Team Members
- Joseph P. Gone, PhD
- Nikki Crowe, BSW
- Melissa Walls, MA, PhD
Research Project Description
This research brings together three American Indian collaborators to engage Fond du Lac community members in identifying existing and untapped sources of local strengths for health promotion. For Fond du Lac and many other American Indian communities, recent losses fueled in part by the opioid epidemic are compounded by historical and childhood trauma experiences that represent important determinants of health inequities.
The research team will work with a local community advisory board to implement a mixed-methods study to determine existing and underutilized community and cultural assets. Findings will be shared through structured community feasts and forums to identify action steps to promote healing and wellness beyond formal, individualized clinical services already offered.
A planned outcome is rapid impact on local policies and practices to facilitate reductions in suicide, drug (particularly opioid) overdose, and promote healing related to adverse childhood experiences.
Team Members
Joseph P. Gone, PhD
Joseph Gone is a Professor of Anthropology and of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard University. He is a research psychologist who investigates the intersections of culture, wellbeing, and mental health services in Indigenous communities.
Nikki Crowe, BSW
Nikki Crowe is the Program Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Extension. She is passionate that her work responds to the needs of the community, which include creating programs and spreading awareness about Ojibwe culture and seasonal harvesting, food sovereignty, the rise in drug addiction and abuse, sexual assault and suicide.
Melissa Walls, MA, PhD
Melissa Walls is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus. As a Sociologist, her research focuses on community-based participatory research with tribal communities and the social determinants of health.
Issue Brief: Fond du Lac Reservation
Cultural and Community Strengths Foster American Indian Resilience and Wellbeing
