Tribal Communities Share Knowledge About Keeping Communities Safe and Healthy

Today we talk with Melissa Walls, Ph.D. (Bois Forte and
Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe) a social scientist and the
Director of the Great Lakes Hub for the Center for American
Indian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health.


 


Melissa Walls discusses how tribal communities provide much
knowledge and perspectives, aimed at keeping our communities
healthy and safe, even during the most difficult times. She talks
about how research is at its best when it includes community
members, intending to help and not exploit. And Melissa shares
ways tribal communities confront stress and loneliness during the
pandemic, by emphasizing the care and support of one another.


 


First speaker and elder Bill Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe)
shares the Ojibwe word Ningii-pajiishka'wigoomin, which means “we
got our shot”.  


  


Plus, Antony Stately (Ojibwe/Oneida) CEO of the Native American
Community Clinic, offers advice about drawing on tradition and
gifts from our Ancestors, to help make good decisions about
keeping healthy and whether to get the vaccine.  


 


Check out the Center for American Indian Health Great Lakes Hub
at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health here:
https://caih.jhu.edu/locations/great-lakes-hub


 


Sign up for the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector here:
https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/connector/


 


Find helpful links and more conversations exploring how Indian
Country in MN is responding and adapting to the pandemic here:
https://minnesotanativenews.org/health/