Intergenerational Trauma and Native Americans

In this episode of American Wellness, we explore intergenerational trauma among Native Americans with Jillene Joseph, the co-founder and executive director of the Native Wellness Institute, and pathways to healing.

According to the American Psychiatric Association:-Approximately 2% of the U.S. population –6.6 million Americans –self identify as having American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) heritage.-AI/ANs have the highest poverty rate of any race/ethnic group, with 26.6 % living in poverty (The national poverty rate is 14.7%).-In 2014, approximately 21% of AI/ANs ages 18 and up reported past-year mental illness, compared with 17.9% for the general population.

Jillene Joseph is a citizen of the Gros Ventre or “Aaaniih” Tribe of Fort Belknap, Montana. She resides in Gresham, Oregon with her life partner and children. Twenty years ago Jillene helped to co-found and currently serves as the executive director of the Native Wellness Institute (NWI), a national social profit organization existing because of the lasting impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma.

Mental Health Stats

• Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with any mental illness (46.6 million in 2017 aged 18 or older. 18.9% of all U.S. adults.

• The prevalence of any mental illness was higher among women (22.3%) than men (15.1%).

• The prevalence of any mental illness was highest among adults reporting two or more races (28.6%), followed by White adults (20.4%).  The prevalence of any mental illness was lowest among Asian adults (14.5%).

• Young adults aged 18-25 years had the highest prevalence of AMI (25.8%) compared to adults aged 26-49 years (22.2%) and aged 50 and older (13.8%).

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Produced by WeXL Org, American Wellness dives headfirst into the uncomfortable conversations surrounding mental illness and why Americans feel the way they do. We examine our past, present, and future to find the solutions that could unite and heal us. Together we heal.