Ep. 4 – Healing Through Ceremony with Michael YellowBird, MHA Nation

Confronting the impacts of racism and stress on Indigenous health and culture, Dr. YellowBird and Anita explore healing through ceremony.Learn more about Dr. Yellowbird’s work on neurodecolonization and Indigenous mindfulness HEREThis week, Anita and Michael YellowBird delve into:An opening meditation from Dr. YellowBirdIndigenous creation stories and calling on a divine powerDeep relationships with wild plantsThe inevitability of struggling and over-valuing comfortThe racism Dr. YellowBird experienced growing up in the 60’sDr. YellowBird’s research into indigenous mindfulness and decolonizationHow belief in something changes our brainHow the government destroyed collectivist cultureThe strain that stress, racism, etc. has had on indigenous healthReversing generational trauma through mindfulness practiceGiving as well as receiving in our relationship to the earthThe healing power of connecting with natureAbout Michael YellowBirdDr. Yellow Bird, MSW, PhD, is a Professor at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, where he is the former Dean. He is an enrolled member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) in North Dakota, USA. He has held faculty and administrative appointments at numerous universities. Dr. Yellow Bird’s research focuses on the effects of colonization and methods of decolonization, ancestral health, intermittent fasting, Indigenous mindfulness, neurodecolonization, mindful decolonization, and the cultural significance of Rez dogs. He serves as a consultant, trainer, and senior advisor to several BIPOC mindfulness groups and organizations who are seeking to incorporate mindfulness practices, philosophies, and activities to Indigenize and decolonize western mindfulness approaches in order to address systemic racism and engage in structural change. Dr. Yellow Bird is the author of numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, research reports, and the co-editor of four books: For Indigenous Eyes Only: The Decolonization Handbook, 2012; Indigenous Social Work around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice, 2008; and Decolonizing Social Work, 2013. He is also the co-author of two recent books: A Sahnish (Arikara) Ethnobotany (2020) and Decolonizing Holistic Pathways Towards Integrative Healing in Social Work (2021). “Stress, racism, hate, fear, isolation, being marginalized, poverty, all these things have an effect. It exposes us to more diseases of aging sooner than we should be. These are the things that our ancestors were doing: dancing, singing, eating traditional foods, supporting one another. They were living very healthy lives.” – Dr. Michael YellowBirdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.