NIDA Hosts Film Screening to Highlight Tribe’s Healing
To honor Native American Heritage Month, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institutes of Health’s Tribal Health Research Office (THRO) co-hosted a documentary screening on Nov. 13.
Produced in part through the NIDA-funded research collaboration, Native Transformation Project, the film—Native Transformations in the Pacific Northwest: Stories of Strength in a Public Health Crisis—delves into the historical strengths and resilience of Coast Salish people. Through four intimate portraits, viewers trace the tribal members’ journey of healing and wellness to overcome the impacts of the opioid overdose epidemic.
At the event, NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli delivered welcoming remarks. “I grew up in central Wyoming, next to the beautiful Wind River Reservation,” she said, adding that her mother’s best friend is Eastern Shoshone. “Even though I share no genetics with our native population, I have a deep love of the culture and appreciate the beauty and value of these amazing communities.”
After the film, NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow and THRO Director Dr. Karina Walters led a panel discussion with community members featured in the documentary. The panel discussed implications of the documentary for American Indian and Alaska Native-related substance use research, including the value of focusing on the strengths of Native people and communities. Acknowledging the strengths of their ancestors, resiliency is intrinsic to Native people and through community-based participatory research, these strengths—and how they can contribute to recovery— can be realized.