About

Gii’igoshimong: Sitting With Your First Family is a study that seeks to understand how traditional practices, including ceremony (Gii’igoshimong), can support wellbeing and protect against substance use disorders.

The study examines the health impact of engaging in traditional practices by measuring changes in participant substance use, mental wellbeing, cultural protective factors, and brain activity before and after taking part in ceremony.

A dirt path winds through a tall pine forest while sunlight streams through the trees.

What We Are Doing

Through 2028, Gii’igoshimong: Sitting with your First Family will enroll participants in a randomized controlled trial, during which they:

  • Prepare for and participate in ceremony with leading Ojibwe practitioners.
  • Answer questions about their health and wellbeing through 3 assessments over 6 months
  • Take part in EEG tests, a noninvasive way to measure brain activity

We are recruiting participants that are:

  • Over 18 years old
  • Self-identify as Ojibwe / Anishinaabe / Chippewa
  • Have recently used substances other than tobacco (ie alcohol, marijuana, etc.)

How this will help improve health in your community?

The goal of the study is to reclaim ceremony as an established Indigenous health system by providing data on its impact and pathways of change.

We plan to provide the following benefits to our partnering communities:

  • Local data on the benefits of ceremony and more generally, engaging culturally
  • Support for future health programming that meets the needs of Indigenous Peoples
  • Strengths-based solutions to community health issues

PI/Program Coordinator Contact Information

Principal Investigator
Dr. Miigis Gonzalez, MPH, PhD
mgonza75@jhu.edu

Project Coordinator
Maisie Conrad, MSPH
mconrad4@jhu.edu

Gii’igoshimong Study Phone
(218) 464-6802