MatriArt: Heart of the Land and People

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing program

SSSP plans to continue collaboration with Indigenous community-based organizations including American Indian Community Council, Indigenous Collective, Pukuu Cultural Community Services, Tribal TANF and United American Indian Involvement. SSSP will also continue partnership with local colleges, artists and businesses. Partners will work collaboratively to bridge participants, increase visibility of Indigenous peoples’ and foster social and emotional support for community members across Los Angeles county. SSSP will work with partner organizations to lead focused outreach and recruitment for the events. Collaborators will confirm participants and coordinate transportation of attendees and logistical needs with SSSP. Collaborators will also assist with surveys and qualitative feedback.

LA has the second largest urban “American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN)” population in the country. According to the CDC (2018), AIAN were more likely to experience serious psychological distress compared to non-White Hispanic, 9.2% and 3.7% respectively. Youth and adult suicide rates are also the highest among AIAN compared to any other racial group. This project responds to the urgent need for Indigenous-specific social and emotional support. Studies show art increases relaxation, helps with developing positive identity and allows individuals to symbolically express experiences that are difficult to put into words by interweaving traditional, ancestral teachings with contemporary experiences. Art rooted in cultural connectedness also helps promote a sense of belonging and validation that all Angelenos should experience by 2050. Further, cultural connectedness serves as a protective factor in strengthening resilience and intergenerational health.

The So’oh-Shinálí Sister Project is the Indigenous Circle of Wellness’ (ICOW) community-based extension project led by three Indigenous womxn that have worked in the community over a decade: Monique Castro (Diné/Xicana, LMFT), Elena Nourrie (Hopi/Cherokee/Chicanx, M.Ed.), and Melissa Alcala (Diné/Xicana, M.A.). All three womxn were raised on Tongva land, the LA area, as federal policies led their families to relocate to the city. They value education as a means to self-determination and giving back to the community. SSSP is dedicated to decolonizing education and wellness in the urban setting by staying rooted in indigenous core values and practices passed down by the matriarchs of their families. So’oh translates to grandmother in Hopi and Shinálí translates to grandmother in “Navajo.” In 2019, ICoW hosted five successful LA county sponsored mental wellness gatherings to engage, empower, and enlist the community into conversations about mental health and traditional forms of healing.

The majority of Native American community based events and programs are only offered to those who identify with a U.S. federally recognized tribe. As a result, there is severe underrepresentation of people who identify as Indigenous with roots in central or south America. We plan to address the double erasure in our community and be inclusive of those who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Native American, Native Hawaiian and Central/South American by indigenizing physical spaces during county-wide cultural events. Our goal is to create a space that allows Angelenos to recognize all Indigenous people and the diversity that exists within and across our communities. This may inform policy to be more inclusive of all Indigenous people.

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