As anyone who has lived or worked in tribal communities knows, evidence-based treatments and practices developed by non-tribal researchers and academics are often a poor cultural fit for tribal children and families. One way we at the NNCTC address this issue is by adapting products for tribal communities. Sometimes, though, our partners in tribal communities and agencies tell us that this is not enough. These partners feel that what is most crucially needed are not interventions adapted from Western/Euro-American models but interventions rooted in tribal ways of knowing and being. It is in the hope of addressing this need that our center’s Family Engagement Specialist, Alan Rabideau, along with a community of tribal parents including Shannon Crossbear, years ago began developing a series of trainings under the “Walking the Four Directions” umbrella.
Rooted in the Medicine Wheel teachings of Alan’s Anishnabe heritage, “Walking the Four Directions” takes as its starting point the idea that all the tools for supporting young people are already embedded in historical tribal child-rearing practices. There are “Walking the Four Directions” trainings in family-driven care, strength-based disciplinary practices, wraparound services, and in supporting young people as a recovery coach or peer mentor.
The video below features Shannon Crossbear talking about the foundational principle of “Walking the Four Directions”—the idea that tribal cultures represent a powerful source of protection against many of the risk factors that are common among tribal youth. Let us know if you would like to talk more about one of our “Walking the Four Directions” trainings.