Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How effective are China's attempts to reduce the risk of wildlife spreading disease to humans?

    In order to get a handle on the spread of COVID-19, and to prevent future zoonotic disease outbreaks, China introduced temporary regulations banning commercial breeding of wildlife for meat consumption. These have hit farmers hard, with at least 20,000 farming operations shutting down by the end of February. With the bans on their way to fully becoming a law, local governments are trying to provide training and loans to help farmers transition to new products, but some claim the process is slow and doesn’t go far enough to prevent the breeding of the banned creatures for fur farming and traditional medicine.

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  • Indigenous Colombians mount a spiritual defense of the Amazon

    Five different Indigenous groups formed an alliance known as the Union of Traditional Age Medics of the Colombian Amazon to practice spiritual ceremonies and community healing based on the ingestion of a potent hallucinogenic tea known as yagé. These groups are at risk of physical and cultural extermination due to deforestation. By engaging in traditional yagé ceremonies, they use their traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom to help make decisions and retain their autonomy in the rainforest.

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  • A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail

    The Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court is a drug court, diverting people charged with drug offenses from possible fines and jail into therapy. But it has an added cultural element, providing traditional healing approaches alongside mainstream behavioral therapy. The cultural piece recognizes that Native Americans' historical trauma and disconnect from their culture can contribute to the problems that lead to addiction. The court is far less expensive than jail or prison, and its participants have not been jailed for failing treatment in more than two years.

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  • A Native American Clinic Gives Doses of Cultural Healing During COVID-19

    The Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis is utilizing telehealth practices to treat both the medical and spiritual needs of the community and its patients. Although the "spiritual-meets-traditional care program" was already in place and had received funding before the coronavirus pandemic, it is now being implemented as a telehealth system with patients reporting that it has helped to create a sense of connection despite the adherence to physical distancing.

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  • Native American groups address mental health amid COVID-19

    Aware that already-high rates of mental health problems and suicide in native American populations could grow even worse during COVID-19 isolation, a number of support groups rolled out online sessions that have attracted thousands of attendees seeking connections and comfort. The Native Wellness Institute's daily Power Hour on Facebook Live and the Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative's online meetings offer storytelling, wellness training, peer support, and other lessons in self-care.

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  • In a Philippine indigenous stronghold, traditions keep COVID-19 at bay

    To combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, provinces in the northern Philippines have implemented a tengao, an indigenous version of a lockdown. Since community elders invoked the lockdown, the region has recorded few cases of infection. Government officials said these practices, including other indigenous rituals, have complemented quarantine orders enforced by the national government.

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  • To Confront Effects of Trauma, Start with Self Care

    Building resilience and self-care into daily life promotes long-term wellbeing. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Catalyst Initiative works to support the emotional and mental wellbeing of underserved groups by promoting culturally relevant approaches to self-care. Catalyst funds organizations that serve Indigenous communities, communities of color, as well as other programs that encourage people to practice mindfulness and self-care as a way to heal from trauma and stress associated with economic, personal, or social issues.

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  • 'Lots of us have skeletons:' South Burlington firefighters learn yoga, meditation to stay well

    Vermont’s South Burlington fire department has started offering its firefighters yoga and meditation services as a way to cope with trauma. The services are offered by the Vermont Center for Responder Wellness, which was created as a response to the traumatic experiences many first responders face. The training includes mindfulness, breathing, stretching, and refocusing.

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  • Healthy communities: What is 'social prescribing'?

    Social prescribing, where medical practitioners encourage patients to look beyond medicine to remedy their issues, can lessen the demand for medical services and medications. In the UK, Denmark, and Canada, doctors are piloting programs in which healthcare providers can recommend community and social activities to patients. In Canada, for example, the Alliance for Healthier Communities is integrating activities like knitting at its community centers. In Denmark, doctors can present cultural activities to patients suffering from moderate depression.

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  • Virtual Reality as Therapy for Pain

    Virtual reality isn't just for gaming anymore. Known as Virtual Reality Therapy, this new use for the technology is bringing relief to those suffering from intense pain by immersing "the patient in an entertaining, relaxing, interactive environment that so occupies the brain, it has no room to process pain sensations at the same time."

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