Completing the Circle

Establishing the Preliminary Validity of Spiritual Eco-Maps with Native Americans

“…Different questions may have produced information with more of a negative valence. The results obtained, however, are consistent with the broader empirical research on spirituality and religion (Koenig et al 2001;Koenig 2007), as well as the extant literature on American Indian spirituality (Coates et al 2006;Cross 2001;Gilgun 2002;Lowery 1999;Stone et al 2005;Weaver 2002). …”

“…Although tremendous diversity exists among the hundreds of tribes indigenous to the United States (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler 2005), spirituality often plays a central role in Native culture and the promotion of health and wellness (Coates et al 2006;Gilgun 2002;Limb and Hodge 2008;Lowery 1999;Stone et al 2005;Weaver 2002). Native understandings of spirituality, however, often differ from those commonly affirmed in mainstream culture (Cross et al 2000;Napoli 1999).…”

Entrepreneurial, Economic, and Social Well-Being Outcomes from an RCT of a Youth Entrepreneurship Education Intervention among Native American Adolescents

“…These impacts are further delineated in the words of the participating youth, who endorsed greater connection to school and parents and less frequent engagement in fighting and other nonproductive activities. Greater connectedness to school and family have been previously cited as promoting resilience, being commensurate with a positive youth development approach, and also direct buffers to substance use and suicide attempts among Native youth [35][36][37][38][39][40]. Linking entrepreneurial expansion to school, parents, and community connectedness may have substantive effects on positive health outcomes among Native youth.…”

“…A review of NA adolescent research yielded numerous protective factors for economic and social well-being in Native populations that are consistent with targets of entrepreneurship education, including: Belonging, cultural connectedness, and positive relationships with caring adults, leaders, and role models; mastery, independence, and self-efficacy; positive attachment to school, as well as hope and optimism [24,25,27,29,[35][36][37][38][39][40]. However, given the many obstacles to job creation, low employment rates, structural and historical barriers to economic mobility, and potential differences in economic value systems among Native peoples, [2,3,9,21] an important focus of our work is to understand how Native adolescents understand and derive meaning from the entrepreneurship program content and potential positive connections to peers and adults.…”

Resilience and health in American Indians and Alaska Natives: A scoping review of the literature

“…This definition is applicable to a wide range of dynamic systems, including biological systems within the human body (e.g., cardiovascular system), individuals, communities, and societies (Masten et al, 2021). Resilience has been central to the survival of American Indian and Alaska Native people, and this resilience has been demonstrated across the lifespan (Oré et al, 2016), including youth (Gilgun, 2002; Henson et al, 2017; Lafromboise et al, 2006; Stumblingbear-Riddle & Romans, 2012), young adults (Nikolaus et al, 2021), and older adults (Kahn et al, 2016; Reinschmidt et al, 2016). Although the resilience observed in these groups is a response to challenges rooted in long and ongoing history of cultural loss and degradation, and continued discrimination, what remains less clear are the multi-level factors underpinning resilience, and how these factors relate to positive physical and mental health outcomes.…”