ᏂᎦᏯᎢᏐ ᎦᏚᎩ ᏂᏨᏁᏍᏗ (ditsadasdelisgi itsehesdiin) means “in the mind and heart always have the thought of working together” (credited to the late Cherokee cultural keeper, Benny Smith). This Cherokee community value is at the core of the current project, which aims to develop a children’s storybook with Cherokee stories, values, and mental health coping strategies. Developing a children’s storybook centered around Cherokee cultural values and positive mental health will support children, families, and behavioral health providers throughout Cherokee Nation.
Who we are
Dr. Victoria O’Keefe (Cherokee Nation/Seminole Nation) and Dr. Ashleigh Coser(Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations) are co-leading this project to develop a mental health storybook for Cherokee Nation children and families.
• Dr. O’Keefe is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health. She is also a clinical psychologist and her community-based research focuses on cultural strengths-based approaches to promote mental health and wellness.
• Dr. Coser works for Cherokee Nation Health Services as a licensed health service psychologist. She has vast experience related to American Indian youth mental health and well-being research and clinical work, serving Cherokee Nation children and adults through women’s and pediatric clinics.
What we are doing
The overall goal of this project is to develop a storybook that weaves together Cherokeestories, values, and mental health education and coping strategies to support Cherokee Nation children’s cultural identity, pride, and mental health.
Indigenous CBPR approach
Our project uses a CBPR approach which promotes collaborative, equitable partnerships in all phases of research, builds on existing strengths of the community, involves all partners in academic and community dissemination of research, and honorsTribal sovereignty. To guide the project, we formed a Community Advisory Board made up of 10 Cherokee Nation Elders, storytellers, authors, illustrators/artists, language speakers and cultural keepers, and mental health and social service providers. We also use Storywork, an Indigenous Research Methodology that highlights the value of Indigenous stories, to guide our work. This methodology centers Indigenous stories within educational and research contexts and involves storytellers, story listeners, and community.
Photos courtesy of Cherokee Phoenix.