility for culturally adapting the children's book “My Hero is You: How Kids Can Fight COVID-19!” developed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings and developing ancillary materials. Through an iterative process, we produced the storybook titled “Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Overcoming COVID-19” with content and illustrations representing Indigenous values, experiences with COVID-19, and strengths to persevere. In addition, parent resource materials, children's activities, and corresponding coloring pages were created. The book has been disseminated online for free, and 42,364 printed copies were distributed to early childhood home visiting and tribal head start programs, Indian Health Service units, tribal health departments, intertribal, and urban Indigenous health organizations, Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health project sites in partnering communities, schools, and libraries. The demand for and response to “Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Overcoming COVID-19” demonstrates the desire for Indigenous storytelling and the elevation of cultural strengths to maintain physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Indigenous (American Indian/Alaska Native/First Nations/Métis/Inuit)1 peoples and nations are strong
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and dissemination of “Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Overcoming COVID-19” (OSWOSM), a storybook written for the Kindergarten to 5th grade age group and their families, to provide strengths- and culturally-based public health education and mental health coping resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The majority of the collaborator workgroup were parents and/or grandparents with children and grandchildren within the targeted age range of the storybook. This allowed collaborators to provide input based on both their professional expertise as well as their personal experiences about how children and families are impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Indigenous (American Indian/Alaska Native/First Nations/Métis/Inuit) peoples and nations are strong. Though there are differences across tribes and communities, Indigenous knowledge “has sustained their communities and includes a deep belief in the connectedness of all creation across time and space, with relationships between past, present, and future entities. These relational connections correspond with responsibilities to place; all beings (self, family, people, clan, animals); the physical world (land, water, plants); ancestors (past and future); and the spirit world” In addition to providing meaning and a foundation for individual and community action, Indigenous knowledges and practices provide instructions for health and wellness (Walters et al, 2020) These intergenerational strengths have persisted against land theft, attempted genocide and ethnocide—including federal policies enforcing cultural oppression—and ongoing interpersonal and institutional racism
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
