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“The Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes Reservation in Montana is home to tribes whose culture was defined by their relationship to their land and their horses. Generations of systemic oppression drained their culture of its traditional meaning, and they struggle with grief, shame, and loss. Their trauma has led to fractured families, substance abuse, and a high teen suicide rate. Charlie Four Bear gives troubled Fort Peck youth a chance to build relationships with horses, and through them, with tribal elders like himself, to reclaim their tribal family’s cultural pride.”

“Marine Corporal Jeremy Dobbins returned to Dayton, Ohio, from duty in Afghanistan with an 80% disability rating and issues with anger. Trained in service to others, veterans often resist the idea that they themselves need help and they have difficulty with sharing their war experiences with family and friends. An oral history project at Wright State University is giving Jeremy and other young veterans a chance to help older veterans recover their stories of war, and to come to terms with their own.”

Brittany Iron competes in the Crow Nation’s Ultimate Warrior Challenge. The Challenge spurs her to master canoeing, running, and riding. The race teaches the Native values of commitment and perseverance. To participate, she has to commit to abstain from drugs and alcohol. The Crow are reimagining what it means to be a warrior. They are now drawing on traditional rituals to combat the effects of centuries of stigma and trauma, and to rebuild the tribe’s sense of pride and purpose.