Current Quarter Newsletter

Maya Esquivido Hestum (Greetings)! My name is Maya Esquivido, and I am an enrolled member of the Nor Rel Muk Wintu Nation and Hupa. My tribal people come from Hayfork, located in Trinity County, CA. I was born and raised in Sacramento, CA, but relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where I started a family and…

Angelina joined the IWRI family over during summer 2019 as Research Coordinator for the MyPEEPS study and the Luna training program. Angelina’s Tribal affiliation is with the Cayuga Nation of New York State. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and completed her Master’s in Social Work in June 2019.  Prior to entering graduate…

Lucy was the Seattle-based Research Coordinator for the “Healing Seasons: Preventing HIV among Native Americans through the treatment of PTSD & Substance Use” project (Cynthia Pearson, PI). She returned to Yakama during summer 2019, and recently accepted a position with the Yakama Nation Victim Services Program. The IWRI family wishes her the best as she…

LUNA is a five-year international health research program, which will provide in-depth training opportunities to qualified graduate, medical and post-doctoral students from Indigenous populations throughout the United States. Through a strong network of highly trained Indigenous scholars, trainees will use culturally grounded research techniques in Latin America (Peru & Guatemala), Nepal, and Hawai’i to address…

In April 2019, Yakama Nation Behavioral Health received funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, Award number H79SM081963) to establish the Healthy Transitions program. Healthy Transitions: Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults aims to serve young adults ages 16-25 who are struggling emotionally and behaviorally using the evidence-based practice…

The MyPEEPS project is a mobile intervention that uses evidence-driven mobile technology to deliver HIV prevention information specifically developed for at-risk young men who have sex with men (YMSM).  The mobile intervention is being tested in a randomized control trial (RCT) with racially and ethnically diverse HIV-negative or unknown status YMSM aged 13-18 at four…

Since the Spring 2019 article in the IWRI online Newsletter introducing Seven Directions (7D) to IWRI and the Univ. of Washington community, there have been several staff and student personnel additions and changes to report.   Sofia Singer was hired as a Research Coordinator in Fall 2019. She is an Italian-American from Bronx, NY. She…

Seven Directions, with the support of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the National Network of Public Health Institutes, has produced an “Environmental Scan of Tribal Opioid Overdose Prevention Responses: Community-Based Strategies and Public Health Data Infrastructure.” It provides a snapshot of how various tribes, tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations are addressing…

By Leo N. Egashira “Seven Directions, A Center for Indigenous Public Health” (7D, www.indigenousphi.org) is the first national public health institute in the U.S. focused solely on Indigenous health and wellness. Its commitments are to cultivate and share knowledge, connect communities and resources and work together to achieve shared goals for future generations. 7D’s vision…

April 3, 2019 From:  Andrew W. Safyer, PhD, LCSW-R Dean and Professor Adelphi University School of Social Work Garden City, New York   It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Katina Walters has been selected to receive the 2019 Richard Lodge Prize from Adelphi University School of Social Work. Karina L. Walters, an…