“We have to … work for wholeness no matter what”: Family and culture promoting wellness, resilience, and transcendence

• Published in: Transcultural psychiatry Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 519 - 530
• Main Author: McKinley, Catherine E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-06-2024
• Subjects: Indigenous; culture; mental health; wellness; health equity; enculturation; family; resilience; Native American
• ISSN: 1363-4615; 1461-7471; 1461-7471
• DOI: 10.1177/13634615241227690

Sociocultural, mental, behavioral, and physical factors are interrelated associates of chronic health conditions—such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease—all of which are disproportionally high and drive much of the mortality and morbidity for Indigenous peoples. Indigenous worldviews conceptualize health holistically, with inseparability across social, spiritual, cultural, familial, mental, behavioral, physical, and social dimensions of wellness. Food, family, and culture are fundamental to Indigenous wellness. The purpose of this article is to use the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) conceptualization of relational wellness to honor urban and rural U.S. Indigenous perspectives that highlight the intersections of family, culture, physical health, spiritual, and mental health to promote resilience and wellness. This research focused on interconnections between wellness, culture, health, and family. Thirty-one critical ethnographic interviews used a life-history approach with methodology following an Indigenous toolkit for ethical and culturally sensitive research strategies, such as building upon cultural strengths, engaging in long-term, relational commitments with communities, incorporating storytelling and oral history traditions, centering Indigenous methodologies and preferences, working with cultural insiders, and prioritizing the perspectives of Indigenous peoples. Emergent themes included: (a) roots of Indigenous wellness: cultural values promoting balance and connection; (b) practicing resilience: family transmission of health information; and (c) wholistic mental wellness and resilience, with the subtheme culture and wellness. Interventions can be developed in collaboration with tribes for optimum efficacy and cultural relevancy and can approach wellness holistically in culturally relevant ways that center foodways, culture, family, and spirituality.