Native HeARTs: Digital Storytelling Through Indigenous Art

Health disparities for Native/Indigenous youth are perpetuated by systemic bias and racism. Both the scientific literature and media play a role in maintaining disparities by telling stories through narrative or numbers that invalidate Indigenous knowledge and ways of systematic investigation, intervention, and communication regarding health and well-being (Campisteguy et al., 2018; Fryberg et al., 2008; Shear et al., 2015). Youth were mentored by Indigenous artists to develop culturally-relevant digital stories that speak to community wellness efforts, strengths, and resilience in regard to substance abuse and suicide prevention (from youth perspectives) to target root causes of health disparities by shifting narrative power to decolonial Indigenous philosophies. Together, we developed an intervention that targets underlying root causes of health disparities by transforming the very structures upon which health interventions hinge. The realm of communication is one of these structures that is ripe with possibilities for new conceptions that uplift strengths-based narratives through digital media. We created an intervention that emphasizes possibilities through positive images of Indigenous people effectively addressing community issues by building community-based narrative power.