S moke S ignals
AUGUST 1, 2018
9
Healing a generation
Tribal members involved in new project aimed at young adults
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
While attending Grand Ronde’s
Youth Wellness Warrior Camp held
in Grand Ronde during the summer
of 2017, Kyoni Mercier, Andrea Gri-
jalva and Shalene Joseph noticed
something amiss: Their friends
were no longer coming around.
Mercier and Grijalva, 20, are
both Grand Ronde Tribal mem-
bers. Joseph, 25, is Aaniiih and
the daughter of Native Wellness
Institute founder and Executive
Director Jillene Joseph.
“We started a conversation about
what the gap was and found out we
felt too old for youth camps, but too
young for the adult camps,” Joseph
said. “So, my mom asked us to set
aside time to talk about healing for
our generation.”
Seventeen young adults from
across Indian Country shared their
personal experiences and the dis-
cussion at achaf-hammi, the Tribal
plankhouse, lasted seven hours.
Those gathered didn’t want the
conversation to end and decided
they would do something to pro-
mote healing. From there, the In-
digenous 20 Something Project was
born. It is an interTribal movement
focused on promoting, creating and
sustaining healthy and lasting
collaborations among indigenous
20-somethings, according to the
group’s website, with the overall
goal of stopping the effects of inter-
generational trauma.
“We wanted to do something with
the conversation we had,” Shalene
Joseph said. “The plan was that we
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
From left, Shalene Joseph, Kyoni Mecier and Andrea Grijalva are part of a
group of young adults from across Indian Country involved with starting the
Indigenous 20 Something Project. According to its website, the Indigenous
20 Something Project is an interTribal movement focused on healing a
generation by promoting, creating, and sustaining healthy and lasting
collaborations among indigenous 20-somethings.
would reach out to friends, draft
a mission statement and go from
there. … It is all work coming from
collaboration.”
A few months later, the project
was launched and three facilitators,
Joseph, Jordan Cocker, 27, and
Josh Cocker, 25, began traveling
all over the country on a weekly
basis and speaking to different
indigenous communities.
It was a hectic time for Shalene
Joseph, who was also earning her
master’s degree in American Indian
Studies from UCLA.
“It has been nice, but very busy,”
she said.
During the past year, Grand
Ronde Prevention Coordinator
Cristina Lara has helped as one of
the group’s mentors, along with Jil-
lene Joseph of the Gresham-based
Native Wellness Institute.
Another part of the project is
spotlighting different indigenous
20-something men and women who
are working to help their commu-
nities.
Mercier and Grijalva, both stu-
dents at Chemeketa Community
College in Salem, were recruited
to help run the summer leadership
camps, focused on Native youth
ages 8 to 11. The goal is to help
participants understand and better
connect with their self-identity.
“We used to be participants in
these camps,” Mercier said. “Now,
we are taking our lifestyle and con-
necting it to youth in other places
and being an example of traditional
living. NWI has always been wel-
comed and our Tribe owes a lot to
them.”
Grijalva said it is an opportuni-
ty to heal themselves by helping
others.
“This has been my dream for a
long time,” she said. “I can’t remem-
ber when I haven’t wanted to be a
part of the Native Wellness Insti-
tute. I was learning and taking in
everything I could about my culture
to be better prepared. They impact-
ed my life in such a good way.”
Through the experience of help-
ing other youth, Mercier and Grijal-
va also have realized how fortunate
they are.
“A lot of the kids come from res-
ervations where they don’t have
the right help,” Grijalva said. “Just
going to the camp for a week and
having somewhere they can get the
help means a lot.”
“You hear feedback from them
that having us there was the high-
light of their summer,” Mercier
said. “It humbles you and makes
you more aware of your own self-
worth. … You can make your cul-
ture a career. Don’t let anyone tell
you these practices won’t take you
anywhere. It will take you every-
where and deepen your connections
to others.”
The three agree that the sacrific-
es of the Elders before them, and
the resulting effects on indigenous
families and communities, has
helped create an atmosphere where
positive change can occur.
“We know we can do it. … We are
coming from a place of abundance”
Shalene Joseph said. “Something
my mom always tells us is that we
are the answer to our ancestors’
prayers. It is really important to
focus on that.”
For more information on the
Indigenous 20 Something Project,
visit indigenous20somethingproj-
ect.wordpress.com.
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